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I've had cataract surgery, so am I actually reading this price correctly???
- Thread starter marilynfl
- Start date
mariadnoca
Moderator
For my every day vanilla, I buy 32 ounce at Smart and final for 40 bucks just bought some recently.
No way would I pay that.
For specialty things that require a strong vanilla flavor in the end product I use Nielsen-Massey Vanilla bean paste. It’s about $20 for 4 ozs.
No way would I pay that.
For specialty things that require a strong vanilla flavor in the end product I use Nielsen-Massey Vanilla bean paste. It’s about $20 for 4 ozs.
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
CC Taste Test
Cooks Country How We Tested (January/February 2019)
Vanilla is the world's most popular flavor and fragrance. It comes in two forms: pure vanilla extract, which is derived from the seed pods of vanilla orchid vines, and synthetic vanilla, which is manufactured in a lab. Just 1 percent of the world's vanilla flavor is “real”; the rest is imitation.
We call for vanilla widely in our recipes. When we last evaluated it in 2009, a pure vanilla won our blind taste tests. Since then, its price has skyrocketed. Pure vanilla extract from McCormick, one of the most well-known brands, costs 33 percent more now than it did back then. Meanwhile, the price of imitation vanilla has remained steady.
In the last decade, food Goliaths such as Unilever and Nestlé have moved toward using more “natural” ingredients, which has led to an increase in demand for pure extract. In 2017, a cyclone wiped out 30 percent of the vanilla crop on Madagascar, the island that produces 80 percent of the world's vanilla beans. Both factors have contributed to the price hike.
So how does all this affect the vanilla we buy at the supermarket? To find out, we rounded up 10 of the top-selling products in the country—seven pure extracts and three imitation products priced from $0.12 to $6.19 an ounce. We tasted all the products uncooked in pudding and frosting and then pitted the top-rated pure extract against the top-rated imitation product in cake and cookies. But first, we had to understand the differences between the two styles.
How Vanilla Products Are Made
A labor-intensive crop, vanilla orchids are both hand-pollinated and hand-picked, mostly on small farms. After harvesting, the beans are cured. First, they're blanched or wilted to kill yeasts and fungi, which prevent rot. This can be done in the sun, in an oven, in hot water, or in a freezer. Next, in a process known as sweating, the beans are wrapped in cloth and put in hot boxes to help develop flavor. The beans are then dried over the course of several weeks and later conditioned, or kept in closed boxes for several months, to fully mature their flavor. Vanilla extract is made by soaking the beans in liquid, typically a mixture of alcohol and water.
Conversely, the faux stuff is flavored primarily with synthesized vanillin, the main flavor component of cured vanilla beans. More than 15,000 tons of pure vanillin are industrially manufactured each year using a chemical process that starts with a substance called guaiacol. Guaiacol can be manufactured from components of clove oil, wood pulp, or other sources, but most of the world's supply is derived from petroleum. According to Matt Hartings, associate professor of chemistry at American University, the vanillin is diluted with a liquid such as alcohol or propylene glycol, and some producers add other flavorings, such as cocoa or tea extracts, for complexity of flavor. Caramel coloring is also usually added to make the clear vanillin look more like pure extract.
The Surprising Results
For the most part, our tasters could not tell the difference between real and fake vanilla flavor. Dr. Bill Carroll, adjunct professor of chemistry at Indiana University, said he's not surprised. Vanillin that is synthesized in a lab is identical at the molecular level to vanillin derived from an orchid and thus will taste the same.
We had vanillin levels tested at an independent lab and found that the imitation products ranged from 0.32 to 0.64 grams of vanillin per 100 milliliters; the pure extracts had just 0.03 to 0.10 grams per 100 milliliters—so the product with the most vanillin had 21 times as much as the product with the least. In general, we liked stronger vanilla flavor. Baker's Imitation Vanilla Flavor, which had the second-highest vanillin level at 0.58 grams per 100 milliliters, was our overall favorite. But there was something interesting about Baker's ingredient list: It included vanillin as well as ethyl vanillin. Chemists we spoke with said this vanillin has been modified to be two and a half to three times stronger; Hartings called it “superboosted.” And our tasters approved: “Lingering; smells like a vanilla bean pod,” said one.
