Hi Doris,
DD>expensive.  I use a fair bit of Splenda because you can cook with it.
DD>Aspartame and Sodium Cyclamate loses all flavour if you heat it.
  That's why stevia is making huge inroads in other countries. It's
  cheap and easy to grow, and remains stable when heated. However, I
  seriously doubt if its mechanical properties , such as sugar in cakes
  and pastries, approach that of sugar. Since we don't need the vast
  quantities of sugar required to act with gels to "set" jams and
  jellies , indeed, are harmed by them, and since the industry has
  already responded with "triple fruit" jams that have more fruit and
  less sugar (and are more liquid as well), we may try stevia with
  benefit. As with any new product, experimentation is called for. I
  doubt if we'll see any Stevia jam for a long while yet. :-)
   Richter's Herbs sell stevia, but be warned - I had to treat my plants
   at least 3 times with a hort. oil for summer use to rid my plants of
   tiny strange bugs that came with them.
   The newest substitute is an oil one - Olestra. The modified oil is
   referred to by one manufacturer as Olean. This is a dangerous
   substitute that should never have received the official blessing of
   the FDA or the FPB. It causes diarrhea almost immediately in a
   significant minority of users, it depletes the body of essential fat-
   carried elements, and NO ONE knows what longterm use will lead to,
   especially among fanatical dieters seeking fat free foods. But we can
   forsee children failing to grow, and other developmental problems
   associated with insufficient Vit A, D, E, as well as fat itself.
   Some "cures" are worse than the original problems themselves.
                    ...Sandra...
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