Content
- The natural home of stevia
- Stevia - the heat-loving South American
- Frugal perennial
- Rediscovery by the Europeans
- The locals appreciated the Stevia from time immemorial
- Tips & Tricks
The natural home of stevia
The stevia plant is native to South America and is biologically correctly called Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Only these plants form in their leaves the sweet-tasting stevioside, a low-calorie sweetener.
Stevia - the heat-loving South American
The wild wakes of the stevia are located on the plateaus of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Here there is a semi-humid climate, which is characterized by high rainfall. The mild temperatures seldom drop below twenty degrees Celsius. The soils in this region are slightly acidic, clayey, sandy and therefore well drained. Due to their low nutrient content, they are considered to be almost barren. The stevia has adapted optimally to these conditions and developed in its natural form up to a meter high, bushy awake shoots.
Frugal perennial
As the branches of the stevia grow almost unbranched, the plant needs a lot of light but hardly any nutrients to form the foliage. Depending on the climate, the honey leaf thrives in its natural habitat as an evergreen or discards the leaves at cooler temperatures. The stevia then draws its life force back into the large rootstock and drives fresh and green at higher heat degrees. The main flowering time of the honey leaf falls in the late autumn. Fertilization takes over the almost always prevailing wind on the plateaus, which carries the pollen from one blossom to the next.
Rediscovery by the Europeans
The Swiss naturalist Moisés Giacomo "Santiago" Bertoni was the first European to come across the honey leaf in the border area with Brazil. At first he suspected that the sweet leaf would be a hitherto unknown Eupatorium species, due to its similarity to the European water host. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, the stevia was classified correctly and got in honor of Bertoni their Latin plant name.
The locals appreciated the Stevia from time immemorial
In the native population of South America, the stevia is very much appreciated. Even today, people living in South America use the plant as a highly effective natural medicine and for sweetening mate tea. During the Second World War, when sugar was scarce, the sweet herb was first tested as a sugar substitute in England. Since November 11, 2019, stevia has also been authorized as a food additive in the EU and is used in sugar-reduced foods.
Tips & Tricks
For sweetening food and drinks, you can either use fresh Stevia leaves, Stevia extract or Stevia powder. All of these sweeteners can be made from the leaves of the plant.