Each of us probably has a memory of the first time we smelled vanilla. Twisting off the tiny cap, leaning in for a sniff, and inhaling that heavenly aroma. It's a smell associated with birthday cakes, cookies, and all things delicious, and little did we know how that moment would be the start of a beautiful relationship. What kind of vanilla do you have in your cupboard?
The role of vanilla in sweet baked goods is like the role of salt on the savory side: it enhances all the other flavors in the recipe. Without it, cookies and cakes tend to taste flat and bland. Forget to add the vanilla once, and you'll probably never do it again!
Vanilla extract is made by steeping whole vanilla beans in a mixture of alcohol and water. Both the seeds inside the pod and the pod itself give flavor to the extract, and letting them age together for a while makes the flavor deeper and more complex. If you have vanilla beans (or even just their pods) to use up, try your hand at making your own extract.
Cakes to cookies, marshmallows to buttercream frosting: none of these recipes is complete without a drop of vanilla extract. It seems like such a small, almost trivial ingredient in comparison to the rest of the recipe, but we are mighty glad it's there!
What's your favorite brand of vanilla extract?
Related: What's the Difference? Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Beans, and Vanilla Paste
(Images: Flickr member ginnerobot licensed under Creative Commons and Emma Christensen)
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I also have the memory of when I first tasted plain vanilla extract, ick. Talk about something not tasting like it smells! Nielsen Massey is my go to vanilla.
I remember doing the same thing as WaterLily81 and making a pucker face . Such a disapointment. Mind you, I still love the stuff, I just wouldn't have a shooter. :)
I've been making my own since January... I was gifted some moonshine for the holidays, and I certainly wasn't going to drink the stuff.
Definitely haven't had to buy extract for few years now. It's so easy to make, you can control the quality, and it's cheaper.
Yep, a scraped vanilla bean or two in a mason jar of (inexpensive) bourbon is my preferred 'brand'. I replace the vanilla beans periodically and top up the alcohol when it gets low.
Haha yes the first taste of pure extract was a strong lesson in things not tasting like they smell...that, lotion, and the first time I chomped down on a couple lemon seeds expecting the tastiest little lemon morsel. I was not a smart child.
I have always preferred Watkins Vanilla Extract. Adds a wonderful flavor.
Usually use NeilsenMassey -- they have several to choose from -- Tahitian, Mexican, Bourbon.
But after years in Europe, I started using vanilla as they do in France: buy vanilla pods and use the seeds directly in custards, and use the pods to flavour vanilla sugar.
Love vanilla, but that moment with almond extract really sticks out for me more! It involved mama, xmas cookies, and a cookie press... and sneaking dough of course!
I've recently converted to making my own, also. I've been using vodka because it has little flavor of its own. Does it matter what kind of alcohol you use?
I stick with the Mexican vanilla. I managed to bring a bottle of Haitian vanilla back with me the last time I was there, and that stuff was phenomenal! Haven't been able to find it in the states though. Darn it!
I use the beans - I like the flecks in cakes and custards
I like either vanilla paste (nielsen massey) or powder (I think cook's brand) Neither has alcohol and I keep a dry house.
Make sure you avoid the artificial Mexican vanilla. It's made with paper pulp and all sorts of disgusting stuff--it is cheap but avoid it at all costs. True pure Mexican vanilla is wonderful but expensive. I use vanilla if I am using a boxed mix, which is rare. I always thought if you put a dab of vanilla behind your ears the guys would follow you anywhere. Then some perfume people had the same idea. Love vanilla.
I forget where I read a blind taste test done where, for normal baked goods (cookies, cakes. not super delicate pastries) almost unanimously, people always chose artificial vanilla flavored baked goods as what they thought was real vanilla. The flavor it leaves behind is stronger and more what we associate with vanilla. Plus its way cheaper, so now I use that in most baked goods. The same was not true for unbaked things- marshmallows, frostings, etc- real vanilla won hands down there. Food for thought.
I've made lovely vanilla extract using vodka before, but whenever I try bourbon - be it good bourbon or bad - it never stops tasting and smelling like bourbon, no matter how I pack in the vanilla beans. Any thoughts? Because I've definitely had good bourbon vanilla extract. I just can't seem to make it.
i've been making my own for a few years now. i typically do a mix of bourbon vodka rum and brandy (depending on what I have available) i put roughly 1 split bean (less than a buck each on ebay!!) to every 50 mL , shake every few days initially and less after the first month. and let steep for 3 or more months. i then take out the beans about a month before i need to use it. seems to mellow the alcohol a bit. the beans are dried and added to sugar to make vanilla sugar. if you time it right you will never be without.
i personally cant tell the difference between which beans i've used (never done a side by side test). but i think its as good if not better than store bought.
I always thought "Bourbon" in the context of Vanilla was something to do with it's place of origin?
gleeseed- it is. It doesn't mean it was steeped in bourbon. Bourbon refers to the island that the beans came from (like madagascar vanilla refers to madagascar the island)
Yeah that's what I thought JMORRI26. I was just getting a bit confused reading some of the comments.