so my wife just got some kefir and brought me some. i almost spit it out, i thought it had gone bad. so she brings me a different flavor. nope … awful … checked the label … augggh she bought stuff with STEVIA in it by mistake.
i don’t get it. this stuff is supposed to be a sweetener / sugar substitute. but it doesn’t taste like sugar. it doesn’t taste sweet. it doesn’t even taste edible. it tastes like a chemist accidentally spilled a test tube full of noxious chemicals in whatever has it. it immediately makes me feel physically ill.
i mean, am i weird? does everybody like this stuff and it’s just me? is the food industry just trolling me? i just cannot fathom how anyone can put a spoonful of this stuff in their mouth and say, “wow! it’s just like sugar! let’s put it in everything that’s supposed to have sugar and everyone will love it just as much!” i would rather eat a handful of grass clippings than a spoonful of this hideous dreck.
Maybe you just have those taste buds, just like how some people think cilantro tastes like soap. To me it tastes just like sugar, but I don’t have a particularly discriminating palate.
i remember when it first became a thing, they handed out samples at Sam’s Club. i tried it and my reaction was … well, not what they were hoping for. it was so bad I thought it was a joke, or one of those Candid Camera type shows
I tried soda with it once when they handed out free samples at a supermarket. Thought it was ok, but I’d opt for soda made with cane/beet sugar in a heatbeat if I really needed a soda fix.
Don’t care for corn syrup flavored sodas much, either.
It’s not an artificial sweetener, it’s natural. It’s also absolutely no consequence, unlike sugar or artificial sweeteners. You might try it in different things. Many people like putting it in their coffee or tea, or baking with it (there are ways to bake with it that you can other things for bulk). Just don’t use too much of it. I like to mix it with ricotta cheese, or whip it with cream cheese and vanilla if I want a tasty, healthy treat.
I wish they made more products with it. There is a chocolate bar that is very good, with stevia, Lilys, that has several different bars. It just tastes like sugar to me.
Different taste buds. I think it is vile as well. Rather sadly, as being able to tolerate an artificial sweetener would help the calorie load. I also abhore the other artificial sweeters. However, there is a natural soda, a ginger ale that I can tolerate with stevia. A little bitter is not bad in some soda and I certainly have no reason to drink it with sugar.
I can taste a difference between Sweet and Low and the other sweeteners (Equal, Splenda) but they are all the same to me and I’m indifferent (I mostly use them in coffee). I’m not a big cola drinker but I’m also indifferent to Diet Pepsi vs Diet Coke. I’m the antithesis of picky when it comes to food!
@Wien2NC I’ve worked with some people who are doing interesting work on the molecular basis of taste perception. You’re not alone in your reaction to stevia. Sensory evaluation varies dramatically, depending on individual taste perceptions. Most people think it’s fine, but if you’re one of those who tastes the bitterness, you’re going to have a very different experience. I have the same reaction. Blech.
" i mean, am i weird? does everybody like this stuff and it’s just me? is the food industry just **** me? i just cannot fathom how anyone can put a spoonful of this stuff in their mouth and say, “wow! it’s just like sugar! let’s put it in everything that’s supposed to have sugar and everyone will love it just as much!” i would rather eat a handful of grass clippings than a spoonful of this hideous dreck"
You tried ONE type in ONE food item. I’d bet you $100 that I could put it into a food item that you would like.
I have clear liquid Stevia on hand and add a couple of drops every morning to my oatmeal concoction - steel-cut oatmeal, sliced strawberries, blueberries, a few chopped walnuts and a big 'ole dollop (probably 1/4 - 1/3 c.) of Fage no fat plain yogurt. The fruit really gives the sweetness, but I do appreciate just the extra little zing of sweetness. I also buy lemon-flavored Stevia drops to put in my water bottle and for the most part, it does help me drink more. I tried flavored Lacroix, but carbonation really bothers my stomach. I really don’t drink any soda.
But I also LOVE cilantro, too!
That’s a popular South Beach Diet sweet-tooth go to recipe, but many people will also add just a little bit unsweetened cocoa powder to it, too! Yummy.
my wife had this little game some time back where she tried to slip Splenda past me in various forms – drinks, yogurt, baked goods, etc. i caught it every single time. or rather my taste buds instantly recoiled in horror every time.
interestingly now she can’t stand the stuff.
Splenda, Stevia, Truvia, Equal, Sweet and Low – it’s all the same to me and it’s all hideous.
regular soda is just too sweet but i will take it any day over any diet soda.
frankly i would just rather have the fizzy mineral water.
I can taste the bitterness and I rather like the taste. Most things sweetened with sugar taste too sweet to me. Then again, I don’t put sugar in my coffee or iced tea, and if I drink a cocktail I like Campari and soda. I eat radishes by the bunch. Don’t know why, but I like the taste of bitter things. (I’m sure there’s a metaphor in there somewhere).
Different brands of Stevia taste very different. I add stevia to my morning cuppa and with the brand I use, I only need a very tiny amount. It comes with a scoop and it’s really quite small. I can not find it in any grocery stores, so I order it online.
I would never use the brand Truvia and it contains a lot of additives, some of which provide bulk. Aim for a brand that contains no bulk ingredients. Most grocery store brands include additives and bulking ingredients.
Also, if you add too much stevia to something, the bitterness will be quite pronounced. If you are using very concentrated stevia (which is what I use), you really only need a tiny amount and this is important. We who grew up using spoonfuls to sugar need time to adjust to using such a tiny amount of stevia.
I’d take that bet in a second. I’ve tried all kinds of sweeteners in all kinds of foods. Can’t stomach any of them. Recoil every time and have to eat or drink something immediately to try and get rid of the taste. Some people just have different taste buds. Gluten free fake baked goods or pasta won’t work either. Yes. I like cilantro.
While there are certainly some genetic differences in taste buds and sensitivity to different foods, I also suspect that there’s some posturing going on, too. I mean, “I’m just too pure to not notice an artificial sweetener - they can’t pull a fast one on me!” is kind of a humblebrag. I wonder how much is the effect from knowing the thing is an artificial sweetener (cue the smelling salts!) in the first place. It’s kind of déclassé to be like me, who thinks it’s all just fine and doesn’t see any reason not to use any of it in moderation.
