We did a vanilla test in culinary school. Using Cookies, cakes and creme pastries. Cookies and cakes people preferred artificial vanilla with vanillin powder. Real vanilla extract or artificial vanilla extract would get lost in these applications. When it comes to custards, real vanilla won all the time with its complex flavour but if you used too much, it gave the custards a bit of alcohol flavour. So the best way is to have a mixture of both. If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, cut that amount down to 1/2 tps and add 1/4 teaspoon of vanillin powder.
@@chickentender4037 For custards only to avoid the overly "alcoholic" taste but still getting the vanilla to come thru. Cakes and cookies stick with artificial vanilla extract or vanillin powder. Don't waste real vanilla on things that will be baked or cooked at high temp. Also, remember vanillin powder is very strong and must be used sparingly. So if a recipe calls for 1 tea spoon of extract, only use around 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. of powder.
I was a pastry chef at the FourSeasons in Milan and we would carefully scrape the beans and add the seeds directly to the pastry cream. Mostly to show the costumers we were using real beans. The scraped left overs were boiled in milk and squeezed. That milk was delicious and we would use it for whatever was needed. We were using also a brand of butter that came with Vanilla scent but no traces of dots in it and we would use that for croissants and pain au chocolat that we were doing from scratch ( also delicious). I LOVE VANILLA
I was a cooking specialty shop starring at the bottles if vanilla extract, vanilla paste, and vanilla beans. The owner came over and said the paste was made from the entire bean (figuring I was wondering why vanilla bean scraping/paste were so cheap). He said it was used when the flecks were visually desirable.
Two problems: I LOVE these btw, keep them up! When you made the icing, you needed to use the fresh bean. I bet it was lost in the baking process but probably would have shined in the uncooked catégorie 2) you add the EXACT SAME AMOUNTS! Different products need differing amounts. Maybe you couldn’t taste it well as it was too little or even to much. In the cookie and pancake, more vanilla powder was probably needed to make the flavor better. My friend lived in Madagascar for years, a great home baker, still buys pods in bulk form friends there, but swears by vanilla powder, just have to use a little more. And wish you had clarified that in the real vanilla extract from the Mexican Vanilla obviously tasted better in the pancake than in the icing it must have been to strong ‘raw’, but that same strength made it shine in the pancake when the alcohol cooked off, I would guess. From your biggest expat fan in Burundi, Africa! 🙌
Vanilla being synonymous with "boring" is one of the greatest injustices of our time. It's a truly unique and wonderful ingredient, thoroughly enjoyed this!
Very surprised you didn't also include something like a custard or ice cream in your tests. In my experience, especially making a custard, the bean is the way to go.
Seriously! I've been watching Ethan for at least 3 years now and his videos have always been really cool, kind of an every-man youtuber (that is a compliment btw, sorry if it sounds like a diss). However, I feel like he really found his niche lately with the San Marzano, the Parmesan, and now this vanilla comparison. Watching him discuss recipes, pickle onions, or try to beat a fast food favorite in time and quality is entertaining and interesting. But these comparative investigations are amazingly insightful and helpful for real world applications. They satisfy my curiosity while still somehow leaving me hungry for more! I've always unconsciously wondered this about vanilla (as well as both the Parm and San Marzano differences), being someone who loves to bake (and eat pasta), and now I wonder how many times I wasted money on various extracts when baking items that require a long time in the oven or even missed out not sourcing more exotic versions like Mexican vanilla, seeing as how Madagascan and Tahitian dominate the market (which is ironic considering Mexico is vanilla's place of origin). Seems like, even though it's shunned by most pro bakers, imitation is probably best for high temperature/long cook times and extracts are best for everything not cooked or at least for very long/at high temperatures. That said, I am now curious if a combination has any merits for certain applications or even separately, for instance using imitation in a cake batter but using high quality and complex extract for the frosting of that cake. Brilliant and helpful deep dive!
I'm trying to remember which food-science/dubunker youtuber just did this topic 3 months ago. I think the punch line was: once it reaches a temp that removes the alcohol, there's no chemical difference between vanilla bean and paper pulp extract.
To use the real vanilla beans properly, you would infuse your butter or your cream with vanilla before using the butter or the cream in the recipe. The smell and taste would be much stronger, and it would be a legit candidate in the tests! PS. By infusing, I mean cooking the vanilla bean inside the heavy cream for a little bit with the seeds extracted and the pod inside.
@@dudbud7872 I agree 100%. The infusion time is the key when you use vanilla beans. I often do vanilla sugar by adding one or two opened beans in a jar full of sugar. Wait one month or longer, and the sugar will get a strong vanilla flavor. Then you'll just have to use the sugar in your pancakes, cookies etc.
Like Ilya says: you need to scape the beans out of the pod and the cook BOTH the beans and the pod together, usually in milk or cream. Vanilla is shy and will not share its flavor unless you make a very long argument telling it to let it go. On its own, it's a bit like dropping a bay leaf in soup while it's still in a sealed glass jar. I know it sounds nuts, but, left to its own devices, vanilla will keep its flavor to itself. The best is to use extract in the milk or cream and heat a pod or two in that same liquid. Again, your scrape the beans into the liquid, and you also put the scraped pods back into it.
I used to cook with vanilla pods (beans) a lot till six or seven years ago when the global price of them sky-rocketted to more or less where they are now (they used to be 5-10 times cheaper). One thing that's great to do with them after you've used them, is to keep them in your sugar jar - even after the seeds have been removed for cooking with the empty case can still impart a lot of aromatics into the sugar.
@wembleyford - I know there was a drought in Mexico a few years back so that the crop failed and they became very hard to get (and therefore, much more expensive). Perhaps this contributed to your observation.
I think the thing that's important to remember about vanilla is that it's a very volatile, "fragile" molecule (vanillin). If you're making a pastry cream or an ice cream base that's going to simmer gently for a few minutes, of course a vanilla bean or vanilla paste is your best option. If your making a Bundt cake that's going to be in a 350° oven for 75 minutes, the extra pungency of immitation vanilla (which would make pastry cream taste like a decorative candle) might be just the thing.