The real vanillas were more divisive. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations require “pure vanilla extract” to contain at least 35 percent alcohol. Imitation vanilla products contain less or none at all. Some tasters liked the boozy notes, but others found the pure extracts too alcohol-forward.
Additionally, vanillin is only one of the roughly 250 flavor volatiles found in pure extract. When the flavor is extracted from the pods, everything comes along for the ride. We often liked the direction they went in—our top-rated pure extract was “floral” and “woodsy”—but sometimes the flavors were a bit askew. Notes such as banana, cotton candy, and almond weren't welcomed in a classic vanilla pudding. Overall, our tasters favored simple vanilla flavor over busier-tasting products.
So, Which Vanilla Should You Buy?
Well, it's complicated. In a head-to-head battle between our top-rated imitation vanilla product, Baker's, and our top-rated pure extract, Simply Organic Pure Vanilla Extract, the imitation product won both times. Even our editor in chief, Dan Souza (yes, I'm throwing you under the bus, Dan), came out of the cake tasting and said, “Who knew? I like imitation vanilla.” But Simply Organic was still good, as were many of the other pure extracts. Like taste in music, it's a personal choice. Do you want to listen to a soloist or a symphony? Some people will never buy an imitation vanilla because it's made from petroleum, because it's not “real,” because it's not as interesting or complex, or because they want to support small farmers. Others simply cannot justify the price of pure vanilla extract, and that's fair, too. And still others, perhaps the data-driven among us, will purchase solely based on the rankings from our blind taste tests. For that reason, we've named two winners: Baker's Imitation Vanilla Flavor ($0.98 for 8 fluid ounces) is our winning imitation vanilla product, and Simply Organic Pure Vanilla Extract ($12.99 for 4 fluid ounces) is our winning pure vanilla extract. Which team are you on?
Methodology
We tested 10 top-selling vanillas, including seven pure vanilla extracts and three imitation vanilla products, priced from $0.12 to $6.19 per fluid ounce. Tasters tried each one in our Classic Vanilla Pudding and Quick and Rich Vanilla Frosting. Then we tried the top extract and top imitation product in our Vanilla Icebox Cookies and Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake. An independent lab measured vanillin levels in grams per 100 milliliters; ingredient and bean origin information was taken from product packaging or confirmed by company representatives. Prices were paid in Boston-area supermarkets and online. We averaged the tasting scores, and products appear below in order of preference.
AND FROM 2007 - page down comments section
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/storing-vanilla-real-or-imitation.213606/
Vanilla is a critical flavoring element in both baked and custard-based desserts. Even if it is not the primary flavor, vanilla contributes depth, roundness, and balance to almost every cake and cookie we know. Naturally, then, the quality of the vanilla that goes into these cakes and cookies will have a noticeable impact on their flavor, right? For the best possible results, it stands to reason that you should reach for expensive, high-end, pure vanilla extract. Or should you?
Cook's addressed this question in a 1995 tasting of vanilla extracts, and the results left us perplexed. Most participants in that tasting, including pastry chefs and baking experts, couldn't tell the difference between imitation vanilla and the real thing: pure vanilla extract. Even though we have repeated that tasting and gotten the same results, we've never quite overcome our disbelief. So we're back again, this time tasting eight different vanillas in plain yellow butter cake and crème anglaise, a simple vanilla-flavored custard sauce. The contestants ranged from inexpensive imitation flavors (bought at a drugstore) to supermarket and boutique pure vanilla extracts that cost eight times as much. Confidently, we gathered over piles of cake and plate after plate of custard sauce and challenged our taste buds to recognize the differences that we knew must be there.
How Can This Be?
Let's cut to the chase: It happened again. Despite the widespread hue and cry in the food world about the inferiority of imitation vanilla-experts agree that it lacks the flavor nuances and subtleties of pure vanilla extract-our tasters found it to be perfectly acceptable in cake and custard. The imitation vanillas earned high enough scores to be recommended alongside all of the pure vanillas. In fact, every extract we tasted scored its way into the "recommended" category of the chart on page 27. The numerical spread in the scores of all eight vanillas was an unusually small 1.25 points (more typical of Cook's tastings is a 3- to 4-point spread, based on a scale of 10), meaning that tasters struggled to detect differences in the samples. In the cake, differences were essentially indistinguishable, and they were just barely more apparent in the custard sauce. When we really pressed tasters to declare a preference, many chose the imitation vanilla, noting that its flavor was stronger and easier to detect.
