Simple syrup is a liquid sweetener made by dissolving a sweetener in hot water. Stevia provides a zero-calorie, sugar-free alternative for sweetening beverages, cocktails, and other recipes. This process involves dissolving the highly concentrated plant-derived sweetener into a liquid base to ensure it disperses evenly throughout a mix, preventing the gritty texture that can occur when using powdered sweeteners directly in cold liquids.
Selecting the Right Stevia Format
Selecting the appropriate form of the sweetener is important, as the concentration varies significantly between products. Pure stevia extract powder, which contains steviol glycosides, can be 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Because of this extreme potency, a very small amount is needed, which can make accurate measuring difficult.
Many commercially available stevia products are actually blends that include filler ingredients like erythritol or dextrose. These blended products are designed to measure closer to a 1:1 ratio with sugar, simplifying their use in recipes but making the final syrup less concentrated. Liquid stevia drops are already dissolved and can be added directly to the water, eliminating the need for heating. The decision on which format to use should be based on the desired strength and the need to adjust the water-to-sweetener ratio accordingly.
Step-by-Step Preparation
The precise ratio depends heavily on the stevia format chosen. For a granulated blend designed to measure like sugar, a good starting point is approximately one part sweetener to four parts water. If you are using a pure, highly concentrated stevia powder, you would need to use only a tiny fraction of that amount, possibly just one-quarter to one-half teaspoon per cup of water.
The mixture should be heated over medium heat, stirring consistently until the sweetener is completely dissolved. A gentle simmer for one to two minutes is usually sufficient to ensure the steviol glycosides are fully dispersed. Once the mixture is transparent and no granules remain, remove the saucepan from the heat. Allow the syrup to cool completely to room temperature before transferring it to a storage container to prevent moisture from condensing inside the sealed container.
Storage and Adjusting Consistency
The syrup should be poured into a clean, airtight container and stored in the refrigerator. Unlike sugar, which acts as a preservative due to its high concentration, stevia simple syrup does not possess the same preservative qualities. For this reason, the stevia version generally lasts for a shorter period, typically remaining fresh for up to one to three weeks when properly refrigerated.
Sugar-free syrups often have a thinner consistency compared to traditional simple syrup. If the final syrup is too thin, return it to the saucepan and simmer it longer to allow water to evaporate, which will naturally thicken the liquid. Conversely, if the syrup develops a grainy texture or crystallization occurs during cooling or storage, re-heating it gently and adding a small amount of water will help re-dissolve the sweetener and restore the smooth consistency.