To make french crème brûlée, we cut the bean in half, scrape out the seeds and put them into the hot cream, then add the bean pod to the liquid to make an infusion. So we don't get the flavor only from the little black grains, but also from the bean pod. It makes a huge difference in such a recipe where the vanilla is the star of the show. Then I reuse the empty pod to prepare myself a hot beverage before discarding it 😛
I am a hobby ice cream maker, and a few years ago I switched from using imitation vanilla to powdered vanilla. Boy let me tell you the insane difference that made! I didn't even know that vanilla ice cream could taste so good!
Sorry babe, I can’t talk to you right now, I’m watching a grown man blindfold himself and sniff pancakes alone in his kitchen Forreal though, thanks for this thorough experiment!
As a pastry chef I thoroughly enjoyed this in depth testing, discussion and overview of Vanilla. Definitely an important ingredient when baking. And it’s great to know which one to use in which scenario and when to use it. For sure want more of these detailed ingredient breakdown vids in ‘23!
My favourite way to add vanilla to baked goods is vanilla sugar. I keep a separate jar of sugar that has a few split vanilla beans in it, the sugar absorbs the vanilla flavour over time and seems to hold onto it really well when baking.
How much of the sugar component do you replace with the vanilla sugar? For example if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar - how much of that is vanilla infused sugar?
I wonder if this would make the sugar go bad due to the moisture in the vanilla 🤔 sugar doesn't expire unless hit with moisture. (Not saying it will go bad right away just will it lower the shelf life of sugar that naturally doesn't expire)
@@JappyChan I started my jar about 5 years ago, I do add more sugar every time I take some out, and of course add more pods whenever I make custard with the seeds, so the fact that it's ever changing might prevent it from "going bad" but I don't know for sure. I do have to break it up to use it because it clumps.
I learned a trick to stretch a penny that my grandmother did during the depression and passed it along. She would take her vanilla bean hulls after scraping the seeds and paste out and placing them into a bottle of vodka and with time she would placed even more hulls in and would have strong vanilla flavor. She said it was difficult to keep it hid so nobody would raid a swig from the bottle.
Good episode, but the one test I think you really need is ice cream. It's a pure vanilla flavor, and of course there are cooked and uncooked recipes (for extracting flavors for the whole bean or paste via heating the fat with them in there?). Would really like to see that.
I want to do a follow up with ice cream for the summer! I actually wanted to do a vanilla ice cream test in this video, but it was going to take too long to freeze 5 to 6 different batches in addition to the other testing.
@@EthanChlebowski Cool, will look forward to it. I find these experiments with a matrix of similar ingredients (for lack of a better term) really interesting. I keep thinking about making a stew divided into a few dutch ovens with different umami hacks (tomato paste, anchovy, and straight MSG?) vs the nominal recipe, for example.
*For anyone wanting a reason to buy and try cooking with a whole vanilla bean - make crème brûlée.* It’s actually remarkably simple to make (no, you don’t have to own a blow torch), and it’s absolutely delicious. The process of boiling the halved bean and seeds in cream is a really great way to fully extract and preserve the aroma and taste compounds from the vanilla bean, and (I personally believe) this is a recipe where the quality and flavor of the whole bean _really_ comes through!
Thank you for suggesting this, a different comment mentioned crème brûlée and I've been on a huge dessert kick lately, but I was intimidated enough to not even consider trying
@@cass6020Oh yeah, you should go for it!! It’s the perfect “looks really complicated so it will totally impress friends & family but actually is really easy” dessert! 😆 Only key points are remembering to temper the eggs, using a Bain Marie (hot water bath) when baking, and chilling it long enough before torching/broiling it (especially if using the broiler instead of a blow torch)! Sounds complicated - but read a few recipes/watch a few videos, and you’ll see it’s actually really easy!! My only other tips are to definitely use the whole bean (#1 way to take it from merely “pretty good”, to “holy crap this is amazing!”), and to splurge on higher quality eggs and cream. This is a very simple, few-ingredient dessert, so getting the best you can for those few ingredients will Really make a difference :) If you don’t have/don’t want to get a blow torch, just chill the individual dishes as much as possible first, and then sprinkle the sugar, and throw them under the broiler for a few seconds, till the sugar melts and starts to brown. Works perfectly - though if you want to add the extra dramatic flair of torching it right in front of your guests before serving it (and let’s be honest - it’s just fun to do 😉), you can pick up a cheap culinary torch on Amazon, or even use a basic propane torch from the hardware store/Walmart!! It seems intimidating at first, but practice for a bit with some sugar on some thinly sliced apples (also a delicious snack), and you can get the hang of it before doing it in front of others! Also, if you don’t have ramekins don’t worry - any small shallow oven-safe dishes will work - though you can also find cheap ramekins at thrift stores, some dollar stores, and (last resort) at Walmart. If you’ve got the cash of course, it’s always nice to patronize your local cooking shop - they’ll always have the highest quality stuff, and you’ll totally be able to use them for other stuff, too. I find ramekins are great for serving candy/nuts, putting out sauces, garnishes, and individual dips, and all sorts of other things, as well!! Good luck!!! ☺️
@@AlexaHerrera90 Chill your baked crèmes as much as possible (overnight in the fridge is ideal), then heat up your oven’s broiler, sprinkle sugar on top, and put the chilled custards on a tray on the top rack right next to the broiler for a few seconds, until the sugar melts and starts to brown. You can even put them in a large baking dish in an ice bath, to try to keep the custard from heating up while the sugar melts! Another trick, if you’re having trouble getting a nice layer, is to sprinkle a very fine layer of sugar, melt it, add another, melt it, and do this 2 or 3 times until you get a nice layer built up! (This also works when using the blow torch). The trick is to get a nice, fully caramelized layer of sugar on top that’s thick enough to crack with a spoon, without warming the custard up too much. This approach will do a passable job at making a nice top layer, and is good enough that I will always encourage people to make the recipe even if they don’t have a blow torch - but it is true that a torch will still produce the nicest result, will be the easiest to work with, and also will have the most dramatic visual effect, when serving 😏. I’d recommend trying it once with the broiler, and if you like it enough to think you’ll want to make the recipe again, you can pick up a cheap culinary torch on Amazon, or even get an inexpensive propane torch at Home Depot or Walmart (assuming you’re in the US). These will work just as well, though they’re a little larger, and more “industrial looking” than a regular culinary torch. Just make sure you get propane (blue bottle, or dark green if using Coleman), and not anything else. You don’t want MAP, or acetylene, or anything like that 😂. Good luck!!! 😊
@voldemortified - Thank you for the tips. I never tried crème brûlée, so I appreciate the cheerleading. One thing, though, I would be inclined to simmer the cream and not boil it. Love the username, too!
