By James Bliss, Commercial Director, Food Ingredients, looks at what the best Stevia on the market is.
With the continued global shift towards the reduction or replacement of sugar in our foods, the search for substitutes has become a key focal point. Previously most sugar alternatives were artificial, in the last few years this has changed with the rise of natural sugar substitutes. The most successfully of these has been Stevia. Extracted from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana which is native to Brazil and Paraguay. It was used by the indigenous Guaraní’s who called it ka’a he’ê (sweet herb). Though most people have not heard of Stevia until fairly recently and would probably consider it a new product, the plant in fact has been used as a sweetner for hundreds of years. Since the 1970’s the plant has been grown commercially outside of South America and in Japan. It is so popular that by some reports it has 40% of the Japanese sweeter market.
Not all Stevia products are the same
Even though Stevia has been around for a considerable amount of time, it is only since 2008 that it has been legally been available in the United States. With the growing trend of consumers seeking food that contains less artificial ingredients, interest in Stevia has peaked. Many view it as answer to the challenges of sugar taxation and growing global obesity. In fact it’s popularity is as such that in 2017 Stevia was featured globally in more new product launches than aspartame.
However not all Stevia’s are created equal, many that are currently on the market have a distinctive bitter after taste. In turn this can mean that consumers may avoid products that contain the substitute. Fortunately, there is a solution available – 2nd generation Stevia produced by Daepyung and offered by NCC Food Ingredients. Unlike other Stevia products there is no bitter after taste. This is as a result of a revolutionary patented enzyme treatment process.
Below we list six advantages of our 2nd Generation Stevia:
- No bitter aftertaste and similar taste profile to sugar
No noticeable taste difference to your product means that your customers will not notice any difference
- Cost effective
Over 170 times sweeter than sugar means less is required, leading to cost savings
- Zero calories and natural
With no calories or nasty artificial chemicals, your customers will love your product
- A stable sweetener with no surprises
Stable across a broad range of pH levels and processing temperatures means that it can be used in low pH environments and in a wide range of frozen and baked goods
- Soluble and no discolouration
Dissolves quickly and no browning reaction takes place
- Long shelf life
With a long storage life, it will not limit the shelf life of your finished product
If you’d like to know more about how our 2nd Generation Stevia can improve your products, then click here to download the product sheet.
