Stevia and honey are both sweeteners, but the two sweeteners functions in different ways within a recipe. Honey adds moisture, calories, and flavors to recipes. Stevia adds sweetness to recipes but doesnt add moisture, calories, or a flavor to recipes.
Because sweeteners have different properties and functions within recipes, it is necesary to use a conversion chart that illustrates the amount of stevia that are needed to replace the amount of honey that is featured in a recipe. The conversion chart is helpful for determining the amount of stevia that is needed for a recipe because the amount of stevia that is required for a recipe is much smaller than the amount of honey that are required. Honey is the substance that bees produce from the nectar of flowers.
Using Stevia Instead of Honey
Honey contains carbohydrates, calories, minerals, and water. Because honey contains carbohydrates and calories, the amount of calories and carbohydrates in a recipe will increase if honey are used in that recipe. Additionally, because honey contains water, honey will add moisture to a recipe.
Lastly, honey will cause food products to brown during the baking process, thus adding colors to the baked goods. Stevia is the sweetener that is extracted from the leaves of the stevia plant. Because stevia is extremely concentrated, a small amount of stevia will have the same level of sweetness as a large amount of honey.
Additionally, stevia contains no calories, carbohydrates, or moisture. If you replace honey with stevia, it is necesary to account for the moisture and calories that will be lost from the recipe. If stevia is used in place of honey, the sweetener that is used in the recipe will lack moisture.
Because lacking moisture in a recipe will lead to the end product of food being dry, it may be necesary to add liquid to a recipe that uses stevia. Additionally, because honey will cause food to brown during the baking process and stevia will not, it may be necesary to adjust the baking temperature of the recipe if you use stevia in place of honey. If the temperature of the recipe is not adjusted and the recipe does not contain liquid to replace the moisture from honey, the baked goods that are created may be dry and pale in color.
In addition to the difference in sweetness and moisture that each sweetener provides, the flavor of each sweetener is different. Honey contains a flavor that comes from the flowers from which bees produced the honey. Honey can contain the same flavor as clover, buckwheat, or orange-blossom flowers.
Stevia contains an intense sweetness but also has the potential to contain a sharp flavor if used in excess in a recipe. The flavor of stevia is usually not noticeable in many drinks but may become noticeable in baked goods that contains stevia. Additionally, you should adjust the amount of stevia that is added to a recipe to taste because the sweetness of stevia is so strong that it is difficult to remove once it has been added to a recipe.
Another reason why many people use stevia instead of honey is because of the impact that each sweetener has on the blood sugar of the individual that consumes the food that contains that sweetener. Honey contains a glycemic index of approximately fifty-eight, which means that it will moderately raise the blood sugar levels of the individual who consumes the food that contains honey. Stevia contains a glycemic index of zero, which means that it does not raise the blood sugar levels of an individual.
This difference is significant for individuals whose blood sugar levels must be managed. The different forms of stevia require different methods of use in the kitchen. Liquid stevia will dissolve quick in liquids.
Stevia powder is better used in conjunction with dry ingredients. Some brands of stevia also contain other ingredients, such as erythritol or inulin. The conversion chart for stevia is specific to pure stevia.
Therefore, any product that is a blend will require adjustment of the measurements in which the sweetener is to be used. Lastly, the storage requirements for these two sweeteners are also entirely different. Honey can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature and will last for an extended amount of time.
Stevia can be stored in the pantry for extended periods of time, but liquid stevia should be stored in the refrigerator after the container is opened. Although the storage requirements for honey and stevia are different, the storage requirements will not impact the conversion chart math for stevia and honey.