My experience is that when making something like creme brulee, or anything like a custard, real beans or homemade extract is the way to go. My cookies hasn't really had a difference since I began using my homemade extract, but the custards and creme brulee both went up a notch.
As someone who doesn't really care about vanilla and it's use, I have spent 32 minutes of watch time on this vid. Not only were the segments excellently structured, but thoughts, ideas, results & explanations were spot on. High quality video. Also, these taste tests are becoming more fun to watch you...with the chill ambient music in the background...and what made me laugh was at 26:30 you reaching out for your drink as if you were petting air while talking. Comedic gold!
I saw the vid, I thought "30min vid about vanilla?? probably gonna watch a few min" But I wasin over 20 min before I realized I was going to watch the whole thing. And indeed, him reaching for the can and failing to find it while talking completely undisturbed for that long was so funny. Infotainment of very high quality, much appreciated!
What really gets me about this video and the structure: The way this video is structured is eerily similar to how a scientific paper (or proper essay for that matter) should be structured. Introduction that sells you what the video is about, why it matters and what you can expect. "Theoretical groundwork", that explains how and why the video covers what it covers to answer the question. Main body that covers the tests and the findings. Conclusions that tie everything up nicely. I have no attachment to this channel at all, and this is the first vid I've seen of his, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ethan has a college degree of some sorts.
I’m used to make cakes and pies as a home business. (My son is now a pastry chef in a Michelin star restaurant.) In my humble opinion, the final product is the actual carrier. Try scraping the bean into a vanilla sauce vs extract. Day and night. Ice cream vs Italian meringue buttercream (no powdered sugar there!) and yes there are a lot of differences. I keep a Mexican extract, and my own extract made with potato vodka, cognac and a variety of beans on hand, plus the paste. Very interesting topic for hardcore foodies for sure. Have you ever done a video on “super tasters”? I think there’s a connection there.
Vanilla is a very low key amazing flavor. People always say it's the "plain" flavor. But randomly get a vanilla ice cream and you'll be loving that ice cream. I don't know. Vanilla always reminds me how great it is.
I think the reason we perceive vanilla as “plain” nowadays is that it *used* to be prohibitively expensive. Then it (and synthetic vanillin) became affordable, and everyone put it in their products due to the flavour’s prestige. In earlier times, there were different “default” flavours for sweet foods, such as rose water.
This. There is only cream, milk, sugar and vanilla, maybe eggs but definitely nowhere to hide. Vanilla ice cream is common, but a truly good one requires both good ingredients and experience. For this reason I also enjoy white chocolate.
I just got an Ice Cream maker for Christmas, and I didn't realize that there are SO many recipes out there for a base. Would love to see a video with the different types/recipes compared!
@@oldcowbb - Whether or not it's because of being "original" or the climate or the taste of terroir, Mexican vanilla is my favorite way to eat orchids. I made myself a taste-test using Nielson-Massey's Madagascar, Tahitian, and Mexican extracts - although all great, I prefer their Mexican vanilla when I can get it.
These videos truly get to the bottom of why lots of enthusiastic home cooks read ATK or Serious Eats but the thing you do best is you directly ask if it makes a difference in practice. I’m shocked they haven’t offered you a position or a guest article here and there.
I tried for the first time making a traditional German Christmas cookie, vanilla kipferl, which are basically a vanilla flavored shortbread cookie dusted with vanilla powdered sugar. I used imitation vanilla in the cookie dough itself to better stand up to the baking heat and I used powdered vanilla mixed with powdered sugar for dusting. Made a very good cookie I must say. I agree that there seems to be a better form of vanilla flavoring to use depending on the application.
I use vanilla to make spiced rum, hazelnut liqueur, etc. Those are room temperature extractions. For this purpose the whole bean, including the pods, not just the seeds, can't be beat. Very deep complex flavor.
I also stick seeds in raw sugar, it's amazing in drinks. Been doing it for over 20 years now after having it in Maui It’s delightful on fresh fruit, and brings sparkle to cookies, pies, scones and more!
Many years ago (maybe a decade) I decided to make my own vanilla vodka by dropping a couple of Tahitian vanilla beans in it (a friend visited Tahiti and brought a small bundle back to me as a gift). I pushed it to the back of the cabinet and forgot about it. Fast forward to last year when I ran into it again and realized I had made something I could cook with. I use it instead of commercial extract and I can't believe how good it is in everything I make. Especially vanilla syrup which is just white sugar dissolved in hot water and extract added once it's cool. It's the best coffee/tea syrup I've ever had. Maybe it's not the same as commercial extract, but I love it. And that's the real point, right?
@@robine916 I started one with bourbon a couple of months ago and can't wait to try it. I'm trying to forget about it for now so it will get to full strength first.
Having been to Tahiti and it's islands multiple times I am obsessed with Tahitian vanilla(both powder, beans and extract) but it's really only good for things that don't hit a high heat. It's a very delicate(to me) flavor. Almost more of a mild cherry and cola note compared to the other varieties on the market. I love it. Makes amazing French vanilla ice cream, custard, creme brulee and frostings
It is also because it is not the same specie of vanilla. (V tahitensis) Bourbon vanilla (v planifolia) from the reunion island (also french colonial island) is another great but completely different experience (less red fruit/cherry, more compot/cacao)
Tahitian Vanilla I've only use in no-heat situations, added to syrup after it coolssyrup as you said it would work well, I've made whipped cream with it and it really brings out those flowery notes, great on pie or combining with pastry cream to fill choiux puffs
Thanks, Ethan, for a knowledgeable experiment on vanilla. I bought McCormick vanilla imitation a few times, and got disappointed every single time, and won't ever use it again. Your experiment has helped confirm that my judgment was right on the unimpressive flavor of real vanilla beans. Now, in Thailand, I use only vanilla paste bought from the USA with the Thai brand called "Best Odor" (a vanilla flavor, aka an imitation) which gives the best aroma of vanilla that makes every baked good taste so naturally good. Mostly, I solely use "Best Odor" in custard pudding, cookies, pancakes, scones, pound cakes and other types of cakes, and it yields a good-tasting end-product every single time. Your experiment has helped ensure that one's favorite vanilla imitation is something (s)he should stick to. No need to spend a fortune on the nonsense. God bless you!
