Stevia and the Search for the Next Big Sweetener

When Sweet'n Low hit the market some years back, it provided a new and wonderful option for people who need to avoid sugar for health reasons.

Now, years later, sweeteners are still a hot ticket food item, but a debate continues about which ones taste best and are healthiest to consume.

After Sweet'n Low came Equal, and of course the biggest sweetener to hit the market in recent years has been Splenda.

But as a new wave of health-conscious consumers hit the market, the "natural" sweetener stevia has been gaining attention.

Stevia is derived from a South American plant, and its extract is believed to be between 200 and 300 times sweeter than old fashioned sugar.

NJ.com cites the rising popularity of stevia in their recent article on organic sweeteners vs artificial sweeteners. The author puts stevia to a taste test by baking cookies with regular sugar, stevia, and Splenda.

The result? Most tasters preferred regular sugar, and found both Splenda and Stevia to have an unpleasant aftertaste.

And as traditional granulated sugar regains some of its market share as a replacement for high-fructose corn syrup, does it make any sense for food manufacturers to offer products with stevia?

The answer is, probably. Those people who're going to eat real sugar are going to eat it, but those who don't might want to try stevia because it isn't considered an artificial sweetener.

The popularity of the low-sugar, low-carbohydrate diet is still quite high, and in conjunction with the current trend towards natural sweeteners, stevia might be an option that many consumers would appreciate.

No matter what though, sugar will always be the top choice for consumers and manufacturers alike. After all, good ol' sugar does have just 16 calories per teaspoon.