It is important to remember that the desired level of sweetness in foods is a personal preference, and that stevia provides sweetness that is stronger than sugar, so substituting sugar for stevia can sometimes be more of an art than a science.

Stevia Extract In The Raw Cup For Cup has been developed to assist you in replacing the sweetness of sugar in your favorite recipes. The Cup For Cup product measures just like sugar - with a cup of Stevia Extract In The Raw providing similar sweetness to a cup of sugar. This makes it easy to use in cooking and baking!

Sugar provides certain physical properties in addition to sweetness. It contributes to the structure, texture, moisture and browning in recipes. Sugar also provides calories in the form of carbohydrate and consumption of too many calories and carbs can be detrimental to a healthy wellbeing.

By replacing sugar with Stevia Extract In The Raw, you are making a smart choice to cut calories and carbohydrates.

We hope that you enjoy your journey in the world of healthy cooking and baking!

For recipes that do not require baking, it may simply be a matter of replacing all added sugar with Stevia Extract In The Raw to compensate for added sweetness. Examples include recipes for sweetened beverages, smoothies, sodas, sauces, frostings, icings and glazes. Additionally, certain refrigerated desserts fall into this non-baking category – like our Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake or our Vegan Chocolate Mousse.

To replace sugar in these types of recipes, you merely need to refer to our sweetness conversion chart to establish how much Stevia Extract In The Raw is needed as a replacement for the sugar called for in the recipe. The first time you are preparing the conversion, you may want to use a little less than what our chart calls for and adjust the quantity based on your own sweet taste preference.

When using Stevia Extract In The Raw for most baking recipes, we suggest replacing half of the total amount of sugar with Stevia Extract In The Raw. When a recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar, reduce the amount of sugar to 1 cup and replace the remaining cup with the equivalent of Stevia Extract In The Raw. If the recipe calls for more than ½ cup of sugar, it would make sense to use our Cup For Cup product rather than opening multiple packets of sweetener.

In addition to altering the amount of sugar used in recipes, we offer the following tips for modifying other ingredients and cooking/baking techniques to achieve best results.

When making cookies with a reduced amount of sugar, you may want to increase the chilling time for the batter by 30 minutes to an hour.

1. Reduce the sugar by half and replace it with the equivalent amount of Stevia Extract In The Raw.
2. Reduce the pan size called for in the recipe from a 9-inch square pan to an 8-inch square pan.
3. You may want to increase the leavening agents (such as baking powder or baking soda) in the recipe slightly to increase the volume.
4. You can consider increasing the amount of liquid slightly or consider using low-fat buttermilk as our test kitchen experts recommend.
5. Bake the batter in a slightly cooler oven. For example, bake brownies at 325° F rather than 350° F and/or reduce baking time by 3-5 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the brownies. If the toothpick comes out clean, then you know they’re done.

1. Add one additional egg in the form of an egg white
2. Substitute non-fat buttermilk for some of the liquid called for in the recipe
3. Replace butter with vegetable oil, such as canola oil
4. Use a smaller loaf pan – Use an 8-inch x 4-ich pan rather than a 9-inch x 5-inch pan
5. Reduce the temperature and cooking time by as much as 20%-25% and don’t forget to use the toothpick test for doneness
6. Add pureed fruit, grated and shredded fruits and vegetables to the batter, which adds moisture and texture to reduced-sugar recipes, in addition to adding valued nutrients.

See our Zucchini Bread and Morning Glory Muffin Tops recipes as examples.

For muffins, muffin tops, loaf quick breads and quick cakes, prepare pans with non-stick cooking spray for ease of release after baking.

Muffins and muffin tops should only cool in the pan for 5 minutes after being removed from oven. Continue cooling on a baking rack. When cool, wrap immediately to prevent drying from exposure to air.

Cakes vary in the type of finished product. For example, sponge cakes may require reducing the amount of sugar you can replace to no more than 25%.

1. Using cake flour will provide a finer crumb in layer and cupcakes.
2. You can add more fiber to cakes & cupcakes by substituting ½ the white flour for 100% whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour adds color and a nuttier taste to cakes and other baked goods as well.
3. Add volume to your cakes by:
   • Adding an additional egg white into the recipe. Separate egg yolk from egg whites. Beat egg whites separately and fold the egg whites into the batter such our test kitchen experts did with the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe.
   • Bake the cake in a smaller pan. Try an 8-inch layer cake pan rather than a 9-inch or 10-inch pan.
   • Reduce baking time by 25%
   • Lower the oven temperature up to 25 degrees.
   • Increase the leavening agents (i.e. baking soda or baking powder) slightly. Since these ingredients contain added sodium., you may want to reduce the amount of salt in the recipe slightly.

For frostings, our test kitchen experts recommend using low-fat cream cheese or low-fat yogurts as the base. Add Stevia Extract In The Raw for sweetness and then add low-fat milk, flavorings, shredded unsweetened coconut, dried chopped fruit or a small amount of semi sweet chocolate or chopped nuts.

Icings and Glazes can be developed using fruit juices, vinegars, Stevia Extract In The Raw and a small amount of cornstarch for thickening.

Discard any spoiled fruit, cut away bruised spots, and discard unripe berries.

Crush fruit using a potato masher. Do not use a food processor.

Variations in the sweetness, ripeness and moisture in fruit affect the final result in preserve-making. Different brands of pectin also may produce jam and preserves with firmer or softer texture.

Both Stevia Extract In The Raw® packets or the Baker’s Bag can be used in preserve recipes, although the Baker’s Bag makes for particularly easy measuring.

For preserves that are as clear as when using sugar, dissolve the Stevia Extract In The Raw® in a small amount of liquid and let stand until the mixture becomes clear. You may omit this step, however, please note that your preserves will foam while cooking and appear less clear in the jar.

Use only no-sugar pectin. We recommend products made by Ball/Jardin and Pomona’s Universal Pectin.

Using a modest amount of sugar along with the stevia produces clearer preserves. It also produces the best fruit flavor. We recommend using a turbinado sugar, like Sugar In The Raw®.

Jars can be reused if they are not cracked and their rims are chip-free. Never reuse lids. Screw bands can be reused if they are not rusted or bent.

Half-pint and pint jars should be processed in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Note that altitude affects this timing. Check the pectin insert for information about adjusting for this.

If testing a jar within one hour after processing indicates that it has not sealed, the contents of the jar are still safe to consume, provided the jar was refrigerated immediately.

Jars and lids do not need to be sterilized if the contents will be processed in a hot water bath. Screw bands do not require heating at all.