Very interesting! Here is the quote from Julia Child I was reminded of while watching the video: "The vanilla bean is favored by many fine cooks, but lately I've not had much luck with it; after steeping the bean in warm syrups or hot milk, I've always had to add vanilla extract to get the right effect." -- (, 1975)
I wish all 3 tests included no vanilla as a control, and bean scrapings so that the results were complete. I also question if the quantities of powder, paste and extract are equal by weight. I suspect that in actual usage more powder or paste is required. Although I‘ve always used Mexican vanilla purchased on vacation, it sounds like the culinary student suggestion of a blend is a great idea- maybe 1/2 tsp of paste for the flecks, 1 drop of artificial, 1/2 tsp powder, and 1/4 tsp of real extract from Mexico or Madagascar sounds like the perfect marriage of synergistic layers. Still a fun video to watch- my favourite is when blindfolded, Ethan keeps trying to find his can of palate cleansing liquid…
❤ thanks for sharing. I can’t wait till I can test My own! I just started mine two days ago and then today ! So I have started 2 batches ! ❤🎉❤🎉 birth box pp😅
@geofftrimpol4467 - Yes, this wasn't really a scientific taste test. And it's just one guy with all his particular likes and dislikes and his childhood experiences, etc. I wonder if "America's Test Kitchen" has a segment on vanilla? Will have to check.
I really appreciate how you maximize objectivity of your ratings/analyses with these control procedures. Cooking is definitely an art form, but it's also a science!
Both the paste and the powder are vanilla mixed with the simple sugar dextrose (also known as glucose). The extracts are vanilla mixed with alcohol. This will make a huge difference in the icing test, since you are tasting the alcohol in the extract samples (I doubt that the dextrose in the paste and powder makes a difference in the already sweet icing). Theoretically the alcohol boils off when heat is applied (pancakes), so this strikes me as a more accurate evaluation.
I love that you reference, "On Food and Cooking" so much. It was a transformative book for me almost 20 years ago. Anyone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen should read that book.
You usually let the vanilla bean sit in the ingredients to infuse them with flavor. Some cook the vanilla bean in milk or let it sit in sugar and use that. The vanilla flavor will also be more potent the next day, I always notice this in cakes
I was really disappointed not to have him test vanilla ice cream. Maybe too hard to make? He coud have done it with yogurt, though - take plain yogurt and add vanilla. Would be close enough.
I've tried vanilla beans in ice cream and I was very disappointed. Barely any flavour, especially when considering the cost! Now I use pure extract +imitation in a 2:1 ratio and it's perfect.
@@CorrodiasYeah, but he didn't use the actual vanilla bean in that test, so your point is, well, non-existent. Ethan, we need a re-test with some cremé bruleé or vanilla ice cream. Brian Lagerstrom just put up a good, simple cremé bruleé recipe the other day(and he used a real vanilla bean, for anyone curious).
Last year I started getting into baking cakes and stuff and I always used imitation vanilla and never thought twice about it. But when someone gifted me Mexican vanilla, I immediately noticed how much different/better it tasted and I have never gone back to imitation.
I feel cake bread are one the foods that real vanilla shines in. Seems like cookies due to what’s mentioned in the video doesn’t make much of a difference. I don’t bake but I use real vanilla in shakes. Other than that, I use imitation for most dishes I make because I can’t tell the difference when a dish has other strong flavors. Cake bread has a mild but nice flavor which allow vanilla to shine.
I find that the type of flour makes a huge impact. Not too surprisingly, the earthier flavor of the Mexican compliments the earthy notes of cooked flour. Interestingly, olive oil is kind of similar in that the extra virgin is really best on salads and so on but is just not strong enough in a cooked or baked item. Here the denser, more "earthy" plain types stand out more. The same for frying/used as an oil for cooking. You can plainly taste it, but a few drops of oil on top or a single olive has far more impact.
I made 10 pints of vanilla in Oct 2022. I bake a LOT and was tired of the cost of extract. I made some with vodka, some with spiced rum and some with bourbon. They are all delicious. I waited a year before using any of them. They will save me money in the long run.
Very interesting post. I read about an experiment carried out in the UK quite a few years ago. They asked around 50 chefs to do a taste test on natural Vanilla vs Vanillin. As I remember, the experiment was with cooked items but can't remember what they were. At the end of the tasting the result was pretty well even, which implies that even professional chefs couldn't tell the difference. I also read that vanillin and "2,4-dithiapentane" (truffle flavour) were the first flavour compounds to be synthesised. Probably because they were highly profitable items.
I wonder if the stage at which you add the vanilla matters. Like, maybe vanilla bean would perform better in a pancake if you mixed it into the melted butter so that any fat-soluble flavor compounds could get dispersed better. Just a thought :)
This is an EXCELLENT thought. I'm going to try this the next time I make pancakes. I always use vanilla beans, simply because I can afford it and I look for excuses to visit the spice shop nearby(it's AWESOME).
Smart query. I used to have a book called “What Einstein told his cook” which discussed how much of cooking is science. It explains the Maillard reaction, protein denaturation, fat vs water solubility, and a bunch of other things. Cooking really is a science, and the more you understand, the better your cooking is.
I learned to cook from both my parents (very different styles) and several great aunts... at the end of the day cooking is about 95% science/chemistry and about 3% experience the balance is a mix of voodoo and black magic.... As for the flavorings it depends on ones preference and there sensitivity to flavors and aromas.... I have numerous friends that swear I am a 'super taster' assuming such a thing truly exists...
I wonder for ice-creams, frostings, and pancakes, where vanilla bean flecks are visible in the final product if those items are more visually enhanced with vanilla bean alongside an extract/paste/powder of choice to provide aromas. It would be interesting to see an experiment where a third party could see vanilla bean flecks and if that has a sway on their opinion.
You can make the exp easily. Cheap icecreams will use chemical vanilla aroma and will use shreded spent pods to make the black dots. You get almost the same aspect (usually they also add yellow colour so you can tell by the colour which is the cheap) but the taste can't compare.
I am in Costa Rica and I buy real vanilla beans grown here in the central market and leave them in edible alcohol for months. It does taste different and more complex so I would say for perfume, or where you want the vanilla to be the star of your dish (vanilla ice cream or so) then it its worth and makes a difference.
