I will attempt to acquire some, since I’m in Israel and that’s pretty close to Africa, so the shipping wouldn’t kill me.  When I do, I’ll have more to say about how it tastes and how to use it in actual cooking.  I’m told though, that it is often used to sweeten drinks, and help kids to wean from their mother’s milk.  This may have something to do with the sweetening chemical in it being a protein.  For this reason, it may also help chronic overeaters who often binge on dairy or meats to stick to their diet more easily.

By the way, it is better to get the actual oubli berries (Pentadipandra brazzeana Baillon), than to buy the chemical brazzein.  The company claiming rights to the extract have committed biopiracy in that they’re not giving credit or money to the people who actually gather or farm it.

Companies growing/selling oubli berries:

• Fruits Traders Ltd. in Cameroon
• Elisons International

Do you sell oubli berries?  Contact us.

You can find some at the following online shops:

• Jarvis Fresh Fruits and Trees
• Red River
• Donna’s Produce
• Fain’s
• Carson Ann’s Syrup

You can also grow your own ribbon cane by ordering plants from Chewing Cane.

If you make ribbon cane syrup for sale, please write us with your business information so we can list you here.

Aside of making food sweeter, the herb helps the body to regulate blood sugar.  Isolating the steviosides and selling them as sweeteners may not be harmful in and of itself, but it can be indirectly.  Overuse of artificial sweeteners of any kind will mess up a person’s ability to tell when they’ve had enough carbohydrates.

Whole herb stevia or stevia extract made from the actual leaf has a failsafe: a horridly nauseating bittersweetness that kicks in once you’ve put too much in your mouth.  Stevia herb is 300 times sweeter than sugar by weight, and if you ever put a piece of the dried leaf in your mouth, you know what I mean.  It will knock you on your butt, and you won’t get used to it.  You will likely never want to experience it again, so you’ll heed the warnings in the future to add only a little at a time until whatever you’re using it in is just sweet enough.

Steviosides without the rest of the herb don’t have this bitterness.  So if you use them, you’re at risk of breaking your brain’s ability to tell you when you’ve had too much sugar, honey, potatoes, rice, or just about anything else sweet.

Rather than use a stevia derived sweetener, stick to steeping the whole leaf, or using the powdered whole herb.  This way you have no risk of overuse, and you’re getting the full benefits of the herb.