We can offer several theories to explain the success of imitation vanilla. First is the nature of vanilla flavor itself, which can be likened to that of salt. In most dishes, it's a supporting cast member, not the star. Vanilla provides ballast--smoothing, enhancing, and unifying other flavors in the dish. Against the backdrop of even mild ingredients such as the butter, sugar, eggs, and cream in our cake and custard samples, it's difficult to discern the subtleties of the vanilla. That makes it harder to distinguish imitation from pure.
Second is the miniscule quantity in which vanilla is typically used, often amounting to no more than 1 percent of the mixture by volume. When the flavor is that diluted, nuances dissipate. In fact, we used unusually generous quantities of vanilla in both the cake and the custard sauce to give our tasters a fighting chance to identify and describe the vanilla flavor.
The third theory relates to the alcohol content of pure and imitation vanillas. Alcohol is necessary to extract the hundreds of flavor and aroma compounds from vanilla beans, and, according to standards of identity set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pure vanilla must contain no less than 35 percent ethyl alcohol by volume. No such standards of identity exist for imitation vanilla, which contains far fewer flavor and aroma compounds. Imitation vanillas, then, don't need as much alcohol as pure and, in fact, usually contain less. This was the case with the two imitation samples in our lineup, CVS and McCormick. According to Richard Bobula, a flavorist at International Flavors & Fragrances, alcohol enhances, or "lifts," the delicate flavor bouquet and aroma of pure vanilla extract. Yet alcohol, whose boiling point is 173 degrees, evaporates at common baking temperatures. So when baked goods--including our butter cake--emerge from the oven, little alcohol remains to boost the flavor subtleties of pure vanilla.
Star of the Show: Vanillin
The economics of making vanilla extract also come into play. Pure vanilla extract starts with real vanilla beans, which are notoriously expensive because of the intense manual labor necessary to grow and process them. (Vanilla beans are even more expensive now than they were a couple of years ago owing to crop damage by recent cyclones in the tropical areas where the beans grow.) Although more than 400 chemical compounds contribute to the overall profile of vanilla flavor, the dominant, most recognizable compound is vanillin, which is largely responsible for vanilla's trademark sweet, creamy, fruity, and floral aroma and flavor. Vanillin occurs in the seed pods of the tropical climbing vine Vanilla planifolia, a member of the orchid family, when the pods are cured. Curing involves repeated sweating and drying of the beans, during which time they ferment and develop vanillin.
But cured beans are not the only source of vanillin. The compound can also be synthesized from eugenol (an essential oil in cloves) or, less typically, from lignin (a wood pulp byproduct of the paper-manufacturing process). On the molecular level, this synthetic vanillin is indistinguishable from natural vanillin: "Vanillin is vanillin is vanillin," said Bobula. And compared with natural vanillin, synthetic vanillin is cheap to manufacture.
The facts that synthetic vanillin is plentiful and cheap and that the FDA has not imposed standards of identity for the imitation vanilla extracts made from it set us to wondering: Could manufacturers of imitation vanilla use more synthetic vanillin in their product to boost flavor? All of the manufacturers' representatives we contacted declined to comment, saying that their formulas are proprietary. To answer our question, we sent imitation and pure vanilla samples to our lab to be analyzed for vanillin content. Sure enough, the vanillin content of the imitation sample was 3,290 mg/l (milligrams per liter), about 50 percent higher than the 2,110 mg/l in the pure extract. Finally, we had found at least one straightforward explanation for the success of imitation vanilla: It has more of the key ingredient, vanillin.