Try putting the bean pod in sugar, then use the sugar. It is much stronger. Slit the pod. Emerse it in sugar in an airtight jar for 3mths or longer then replace 1/3of the sugar in a recipe with vanilla sugar. I continually replace sugar in the jar but the beans last about 5 years.
One day I substituted vanilla extract with whiskey. The logic that the complex aromas and flavors of bourbon would be a great substitute. I then realized that the oak extracted flavors from the barrels are the same in imitation vanilla extract.
Adding actual alcohol to baked goods is an age-old cheat. :) Like adding bacon. It simply elevates things. But you can't exactly sell it in a grocery store, so you rarely see it and have to make it yourself.
I love baking, and I mostly use beans. However, I almost always let it "sit" in the liquid for ages. For instance, if I'm using cream, I'll boil the bean in the cream, let it rest for a few hours, then proceed as instructed. It gets even more obvious in things like "canelés", a cake from Bordeaux, France, where I let everything rest for a whole day. So far, haven't been desappointed! It is to be noted that in France at least, you can get fairly good beans for about 2€ a piece, which makes it easier to use in recipes.
The other obvious bias is the recipe. Too much sugar will just drown the vanilla flavour. So american cookies probably won't make good use of real vanilla pods.
My consensus has been that it depends on the application. I started using imitation in baking after seeing an ATK segment. I don't notice a significant enough difference (or any really) to spend the money on real vanilla. It's so expensive these days. I live in Rhode Island. There are no $2 bottles of vanilla on any of my grocery shelves. A small bottle is currently $6. Real vanilla is better in uncooked applications, like adding to rice pudding at the end of cooking. ETA: My husband says $4.50 is the cheapest one he saw recently--the smallest bottle of McCormick.
Why add it at the end? You want to extract the flavours so the vanilla pod needs to swim in your milk for a few hours before cooking and stay in the milk when heating it. A lot of the difference also comes because people just don't know how to use the ingredient. ^^
@@etienne8110 I'm talking about extract or imitation flavoring. In rice pudding, which simmers for an hour on the stove top, an extract would lose some potency. In a long cooking time the alcohol in the extract or flavoring will cook off taking most of the vanilla with it.
Loved this deep dive, with all the cooked and uncooked variations. The pancake test with the 'control' was interesting. I wonder what the cookie 'control' would have tasted like? Also, I really like how you label the taste tests on the screen clearly for the viewer. Thank you again Ethan for a very informative and helpful video!!!
I’m just a home baker, but I did go down a vanilla hole a few years ago. Mexican vanilla QUICKLY became my favorite & I actually ended up sourcing Mexican, Madagascar, and Tahitian beans to make my own extract with I use in everything now!
Not much to say other than this little series youve been doing of olive oil, tomato, vanilla, etc is some of the best content you have and I look forward to each of them.
I used to work in a restaurant where we made scratch made our own ice cream, right down to the vanilla extract.....for the first year. It was crazy expensive, and when we switched to high-quality, but commercially produced extract, we used half as much. And there was maybe more....clarity to the home-made extract, but more breadth to the flavor of the commercial extract.
@@jamesgarner2103 Nothing exotic. As so many of the taste tests on this and other channels say, the mid-range is the sweet spot. Ultra-expensive, artisanal products are frequently not worth the money, but even moving up one or two tiers of quality makes a HUGE difference from the low-budget, bulk options. We wound up mixing Madagascar and Mecican, two extracts and a paste, different combos for different applications. I know we used Nielson Massey paste and extract for our Madagascar, but I don't remember what the brand was for Mexican.
I have been doing a custom blended for over a decade, using home-made mixed bean extract, good commercially produced extracts of different beans, and a small amount (~10%) of artificial to punch up the bottom end. The commercial ones I use are generally Nielsen Massey and Lochhead.
@@14ToeBeans No, it is just one of the many things I make for my own use and to give to family and friends. I also make varies cello (mostly Lemon and Blood Orange), mulberry and muscadine wine, salad dressings (up to and including making my own vinegar), old style BBQ sauce (closest is Pig Stand BBQ sauce, grew up friends of the family), truffle oil (shave a whole truffle into a gallon of high quality unfiltered olive oil and age for a year or so), and chocolate (normally use single source cacao pods). I also dry age my own beef and make smoked sausage from scratch (including intestine casing). Since I retired from the Army, cooking and making food has been something I use to help my PTSD. People keep telling me I should start my own restaurant but the way I cook is the opposite, since I take my time and use it to release stress. I will happily spend several days to cook something completely from scratch.
This was fantastic! It also confirms my own experience which is that vanilla bean paste is excellent for UNcooked things like frosting (icing), but imitation vanilla is just fine for things like cookies. Note thatI have never used a real vanilla bean -- because of price, but maybe someday I will. Anyway, great video.
Using chef's intuition, I could see the benefits of combining some of these to get the benefits of each and hopefully stunt the drawbacks of them alone. As a side note, cool trick, plop a vanilla bean in your sugar bowl to aromatize your sugar for casual use in coffee or for an extra boost with baking, it can last like a year! Now that I think of it, I bet it would be equally useful in aromatizing coffee grounds, I'll have to try that. Vanilla is my favorite!
I made my own vanilla extract during the vanilla shortage in 2020. But though it was made with Madagascar beans, I actually found it weak for a vanilla flavor.....so I did the unthinkable. I used my Costco Kirkland vanilla bottle and added my homemade with the imitation and loved it. Sorry purists, but sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do.
I’ve been making my own vanilla infusion for a few years, what I have noticed is that the older the infusion is the better scent and flavor. I usually let mine sit for at least a year before I open it.
@@lisamariejohnson6622 Same i let mine sit for at least a year before using, and I often use more vanilla beans than I otherwise might, to intensify the vanilla flavor and aroma.
@David Toccafondi apparently this is controversial, but I put my sliced beans in the alcohol within a mason jar. I seal it up and pressure cook it on high for 45 minutes. This essentially jump starts the process, and I can use it sooner. I prefer Madagascar grade A instead of grade B, as it seems to have a better time releasing its colors faster. This year I did a whole 1.75l of titos vodka and added it back to that bottle to go into my cabinet to sit for a long time.
