What is Vanilla Extract?
Vanilla extract is a very complicated product. It consists of over 250 compounds and is the only flavor/extract in America which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strict standards of identity. Vanilla extracts are made using vanilla beans, alcohol, and water. The majority of vanilla extracts on the retail market are a single-fold vanilla. This means the manufacturer must use 13.35 ounces of ground vanilla beans per gallon and have at least 35% alcohol. Make sure your label says: "Vanilla Extract" and not "Vanilla Flavor or Blend."
What is Artificial/ Imitation Vanilla?
Artificial vanilla is not made with vanilla beans and is manufactured with a by-product from the paper industry. It is also produced from artificial flavors. The two most commonly used chemicals are lignin vanillin or ethyl vanillin. Lignin vanillin is a by-product of the paper industry and is chemically treated to achieve a vanilla flavor. Ethyl vanillin is a coal derivative. |
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Extraction : Vanilla Facts : Growing Regions : History : FAQs
- The definition of the word vanilla is "little pod" in Spanish.
- The Aztecs called vanilla tlilxóchitl, meaning black flower, which indicates that they were more interested in the cured bean, which is a dark brown, rather than the flower itself which is a greenish white.
- Vanilla is extracted from the cured pods (beans) of the orchid flowers from vanilla vines.
- The vanilla vine is an orchid which is indigenous to South Eastern Mexico and dates, in the West, to Cortez's conquest of the Aztec Kingdom in 1519.
- French vanilla beans have the distinction of being called "Bourbon" Vanilla because the cultivation first started on the island of Reunion, East of Madagascar. At the time, it was known as the "Island of Bourbon."
- A few drops of vanilla will cut the acidity of tomato-based foods.
- Just like the grapes that make wine, no two vanilla beans are the same in flavor, aroma, or color. It is possible to grow the same vanilla vine in Madagascar, Indonesia, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea and India, but all five cured beans would have their own distinctive flavor due to differing soil and climate conditions.
- The aroma of vanilla is known as calming, relaxing and sensual - making vanilla an aphrodisiac.
- A 1990's study of patients undergoing tests at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York found that the scent of vanilla soothed patients -- especially while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging.
- In some cultures, vanilla was a sacred medicinal herb, used to heal and soothe.
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- Dr. John King wrote in the American Dispensatory of 1859, "vanilla is an aromatic stimulant useful in infusions for treating hysteria, rheumatism and low forms of fever. It is said to exhilarate the brain, increase muscular energy and stimulate sexual propensities."
- Spiders don't like vanilla. Use whole vanilla beans to drive away those eight-legged creatures.
- With a love of botany and cooking, President Thomas Jefferson was the first American to bring vanilla to the United States. Jefferson brought vanilla beans home to the US in 1789 following his tenure as ambassador to France.
- The United States is the largest consumer of vanilla in the world, followed by Europe (France represents most of European consumption).
- To accentuate flavors, add a few drops of vanilla to most recipes that contain fruit, vegetables, meat, or fish.
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