BAKERY REVIEW
F E A T U R E
Just Make it
Naturally Sweet By Jhuma Biswas
D
espite the powerful health conscious wave among the middle and upper middle income segment of India during the recent years, sugar still remains one of the chief ingredients of India’s bakery industry. However, at the same time, with the growth of health consciousness, the usage of natural sweeteners is also on the rise in India. It is common knowledge that added sugar in diet gives you excess calories without any nutritional benefit. This can lead to an increased body weight, which in turn can lead you towards greater risk of high blood pressure and diabetes. Therefore with health consciousness in the post-modern Indian society gaining ground, there has been lots of talk and practice of usage of natural sweeteners as sugar substitutes in the country’s food & beverage industry, which of course includes India’s bakery and confectionery industry too. Honey, maple syrup, dates, stevia and coconut sugar are some examples of natural sweeteners, whose extensive use in dessert
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preparations can reduce the usage of sugar and other artificial sweeteners in their preparations.
Sweet, Green and Healthy Stevia, also called meethi tulsi in Hindi, is a natural, plant-based sweetener with zero calories. Stevia, a wonderful natural sugar substitute, is extracted from the leaves of the plant species named Stevia rebaudiana, which is also commonly known as stevia. According to Wikipedia, Stevia rebaudiana is a plant species in the genus Stevia of the sunflower family. S tev i a re b a u d i a n a i s n at i ve to Paraguay and Brazil in South America. Guaraní peoples of South America have been using the stevia plant for more than 1500 years, who refer to it as sweet herb. These days, the plant is grown mainly in Brazil, Paraguay, China and Japan. Stevia has application as a natural sugar substitute and flavouring ingredient for hundreds of years. In both Brazil and Paraguay, the leaves of stevia plant have been used for hundreds of years to sweeten local teas and medicines. Stevia is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar and contains eight glycosides. The active compounds of stevia are steviol glycosides (mainly stevioside and rebaudioside), which are endowed with 30 to 150 times sweetness of sugar. Moreover, they are heat-stable, pHstable, and not fermentable. Stevia is spruced with several health benefits. It can regulate blood sugar levels in human body. Thus stevia can be a convenient replacement for sugar, especially for diabetic and calorie conscious population. Stevia also has an impressive content of antioxidant compounds, and thus its intake can
be helpful for prevention of various types of cancers. Glycoside compounds in stevia can facilitate to do away with free radicals in the body, a process which can help prevent germination of cancer cells. The marketing of stevia as a food additive was banned by United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987. However, in 1995, stevia regained its status as a sweet and sustainable dietary ingredient. Since the last two decades the natural sweetener’s popularity has soared. Today stevia is used as a sweetener in more than 16,000 food and beverages around the globe, including soft drinks, juices, waters, flavoured milks, yogurts, baked goods, cereals, salad dressings, sauces, confectionary, tabletop sweeteners and more. Stevia can be found in three forms, which are Whole Leaf Stevia, Stevia Leaf Extracts, and Altered Stevia. These different types of stevia are based on levels of stevia’s processing. The whole leaf stevia is the least processed form of stevia, which is 30-40 times sweeter than sugar; but it is also slightly bitter. It is not approved for food and beverage use because of lack of enough safety studies. Stevia leaf extracts are 200-
Oct-Nov ’20
