Meet the neighbours · herb
Stevia
A calorie-free sweetener you can grow — sweet fresh in summer, and still sweet dried all winter.
Stevia is a natural, calorie-free sweetener originally from Central America. The leaves stay sweet even after drying, so you get fresh sweetener all summer and dried sweetener all winter.
How to grow it
- Full sun with well-drained soil, or grow it in large containers.
- Harvest before the plant flowers for the best-tasting leaves.
- Always leave a few leaves at the base so the plant can regrow for a second late-summer picking.
How to use & eat it
- Extremely potent — about a quarter of a fresh leaf sweetens a cup of tea.
- Dried stevia is roughly 30 times sweeter than sugar, so use it sparingly.
- Great in tea, lemonade, smoothies, and yogurt.
Cook with it
- Blackcurrant TeaA warming infusion made from dried black currants — sweeten to taste.