Interesting timing for this. I actually started homemade vanilla about a year ago and just gifted it to family, including my mom, a frequent baker, for Christmas. I’m excited to see how it works for her. It certainly smells good.
Chocolate chip cookies have a lot going on so vanilla doesn’t stand out so much to me, but in sugar cookies or peanut butter cookies it’s really noticeable imo so that would have been an interesting test. Also ice cream would have been a great test too
I recently experimented with several batches of shortbread cookie (butter, sugar, egg yolk, whole wheat flour) and my favorite had a combination of homemade extract (whole Madagascar beans soaked in whiskey for several months) and commercially available vanilla paste at approximately 1:1 ratio.
@@popefacto5945 that sounds fantastic because you’re not getting just the vanilla you’re getting the notes from the whiskey as well which is going to be really nice.
If you’re really noticing the vanilla in peanut butter cookies you don’t have enough peanut butter in them. Peanuts are an extremely strong flavor and would entirely overwhelm any notes of vanilla.
@@pjschmid2251 I love peanut butter so I usually add more than the recipe suggests. I also tried this with different types of peanut butter. I can always notice if vanilla is used or not or if it’s imitation or real. Maybe it’s just me 🤷🏽♀️
@@pjschmid2251 I still get a hint of corn on the nose but the flavor (after several years) seems to be all vanilla. My favorite part is that I can use "extract grade" beans (which are fairly dry but much less expensive) and they rehydrate and are preserved in the liquor so I have "fresh" vanilla beans any time. I also do Tahitian vanilla in blackstrap rum (which has a lot of flavor and compliments the vanilla nicely).
I use a lot of European recipes, which call for vanilla sugar (usually a few TBS per recipe). I purchased about 6 vanilla beans online. I used 1-vanilla bean and flavored approximately a cup and a half to 2-cups of sugar, and use that in most recipes. So, ounce for ounce, you may pay more for vanilla bean but you use a 1/16th to 1/8th as much of it, and it lasts forever. I use real vanilla extract in some recipes, but again, a tsp here and there, and the small, 3oz bottle lasted a year. So, while it seems expensive, for as little as you actually use vanilla, it doesn't hurt your wallet to use the real thing. For homemade ice cream, and custard, I use real vanilla bean. Always.
Top Notch content! I first watched your steak videos, then caught a couple of your fast food vids.. and now this one... This one won me over, and I subbed... You're covering topics that alot of people wonder about, but no one else seems to adress... Great stuff!!
Interesting Video. I tried making popcorn with "Vanillin Sugar" which people use for baking (sugar and oil in a pot heated up with the popcorn-corn, caramelizing etc). My whole Apartment smelled like Vanilla for several days and the actual popcorn didn´t really taste much like vanilla.
If you don't like frosting then you could've done the raw vanilla test by making vanilla pudding and adding in the vanilla after it has solidified. I don't think it would've changed the results, but it definitely would've been more enjoyable for you lol
Very interesting. The use of vanilla in the US and Europe are a bit different (I am German and also lived in the US and Italy). In Germany we mostly use the real vanilla beans, BUT: what we usually do is that we scratch out the pod, use it in "whatever we are making" and preserve the scratched out pod in sugar, which will get a wonderful vanilla aroma, and we use this sugar also for the product that we are making. Kicker is: the pod has to sit in the sugar for a while, so you usually don't use the seeds from the same pod and the flavored sugar. Also you can buy vanilla sugar sleeves (8 grams) and one usually is enough for 500 grams of flour. There are different sleeves that you can buy, some with real vanilla and vanilla extract - called Vanillezucker (vanilla sugar) others are artificial, they are called Vanillinzucker (vanillin sugar). You also get vanilla extract - not as popular here - and vanilla paste - becoming more popular (and in my opinion better than the extracts). There are also tiny flasks of artificial liquid vanilla flavor (kind of an oily substance), which are ok for cakes, (a few drops up to a whole flask are usually good for a whole cake). I would not use them in pancakes, whipped cream or buttercream. They will taste artificial. In a cake, however, it is not that obvious as being an artificial product. You can also buy ground vanilla, which personally I like to use for all kinds of things and - I think - has a very distinct vanilla flavor. The ground vanilla, uses the whole pod. Unfortunately it does loose flavor when you keep it too long and don't use it up quickly enough, which is why you usually get in very small jars. You could still flavor your sugar with it, but in baked products it will not shine when you kept it for too long. Would have been interesting for you to try the vanilla products you don't have in the US. Would have sent them to you with no problem. I am a big fan of these comparison videos, they are always great fun and very interesting.
I always use vanilla paste, it has a perfect balance in flavour. I think the use and kind of vanilla you use depends on what you are using it for, for a custard I would use real vanilla because it's going to sit for longer and disperse flavour throughout the custard, if I'm making a cake I use paste because it gives a consistent flavour spread throughout, same with cookies. I used to use imitation but it's a really fine balance between vanilla flavour and overpowering artificial flavour and would require a very specific measurement, in pancakes though where you use it as a base imitation works fine.
My wife and I discovered your channel and its great. Really enjoy your perspective and approach. These types of comparisons are perfect. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, different types of salt (sea, granular, crushed, etc) are a few of other products we wonder about and would appreciate your viewpoint. We have a lot of catching up to do and look forward to watching until we're caught up. Thanks!
The Cook's Vanilla powder that you used here is good stuff, I grew up working for them so I'm very familiar with the product. It uses the sugar as the flavor carrier similar to the way extract uses the alcohol & water. Since it doesn't use the cold percolation in alcohol and water that they used in their high quality liquid extracts, so you do lose a little complexity, but you can't use alcohol and water in a powder obviously. I think the frosting application is a good one, another is coffee, and things where you aren't baking the alcohol out. Great video. Everything you said here in your explanation of the way the flavor compounds interact with our smell and taste is accurate. I will say I don't use the amount of vanilla specified in recipes, I use far more! Pure vanilla is forgiving to use - adding more won't ruin your recipe. Artificial vanilla you have to be careful with. One thing I do remember about Mexican vanilla specifically (if it's extracted in Mexico at least) is that there was less regulation on the labeling of extracts from Mexico, so you might end up with a less consistent product from brand to brand etc. Maybe more or less alcohol, maybe some extra things boosting the flavor or color here or there. In the US the regulations on what can be labeled "Pure Vanilla Extract" on your grocery store shelf are quite strict to protect the consumer. Watch out for wording like "All Natural Vanilla" on your labels. Those probably have other natural flavor and color additives - it's not necessarily bad and probably better than artificial, but it's not as delicate as "Pure".
