WTFCF S4, E5 Bonus Scene: Splenda Stevia Farms, A New American Industry

Splenda’s new stevia farm in Florida is the first of its kind in the United States. Thousands of plants produce millions of leaves that are then turned into plant-based stevia sweetener products. But how do they get the sweet stuff out?

Splenda’s new stevia farm in central Florida is the first of its kind in the United States. Thousands of plants produce millions of leaves that are then turned into plant-based stevia sweetener products. But how do they get the sweet stuff out?

Science! Wait… come back! It’s not scary science, it’s actually fun. The process is much the same way sugar is produced from sugarcane — it’s mashed and boiled and the syrup becomes sugar or other products.

It is the same kind of thing with stevia, as Chip Carter demonstrates here in the Where the Food Comes From bonus scene.

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Show producer Donna Sanders shares her perspective on filming the latest episode of Where the Food Comes From at Splenda Stevia Farms, a company growing a sweet specialty crop here in the U.S. that is typically imported from overseas.
What does Splenda have to do with farming? Sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia are plant-based — so they are just not sugar, but are comprised of those other plants also grown on farms.
Where the Food Comes From producer Donna Sanders takes us along on a behind-the-scenes look at filming the show’s newest episode, “Clemson Blue,” where university cheesemakers reveal how they put the “blue” in their award-winning blue cheese.
It is in there, the mold — those rich blue veins in creamy blue cheese that make you either love it or loathe it — but how does it get there? This bonus scene from “Clemson Dairy,” Season 4, Episode 4 of Where the Food Comes From, explains how and why that happens.
No, it is not some new college course — Clemson has been making blue cheese since 1941, and the product has developed a worldwide following and won some pretty big awards. With good reason — it is fantastic stuff. It is also fascinating to see how it is made. Check out this sneak peek look at the latest episode of Where the Food Comes From, “Clemson Blue.”
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