Recommendations
Simply put, there were no losers in this tasting. For use in any type of custard, our tasters' absolute favorite was the perfumey, complex flavor of real vanilla bean (see A Hill of (Vanilla) Beans). But when lack of time or availability eliminates beans as an option, or when you're baking, imitation vanilla extract delivers plenty of punch, often at a fraction of the cost of the pure stuff.
https://www.cookscountry.com/taste_tests/1924-vanilla
Cooks Country How We Tested (January/February 2019)
Vanilla is the world's most popular flavor and fragrance. It comes in two forms: pure vanilla extract, which is derived from the seed pods of vanilla orchid vines, and synthetic vanilla, which is manufactured in a lab. Just 1 percent of the world's vanilla flavor is “real”; the rest is imitation.
We call for vanilla widely in our recipes. When we last evaluated it in 2009, a pure vanilla won our blind taste tests. Since then, its price has skyrocketed. Pure vanilla extract from McCormick, one of the most well-known brands, costs 33 percent more now than it did back then. Meanwhile, the price of imitation vanilla has remained steady.
In the last decade, food Goliaths such as Unilever and Nestlé have moved toward using more “natural” ingredients, which has led to an increase in demand for pure extract. In 2017, a cyclone wiped out 30 percent of the vanilla crop on Madagascar, the island that produces 80 percent of the world's vanilla beans. Both factors have contributed to the price hike.
So how does all this affect the vanilla we buy at the supermarket? To find out, we rounded up 10 of the top-selling products in the country—seven pure extracts and three imitation products priced from $0.12 to $6.19 an ounce. We tasted all the products uncooked in pudding and frosting and then pitted the top-rated pure extract against the top-rated imitation product in cake and cookies. But first, we had to understand the differences between the two styles.
How Vanilla Products Are Made
A labor-intensive crop, vanilla orchids are both hand-pollinated and hand-picked, mostly on small farms. After harvesting, the beans are cured. First, they're blanched or wilted to kill yeasts and fungi, which prevent rot. This can be done in the sun, in an oven, in hot water, or in a freezer. Next, in a process known as sweating, the beans are wrapped in cloth and put in hot boxes to help develop flavor. The beans are then dried over the course of several weeks and later conditioned, or kept in closed boxes for several months, to fully mature their flavor. Vanilla extract is made by soaking the beans in liquid, typically a mixture of alcohol and water.
Conversely, the faux stuff is flavored primarily with synthesized vanillin, the main flavor component of cured vanilla beans. More than 15,000 tons of pure vanillin are industrially manufactured each year using a chemical process that starts with a substance called guaiacol. Guaiacol can be manufactured from components of clove oil, wood pulp, or other sources, but most of the world's supply is derived from petroleum. According to Matt Hartings, associate professor of chemistry at American University, the vanillin is diluted with a liquid such as alcohol or propylene glycol, and some producers add other flavorings, such as cocoa or tea extracts, for complexity of flavor. Caramel coloring is also usually added to make the clear vanillin look more like pure extract.
The Surprising Results
For the most part, our tasters could not tell the difference between real and fake vanilla flavor. Dr. Bill Carroll, adjunct professor of chemistry at Indiana University, said he's not surprised. Vanillin that is synthesized in a lab is identical at the molecular level to vanillin derived from an orchid and thus will taste the same.
We had vanillin levels tested at an independent lab and found that the imitation products ranged from 0.32 to 0.64 grams of vanillin per 100 milliliters; the pure extracts had just 0.03 to 0.10 grams per 100 milliliters—so the product with the most vanillin had 21 times as much as the product with the least. In general, we liked stronger vanilla flavor. Baker's Imitation Vanilla Flavor, which had the second-highest vanillin level at 0.58 grams per 100 milliliters, was our overall favorite. But there was something interesting about Baker's ingredient list: It included vanillin as well as ethyl vanillin. Chemists we spoke with said this vanillin has been modified to be two and a half to three times stronger; Hartings called it “superboosted.” And our tasters approved: “Lingering; smells like a vanilla bean pod,” said one.
The real vanillas were more divisive. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations require “pure vanilla extract” to contain at least 35 percent alcohol. Imitation vanilla products contain less or none at all. Some tasters liked the boozy notes, but others found the pure extracts too alcohol-forward.