I also want to add that the demand for vanilla flavored products is so high, we would run out of real vanilla immediately if we were to only use that. So it’s really cool we have vanillin!
I've been making my own vanilla for a few years now. It's mostly used for ice cream which I make regularly. I use a lot! I also keep a stock of vanilla paste for recipes where I want the visuals of the black speckles. The extract goes into every batch regardless of flavour and the paste goes into vanilla bean flavour. Adam Ragusea stated on one of his videos that most recipes seriously underutilise vanilla and I agree with him completely. I usually use 3x or 4x whatever a recipe calls for. Vanilla is one of the best flavours in the world. I want it to punch me in the face. That bottle you suggested might last a year would probably only last me a couple of months. I buy my beans in bulk from either Amazon or Costco and put them directly into new bottles of vodka. I have a few years worth in the making in my pantry. Also you can change the flavour with kind of liquor you use. I have a rum version which I've yet to try, but I once used some German liquor and it was very noticeable in my ice cream, in a good way.
Darren :: you need to look into good quality planifolia beans roughcut for extraction at Saffron Vanilla Imports. It was my answer to economically stepping up production (sorta) economically when the smoothies started getting a tsp per batch. What a difference! I use 4 oz beans in a liter bottle of a reasonable quality (not harsh) vodka. It's an added flavor bonus if you can keep production ahead of consumption (and gifting). My current in-use vanilla extract is 6 years old...
@@kilianhzh I made my own vanilla using vodka, vanilla beans, and my instant pot. Search for Frieda Loves Bread for lots of info and an instructional video.
I made some homemade extract. 7 beans(organic) and put them into a bottle with 350ml of vodka Leave it for 10 weeks to be ready, but i just let it sit for 6 months. Lovely sweet and mellow. Still doesnt cost that much compred to 350ml of bought extract.
When making vanilla extract, instead of just splitting the bean as most recipes show, I use a stick blender to get full exposure to the vodka for the vanilla seeds and bean, then strain when doing the final bottles.
I would love to see a follow up video that compares real vanilla extracts of different price points to see what level of expense is worth paying. Is a $20 bottle considerably better than a $15 or $10 version?
I just decanted 12 ounces of Tahitian vanilla. My cost was under $30. McCormack vanilla is $5/ounce in my local Walmart. I had to wait a year but it was worth it.
@@lindaprovencher5224 if you use a vacuum pump to pull out the air when you bottle the bean for steeping, you can make your extract in less time (about 6 or 7 months), but you can still wait a full year too. I vacuum mine but let it steep a year just to give the chemistry the time it wants.
@@barbarasmith2693 I make my own yogurt. When I add vanilla extract to the finished yogurt, I can taste a hint of alcohol, so for yogurt I prefer imitation vanilla.
I really enjoy the food science of your videos. One of my favorite TV Shows is Good Eats with Alton Brown. He gives the science of the food also. Since I live in Texas I use Mexican Vanilla. My friends go to Mexico and bring back vanilla in bottles that look like wine bottles. I love the flavor of Mexican Vanilla. Great Job on these videos!
Not to bust your bubble or knock Mexico, which I love, but I was told back in the 1980s that what comes in those large bottles is derived from wood pulp and has nothing to do with vanilla. So sorry. Caveat emptor especially in Mexico, where all kinds of things happen.
As someone pointed out, giant jugs of vanilla like that are certainly imitation vanilla. Food labeling and safety are different. Genuine Mexican vanilla is just as expensive as other world vanillas. It is a labor intensive and time- consuming process to pick and cure the beans.
@RickTexas - In addition to wood pulp, etc, Mexican manufacturers sometimes substitute "tonka tree beans" instead of vanilla beans. The FDA bans those beans for food in the USA, though I don't know why.
Thanks for another great, fun video! It's definitely true that real vanilla shines where there are no high cooking temperatures involved, so something like crème anglaise. For floating islands or crème brûlée, real vanilla is the very best, although real vanilla extract is an OK substitute if there are no vanilla pods available. I wouldn't use anything else! In our cupboard, there is a sealed container of caster sugar with one or two pods buried in the sugar. The vanilla pods keep well and the sugar takes on a most wonderful aroma!
Nice to have some solid confirmation of what we've been telling ourselves: real vanilla when it's the star of the dish (creme brulee, frosting), artificial when it's a supporting character (cookies, pancakes)
I'm going to have to experiment with this. I use actual beans in almost all my cooking calling for vanilla for a few reasons: I can afford it, I don't use vanilla particularly often, and I LOVE visiting the spice shop and literally look for excuses to go there. That said, if I can get more vanilla flavour for less money in my pancakes(the #1 use for vanilla in my kitchen by a wide margin), I'd be an idiot to ignore that.
I take issue with the conclusion that one should buy the expensive stuff. From the taste test it seems clear that if one primarily uses vanilla for baking cookies and the like it's not worth spending more money. As usual it all depends on the application.
If someone doesn't bake frequently or only uses it for frosting or custards, then yes, better to splurge. But if you're like me and toss vanilla into anything that isn't savory, the imitation is good enough. I like Badia's Dominican style imitation - it's got a darker caramel color, and a bolder flavor, even if it's not as deep as the real stuff. And it holds up great in every baked recipe I've tried it in.
It doesn't cost that much. you can use the pods in icecream and other milk rice and then put the "spent" pods in a sugar jar. It will flavour the sugar. Use that sugar in your pastries and cakes. It will taste better than just vanilla extract and won't cost that more.
@keithkannenberg7414 - I take issue with your issue. I am a vanilla fiend and after years of experimenting at home, I can taste the difference. I would rather not buy vanilla than get the cheap stuff.
Couple things about beans: you can buy them online for cheap because shipping is quite easy without the liquid. Also, you need to let them infuse in the batter for a few days. Extra points if the batter is alcoholic like in french Canales!
That sounds better than the home made vodka based extract that I was given a couple of years ago. Not at all suited to cooking but I made do by using it in cocktails 😉
I did a bit of my own taste test recently using my normal chocolate chip cookie recipe with "artificial" vanilla or "real vanilla" extract. I couldn't tell the difference in the baked applications so I'm going to save my good vanilla for places where vanilla is the main flavor component.
