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  • 100% natural sweetener
  • Natural origin
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100% natural sweetener Natural origin Very high quality Free shipping in NL from €40,-

The use of stevia

The use of stevia

Stevia is sold and used in different forms. From 2 december 2011 is the use of steviolglycosiden of a purity by weight of more than 95% are permitted in Europe. This sweetener may contain 10 different steviolglycosiden but should for at least 75% from the sum of the steviolglycosiden stevioside and rebaudioside A, or existence. Although it sounds a bit odd is the use of the leaves of the stevia plant as well as the use of crude extracts not allowed as a food.

 

  • Steviolglycosiden
    Often is refined stevia extract stevioside. This name is very confusing because stevioside but one of the zoetsmakende substances in the plant. Officially are called the sweet-tasting substances in the plant steviolglycosiden.
    Stevioside itself is 250 to 350 times sweeter as sucrose, the scientific name for our ordinary white sugar and cane sugar. Stevioside has a rather bitter aftertaste. The quality of a refined stevia extract is related to the percentage of rebaudioside a. Rebaudioside A has a taste that is most similar to that of sugar. It is about 400 times as sweet as ordinary sucrose. The higher the percentage, the less the Rebaudioside A bitter aftertaste. Because rebaudioside percentage less in the leaf is the price higher.

    The dosage in beverages is tricky, you have to deal with it. The back of a teaspoon in the steviolglycosiden baptisms is sufficient for a cup of tea or coffee.

    With steviolglycosiden you can bake and cook. It is heat stable up to 200 degrees and can be used anywhere where you otherwise would use for sugar.

    To bake with steviolglycosiden is a matter of learning. You can not really express in weights, but to taste. Start with small bits and just try it out. Most herds are factory-fine.

  • Steviolglycosiden liquid
    Steviolglycosiden liquid is a solution of steviolglycosiden in distilled water. This is a clear liquid, that is to dose in coffee or tea. 1 to 2 drops stand for a lump of sugar. To steviolglycosiden liquid is no alcohol added.

  • Steviolglycosiden on a carrier
    To be able to more easily with steviolglycosiden baking and cooking are different possibilities developed using carriers.
    Steviolglycosiden 300 x sweeter than sucrose in many cases because they are difficult to dose and when used in existing recipes one loses volume by replacing sugar. Commonly used excipients are: erythritol and inulin.

    Erythritol is a natural sugar alcohol that in terms of preventing similar to granulated sugar. Although the taste is similar to that of sugar is the sweet power of it about 70%.
    Erythritol contains virtually no calories. It affects the blood glucose and causes no dental caries.
    Erythritol is used as a sugar substitute since 1990 and is made from fermented grain. The name erythritol is a derivative of the name of the gistingproces.

    Erythritol falls within the category of "sugar alcohol", but it's also no sugar and no alcohol. The term sugar alcohol covers the chemical/molecular structure of Erythritol that corresponds to that of sugars and partially with that of alcohol.

    Erythritol is a small molecule and is easily absorbed into the body through the small intestine where it is excreted through the urine unchanged. Erythritol is in normal use it does not in the colon and is not degraded by bacteria like other polyols. This caused the no diarrhea. For example, only at very high consumption of 100 grams/day can erythritol in the colon and cause problems. This happens because in that case the normal absorptive capacity of the small intestine is exceeded. The erythritol is it still possible in the colon where it is broken down by intestinal bacteria.


    Inulin is a fiber that is found in the roots of plants that grow in cold-temperate regions (for example, Inula, chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, dahlia, dandelion, Black salsify and artichoke). It is stored in the vacuole of the plant cells and, like starch a reserve material for the plant. It also works as cryoprotectant. This means that the the plant protects against freezing.
    Inulin has itself no sweet taste, but insulin preparations often contain degradation products (fructo-oligosaccharides) with a sweet taste, making the preparation is often sweet tastes. Inulin has a white color and is pretty good at water soluble. Inulin increases the blood sugar levels. Disadvantage is that sensitivity or overuse diarrhea causes.

 

Pure steviol glycosides

ESstevia is a specialist in pure steviol glycosides and since the European approval of steviol glycosides in 2011, its development has of course not stood still!

Eleven steviol glycosides are permitted as sweeteners in the EU. They are stevioside, steviolbioside, rubusoside, dulcoside A, rebaudioside A, B, C, D, E, F and M.

Among the first steviol glycosides approved by the EU in 2011, stevioside pioneered stevia-based sweeteners. Stevioside was the first because it is the most abundant steviol glycoside in stevia leaves. The problem with stevioside is that it has a bitter aftertaste and a licorice-like aftertaste.

But then the researchers discovered stevia plants that stood out from the crowd. They had a higher proportion of the steviol glycoside rebaudioside A, which tastes better than stevioside and is also twice as sweet. That opened up commercial opportunities for reb A, which is the most widely used steviol glycoside today.

Since reb A is sweeter and tastes better, it is easier to use. In addition, there are methods to mask the residual bitterness, as well as the licorice-like aftertaste.

Reb A was a big step forward for steviol glycosides as a sweetener. But it was soon discovered that the purest forms of reb A didn't always taste the best. It started the hunt for the others.

A new alternative

Researchers discovered steviol glycosides rebaudioside D and M (reb D and reb M). Scientists had known about these substances for some time, but it was only now, after it was approved in the EU in 2017, that it became a real alternative in the food industry.

Reb D and M have more glucose units linked to steviol.

Steviol glycosides are the sweet components of the leaves of the stevia plant. They consist of the substance steviol, which is bound to various glucose residues via so-called glycosidic bonds. For example, stevioside has compounds with three glucose groups and reb A up to four. Reb M has a total of six glucose parts. The high number of glucose units is part of reb M's explanation of good taste. Studies show that more glucose units produce more sweetness and less bitterness.


ESstevia supplies steviol glycosides pure in powder form or as a solution in water. The pure powder is amazingly sweet (about 300x sweeter than sugar) and suitable for sweetening hot and cold drinks, baking and cooking. 
Liquid is useful in hot and cold drinks such as coffee, tea, yogurt, but also in smoothies or jam. The sweets are there for hot drinks. GrooVia crystal is available for baking with steviol glycosides. It resembles sugar and is even a crystal. In addition to these deliciously sweet products, ESstevia supplies many other stevia products.

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