Additionally, vanillin is only one of the roughly 250 flavor volatiles found in pure extract. When the flavor is extracted from the pods, everything comes along for the ride. We often liked the direction they went in—our top-rated pure extract was “floral” and “woodsy”—but sometimes the flavors were a bit askew. Notes such as banana, cotton candy, and almond weren't welcomed in a classic vanilla pudding. Overall, our tasters favored simple vanilla flavor over busier-tasting products.
So, Which Vanilla Should You Buy?
Well, it's complicated. In a head-to-head battle between our top-rated imitation vanilla product, Baker's, and our top-rated pure extract, Simply Organic Pure Vanilla Extract, the imitation product won both times. Even our editor in chief, Dan Souza (yes, I'm throwing you under the bus, Dan), came out of the cake tasting and said, “Who knew? I like imitation vanilla.” But Simply Organic was still good, as were many of the other pure extracts. Like taste in music, it's a personal choice. Do you want to listen to a soloist or a symphony? Some people will never buy an imitation vanilla because it's made from petroleum, because it's not “real,” because it's not as interesting or complex, or because they want to support small farmers. Others simply cannot justify the price of pure vanilla extract, and that's fair, too. And still others, perhaps the data-driven among us, will purchase solely based on the rankings from our blind taste tests. For that reason, we've named two winners: Baker's Imitation Vanilla Flavor ($0.98 for 8 fluid ounces) is our winning imitation vanilla product, and Simply Organic Pure Vanilla Extract ($12.99 for 4 fluid ounces) is our winning pure vanilla extract. Which team are you on?
Methodology
We tested 10 top-selling vanillas, including seven pure vanilla extracts and three imitation vanilla products, priced from $0.12 to $6.19 per fluid ounce. Tasters tried each one in our Classic Vanilla Pudding and Quick and Rich Vanilla Frosting. Then we tried the top extract and top imitation product in our Vanilla Icebox Cookies and Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake. An independent lab measured vanillin levels in grams per 100 milliliters; ingredient and bean origin information was taken from product packaging or confirmed by company representatives. Prices were paid in Boston-area supermarkets and online. We averaged the tasting scores, and products appear below in order of preference.
AND FROM 2007 - page down comments section
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/storing-vanilla-real-or-imitation.213606/
Vanilla is a critical flavoring element in both baked and custard-based desserts. Even if it is not the primary flavor, vanilla contributes depth, roundness, and balance to almost every cake and cookie we know. Naturally, then, the quality of the vanilla that goes into these cakes and cookies will have a noticeable impact on their flavor, right? For the best possible results, it stands to reason that you should reach for expensive, high-end, pure vanilla extract. Or should you?
Cook's addressed this question in a 1995 tasting of vanilla extracts, and the results left us perplexed. Most participants in that tasting, including pastry chefs and baking experts, couldn't tell the difference between imitation vanilla and the real thing: pure vanilla extract. Even though we have repeated that tasting and gotten the same results, we've never quite overcome our disbelief. So we're back again, this time tasting eight different vanillas in plain yellow butter cake and crème anglaise, a simple vanilla-flavored custard sauce. The contestants ranged from inexpensive imitation flavors (bought at a drugstore) to supermarket and boutique pure vanilla extracts that cost eight times as much. Confidently, we gathered over piles of cake and plate after plate of custard sauce and challenged our taste buds to recognize the differences that we knew must be there.
How Can This Be?
Let's cut to the chase: It happened again. Despite the widespread hue and cry in the food world about the inferiority of imitation vanilla-experts agree that it lacks the flavor nuances and subtleties of pure vanilla extract-our tasters found it to be perfectly acceptable in cake and custard. The imitation vanillas earned high enough scores to be recommended alongside all of the pure vanillas. In fact, every extract we tasted scored its way into the "recommended" category of the chart on page 27. The numerical spread in the scores of all eight vanillas was an unusually small 1.25 points (more typical of Cook's tastings is a 3- to 4-point spread, based on a scale of 10), meaning that tasters struggled to detect differences in the samples. In the cake, differences were essentially indistinguishable, and they were just barely more apparent in the custard sauce. When we really pressed tasters to declare a preference, many chose the imitation vanilla, noting that its flavor was stronger and easier to detect.
