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How to make Liquid Stevia extract

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nullzero:
How To Make Liquid Stevia Extract
The Players
•   dried stevia leaves, chopped finely (where to buy dried stevia leaves)
•   vodka
•   glass jar with a lid
The How-To
If you harvest your stevia at home, begin by washing your cuttings to remove dirt. Remove the leaves from the stem, as the leaves are what contains the sweet-tasting glycosides. Let them dry in the sun or a dehydrator until crisp. Then, using a knife chop your dried stevia leaves finely. Do not powder your leaves as the powder is hard to filter out later and creates a residue that settles at the bottom of your finished extract.
If you don’t have a stevia plant, don’t worry. You can find dried stevia leaves just about anywhere you can buy herbs. (See where to buy stevia here.)
Place your crushed stevia leaves in a glass jar, then pour vodka over them to coat. We are using vodka instead of water to extract the glycosides because we’ll get a much sweeter end result this way. Opt for vodka over other liquors because it’s flavorless and cheap.
Put the lid on your jar, shake it up, and let it sit on your counter for 24-36 hours. Don’t let it sit for longer than 36 hours, as it will turn more bitter. I used to make a liquid stevia extract the same way that I made other herbal tinctures, letting it sit for weeks. While this may improve the medicinal quality of the extract, it sacrificed a lot of sweetness to do it.
Next, filter out the leaves. You can do this by pouring the extract through a coffee filter or cheesecloth.
At this point, you have two options.
1) Keep the alcohol-containing liquid stevia extract. To do this, transfer into a colored glass bottle (for light reduction), and store in a room temperature, dark place for up to 2-4 years.
2) Remove the alcohol from the liquid stevia extract. To do this, gently heat the extract over low-heat for 20-30 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. If your extract comes to a boil, you will overheat the glycosides and destroy the sweet taste. The longer you heat the extract, the thicker and more syrup-like it will become. I’ve found that on my electric stove top on low, 20 minutes is about ideal. Transfer into a colored glass tincture bottle and store in your refrigerator for up to 3 months.

natsgarden123:
Home Depot sells stevia plants-they are sold in the area where the other herbs, vegetable plants, etc..
Im going to try this. :) Thanks

Tomas:
Hi nullzero,

This is really really great information! I have jars with dried leaves from my stevia plants. I will certainly try your recipe. Does the liquid stevia solution (after alcohol extraction)  taste the same as raw stevia leaves?

Tomas

nullzero:

--- Quote from: Tomas on February 20, 2012, 10:23:09 PM ---Hi nullzero,

This is really really great information! I have jars with dried leaves from my stevia plants. I will certainly try your recipe. Does the liquid stevia solution (after alcohol extraction)  taste the same as raw stevia leaves?

Tomas

--- End quote ---

Tomas I am not sure of the final taste, I have heard good things about this recipe. I have not tried it myself yet, I got this from other gardening forums.

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