We can offer several theories to explain the success of imitation vanilla. First is the nature of vanilla flavor itself, which can be likened to that of salt. In most dishes, it's a supporting cast member, not the star. Vanilla provides ballast--smoothing, enhancing, and unifying other flavors in the dish. Against the backdrop of even mild ingredients such as the butter, sugar, eggs, and cream in our cake and custard samples, it's difficult to discern the subtleties of the vanilla. That makes it harder to distinguish imitation from pure.
Second is the miniscule quantity in which vanilla is typically used, often amounting to no more than 1 percent of the mixture by volume. When the flavor is that diluted, nuances dissipate. In fact, we used unusually generous quantities of vanilla in both the cake and the custard sauce to give our tasters a fighting chance to identify and describe the vanilla flavor.
The third theory relates to the alcohol content of pure and imitation vanillas. Alcohol is necessary to extract the hundreds of flavor and aroma compounds from vanilla beans, and, according to standards of identity set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pure vanilla must contain no less than 35 percent ethyl alcohol by volume. No such standards of identity exist for imitation vanilla, which contains far fewer flavor and aroma compounds. Imitation vanillas, then, don't need as much alcohol as pure and, in fact, usually contain less. This was the case with the two imitation samples in our lineup, CVS and McCormick. According to Richard Bobula, a flavorist at International Flavors & Fragrances, alcohol enhances, or "lifts," the delicate flavor bouquet and aroma of pure vanilla extract. Yet alcohol, whose boiling point is 173 degrees, evaporates at common baking temperatures. So when baked goods--including our butter cake--emerge from the oven, little alcohol remains to boost the flavor subtleties of pure vanilla.
Star of the Show: Vanillin
The economics of making vanilla extract also come into play. Pure vanilla extract starts with real vanilla beans, which are notoriously expensive because of the intense manual labor necessary to grow and process them. (Vanilla beans are even more expensive now than they were a couple of years ago owing to crop damage by recent cyclones in the tropical areas where the beans grow.) Although more than 400 chemical compounds contribute to the overall profile of vanilla flavor, the dominant, most recognizable compound is vanillin, which is largely responsible for vanilla's trademark sweet, creamy, fruity, and floral aroma and flavor. Vanillin occurs in the seed pods of the tropical climbing vine Vanilla planifolia, a member of the orchid family, when the pods are cured. Curing involves repeated sweating and drying of the beans, during which time they ferment and develop vanillin.
But cured beans are not the only source of vanillin. The compound can also be synthesized from eugenol (an essential oil in cloves) or, less typically, from lignin (a wood pulp byproduct of the paper-manufacturing process). On the molecular level, this synthetic vanillin is indistinguishable from natural vanillin: "Vanillin is vanillin is vanillin," said Bobula. And compared with natural vanillin, synthetic vanillin is cheap to manufacture.
The facts that synthetic vanillin is plentiful and cheap and that the FDA has not imposed standards of identity for the imitation vanilla extracts made from it set us to wondering: Could manufacturers of imitation vanilla use more synthetic vanillin in their product to boost flavor? All of the manufacturers' representatives we contacted declined to comment, saying that their formulas are proprietary. To answer our question, we sent imitation and pure vanilla samples to our lab to be analyzed for vanillin content. Sure enough, the vanillin content of the imitation sample was 3,290 mg/l (milligrams per liter), about 50 percent higher than the 2,110 mg/l in the pure extract. Finally, we had found at least one straightforward explanation for the success of imitation vanilla: It has more of the key ingredient, vanillin.
Recommendations
Simply put, there were no losers in this tasting. For use in any type of custard, our tasters' absolute favorite was the perfumey, complex flavor of real vanilla bean (see A Hill of (Vanilla) Beans). But when lack of time or availability eliminates beans as an option, or when you're baking, imitation vanilla extract delivers plenty of punch, often at a fraction of the cost of the pure stuff.
https://www.cookscountry.com/taste_tests/1924-vanilla
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
Argument for Imitation Vanilla
"But in her book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, culinary historian Sarah Lohman makes the argument that there are times when imitation vanilla extract is actually preferable to pure. "I believe there is a time and place to use every version of vanilla in your kitchen: Bean, natural extract, and imitation extract," she writes. Vanillin is the naturally occurring chemical compound that we recognize as the primary aroma and taste of vanilla. And although real vanilla extract is made up of vanillin (plus lesser compounds that add to its varying levels of complexity), sometimes the vanillin is all you need to spark that familiar flavor.
To prove her point, Lohman conducted a taste test at the Brooklyn Brainery, a hub for recreational adult classes and workshops. She baked two sets of cookies, one with real vanilla extract and one with imitation. The audience preferred the imitation cookies 2:1. The reason, Lohman says, is that all the little compounds that make up that complex natural vanilla flavor can't survive high-heat cooking, and so add little to cookies—which cook to an internal temperature of about 300°F. Using imitation vanilla extract, a product made of synthetic vanillin, results in a cookie with more pronounced flavor.
Lohman recommends using vanilla beans for puddings and custards, which cook to a much lower temperature."
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/real-vanilla-extract-versus-imitation-vanilla-extract-baking-cookies-article
"But in her book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, culinary historian Sarah Lohman makes the argument that there are times when imitation vanilla extract is actually preferable to pure. "I believe there is a time and place to use every version of vanilla in your kitchen: Bean, natural extract, and imitation extract," she writes. Vanillin is the naturally occurring chemical compound that we recognize as the primary aroma and taste of vanilla. And although real vanilla extract is made up of vanillin (plus lesser compounds that add to its varying levels of complexity), sometimes the vanillin is all you need to spark that familiar flavor.
To prove her point, Lohman conducted a taste test at the Brooklyn Brainery, a hub for recreational adult classes and workshops. She baked two sets of cookies, one with real vanilla extract and one with imitation. The audience preferred the imitation cookies 2:1. The reason, Lohman says, is that all the little compounds that make up that complex natural vanilla flavor can't survive high-heat cooking, and so add little to cookies—which cook to an internal temperature of about 300°F. Using imitation vanilla extract, a product made of synthetic vanillin, results in a cookie with more pronounced flavor.
Lohman recommends using vanilla beans for puddings and custards, which cook to a much lower temperature."
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/real-vanilla-extract-versus-imitation-vanilla-extract-baking-cookies-article
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
Harvard Weighs In on Artificial Vanilla
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/the-flavor-rundown-natural-vs-artificial-flavors/
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/the-flavor-rundown-natural-vs-artificial-flavors/
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
Make your own vanilla extract
I am thinking about making individual small vanilla batches with cognac, rum and bourbon, instead of the vodka CI recommends. Using parts of a single bean, scaling the alcohol down. In tiny jars smileys/wink.gif I've even read that Myers Rum is a good substrate. Not making desserts very often anymore so I don't know if I actually will carry this experiment out. I have plenty of Penzy's and Kirkland vanilla extracts for our current needs. C
From Cook’s Illustrated, A Better Brand of Vanilla Extract: Your Own, September 1, 2009.
Could our homemade vanilla extract beat out the store-bought brands? Most of vanilla’s flavor compounds are soluble in either water or alcohol, so the most shelf-stable form of vanilla is vanilla extract, produced by soaking vanilla beans in a solution of 65 percent water and at least 35 percent alcohol. We wondered if we could make our own vanilla extract by soaking a split vanilla bean in heated vodka (which would contribute very little of its own flavor). After testing several ratios of vanilla beans to vodka, we arrived at 1 bean per ¾ cup of vodka as the proportion most closely resembling the potency of our recommended store-bought brand, McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract. We then tested our homemade extract against this supermarket product in sugar cookies, crème brûlée, and vanilla buttercream frosting. In each case, our extract outperformed the commercial version, boasting cleaner, more intense vanilla flavor.
Cooks illustrated offers their own variation of a hot-soak recipe:
To make vanilla extract, split a fresh bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and split pod in a 1-cup sealable container. Add ¾ cup hot vodka (we used Smirnoff—a premium brand is not necessary) and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Seal the container and store at room temperature for one week, shaking gently every day. Strain the extract, if desired, and store in a cool, dark place. The extract should keep indefinitely.
http://www.vanillareview.com/2009/cooks-illustrated-prefers-homemade-vanilla-extract/
I am thinking about making individual small vanilla batches with cognac, rum and bourbon, instead of the vodka CI recommends. Using parts of a single bean, scaling the alcohol down. In tiny jars smileys/wink.gif I've even read that Myers Rum is a good substrate. Not making desserts very often anymore so I don't know if I actually will carry this experiment out. I have plenty of Penzy's and Kirkland vanilla extracts for our current needs. C
From Cook’s Illustrated, A Better Brand of Vanilla Extract: Your Own, September 1, 2009.
Could our homemade vanilla extract beat out the store-bought brands? Most of vanilla’s flavor compounds are soluble in either water or alcohol, so the most shelf-stable form of vanilla is vanilla extract, produced by soaking vanilla beans in a solution of 65 percent water and at least 35 percent alcohol. We wondered if we could make our own vanilla extract by soaking a split vanilla bean in heated vodka (which would contribute very little of its own flavor). After testing several ratios of vanilla beans to vodka, we arrived at 1 bean per ¾ cup of vodka as the proportion most closely resembling the potency of our recommended store-bought brand, McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract. We then tested our homemade extract against this supermarket product in sugar cookies, crème brûlée, and vanilla buttercream frosting. In each case, our extract outperformed the commercial version, boasting cleaner, more intense vanilla flavor.
Cooks illustrated offers their own variation of a hot-soak recipe:
To make vanilla extract, split a fresh bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and split pod in a 1-cup sealable container. Add ¾ cup hot vodka (we used Smirnoff—a premium brand is not necessary) and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Seal the container and store at room temperature for one week, shaking gently every day. Strain the extract, if desired, and store in a cool, dark place. The extract should keep indefinitely.
http://www.vanillareview.com/2009/cooks-illustrated-prefers-homemade-vanilla-extract/
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
$1.99 for 2oz real vanilla extract in 2007
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/storing-vanilla-real-or-imitation.213606/
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/storing-vanilla-real-or-imitation.213606/
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
Michael in Phoenix recommends Molina brand Mexican vanilla - mix of real and artificial
From Michael: "It is a Mexican brand called "Molina" that is readily available in Mexican markets (and some Krogers markets). It is CHEAP, has no coumarin and tastes like what we know as traditional vanilla.
It is delicious in baked goods and non-baked desserts like whipped cream and such."
See link to order on Amazon but I have found it even cheaper on Walmart and Target websites. Colleen
https://finerkitchens.com/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=265580
From Michael: "It is a Mexican brand called "Molina" that is readily available in Mexican markets (and some Krogers markets). It is CHEAP, has no coumarin and tastes like what we know as traditional vanilla.
It is delicious in baked goods and non-baked desserts like whipped cream and such."
See link to order on Amazon but I have found it even cheaper on Walmart and Target websites. Colleen
https://finerkitchens.com/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=265580
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
I recently paid over $30 for 4oz Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste at Sur la Table
Currently on sale at 20% off With FALL19 promo code! Colleen
https://www.surlatable.com/pure-madagascar-vanilla-bean-paste-4-oz/PRO-114421.html
Currently on sale at 20% off With FALL19 promo code! Colleen
https://www.surlatable.com/pure-madagascar-vanilla-bean-paste-4-oz/PRO-114421.html
mariadnoca
Moderator
Also depends on what taste you like. I can taste the difference.
For example I seriously don’t like Tahitian vanilla. I’m also not a fan of eating wood pulp by products. Tasters may think imitation vanilla is more vanilla-y, but I don’t like it’s taste.
I haven’t tried Walmart great value brand of vanilla, but I have tasted their lemon extract which is simply awful compared to McCormick. It was so bad I threw it out, so it’s all a matter of what tastes good to you.
I’m picky.
For example I seriously don’t like Tahitian vanilla. I’m also not a fan of eating wood pulp by products. Tasters may think imitation vanilla is more vanilla-y, but I don’t like it’s taste.
I haven’t tried Walmart great value brand of vanilla, but I have tasted their lemon extract which is simply awful compared to McCormick. It was so bad I threw it out, so it’s all a matter of what tastes good to you.
I’m picky.