@@KickyFut Oh yeah something milder would definitely make more sense if I was looking to taste the difference between the different vanillas. My main goal was to see if I could use the cheap vanilla without any observable decline in flavor
Most of what people cart back from Mexico is imitation vanilla. Genuine vanilla extract is pricey. The US food industry is regulated differently than Mexico and that includes what constitutes a flavoring or an extract as well as what actually goes into the product ( in this case it is likely wood pulp ).
@@otstx "...chicken logo..." That would be Danncy Mexican Vainilla and has listed its ingredients: Vanilla Bean extractives in water and natural flavors, potassium sorbate. US labeling requires vanilla extracts to contain 13.3% vanilla bean extractives and at least 35% alcohol. Alcohol is used to extract complex flavor components that are not water soluble, and is a preservative. Vanilla flavoring has no alcohol and may contain natural or synthetic flavoring in varying amounts.
I also made a Vanilla test with vanilla beans from the store and vanilla beans freshly bought from the vanilla plantage and the difference was HUGE for me. Vanilla beans cooked in chicken dishes is so ultimatively nice and gives the food such an awesome flavour. Vanilla extracts or even the vanilla beans you get in stores are no comparison to the fresh beans from a vanilla plantage. They usually are already dried in the stores, fresh one is very juicy and you can eat the whole bean and not just the black scratch inside of it... you can just sliced it like chilis for example in small rings and add it into your food which makes the flavor so much better
For about $30-40 and some time you can make about a half gallon of vanilla. You will need about 20-25 vanilla beans (~$25 on amazon) , 2 (750ml) bottles of high proof alcohol (vodka is traditional) and a jar to put them in. You stick the beans in the jar of vodka and let sit for 6-12 months and you have quite a bit of vanilla for a fraction of the cost per oz.
When we brought vanilla extract back from Mexico, it had kind of a cinnamon-y type taste to it. I wonder if that’s the same thing that’s causing the autumnal taste you’re getting
I don't get that flavor using vanilla extract but I use a lot of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in making food during the week so maybe my taste buds are really keyed in on these specific flavors.
@themagicknightress7132 - There's a lot of adulteration and fraud in vanilla extract made in Mexico. The FDA says that they sometimes substitute "Tonka tree beans" instead of vanilla beans (something that is banned in the USA for food use) or they use stuff like wood pulp and other things. Best to get Mexican vanilla from reputable companies outside of Mexico.
I use vanilla beans to make the custard for my ice cream bases, I scrape the seeds into a pot of milk and let it steep before adding the other ingredients. With the pods scraped, I put them in a jar of sugar to infuse the sugar with the vanilla flavor
One downside to artificial vanilla is that a lot of it is synthesized from petroleum products. There is a more sustainable version synthesized from lignan, but I don't know how you'd identify it. Thanks for doing this! One thing this explains is the popularity of the "chef's secret" --double vanilla.
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
We did a vanilla test in culinary school. Using Cookies, cakes and creme pastries. Cookies and cakes people preferred artificial vanilla with vanillin powder. Real vanilla extract or artificial vanilla extract would get lost in these applications. When it comes to custards, real vanilla won all the time with its complex flavour but if you used too much, it gave the custards a bit of alcohol flavour. So the best way is to have a mixture of both. If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, cut that amount down to 1/2 tps and add 1/4 teaspoon of vanillin powder.
But im just a guy.
Can you please clarify for me: the 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 powder to replace 1 tsp vanilla for all recipes or only in cakes and cookies?
@@chickentender4037 For custards only to avoid the overly "alcoholic" taste but still getting the vanilla to come thru. Cakes and cookies stick with artificial vanilla extract or vanillin powder. Don't waste real vanilla on things that will be baked or cooked at high temp. Also, remember vanillin powder is very strong and must be used sparingly. So if a recipe calls for 1 tea spoon of extract, only use around 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. of powder.
@@eraldway thanks so much. Had no idea, always learning!
The true hero is always in the comments
I was a pastry chef at the FourSeasons in Milan and we would carefully scrape the beans and add the seeds directly to the pastry cream. Mostly to show the costumers we were using real beans. The scraped left overs were boiled in milk and squeezed. That milk was delicious and we would use it for whatever was needed. We were using also a brand of butter that came with Vanilla scent but no traces of dots in it and we would use that for croissants and pain au chocolat that we were doing from scratch ( also delicious). I LOVE VANILLA
I was a cooking specialty shop starring at the bottles if vanilla extract, vanilla paste, and vanilla beans. The owner came over and said the paste was made from the entire bean (figuring I was wondering why vanilla bean scraping/paste were so cheap). He said it was used when the flecks were visually desirable.
Awesome
It warms my heart to see someone else with this much appreciation for my own favorite flavor.
@@darkoanton5 !
@@darkoanton5but it is usually made after the flavor has been extracted
Next, I want some tangible data on what bay leaves do.
He’s already done a video - 12th feb 2021.
A friend and were just discussing this. We can't detect a taste from it. But I will watch the video noted below.
They use Vine Whip
What that bay leaf do?
@@timl.b.2095It has such a specific flavor!
Two problems: I LOVE these btw, keep them up!
When you made the icing, you needed to use the fresh bean. I bet it was lost in the baking process but probably would have shined in the uncooked catégorie
2) you add the EXACT SAME AMOUNTS! Different products need differing amounts. Maybe you couldn’t taste it well as it was too little or even to much. In the cookie and pancake, more vanilla powder was probably needed to make the flavor better. My friend lived in Madagascar for years, a great home baker, still buys pods in bulk form friends there, but swears by vanilla powder, just have to use a little more.
And wish you had clarified that in the real vanilla extract from the Mexican Vanilla obviously tasted better in the pancake than in the icing it must have been to strong ‘raw’, but that same strength made it shine in the pancake when the alcohol cooked off, I would guess.
From your biggest expat fan in Burundi, Africa! 🙌
OMG I'm not a millionaire I can't afford to add more vanilla powder
3. most of the vanilla flavour is in the bean, not the seeds. He should have used the whole bean for a fair comparasion.
@@justicedemocrat9357the powder is usually cheap though? Vanilla extract can be 20 dollars for 4 Oz, the powder is so much cheaper
Vanilla being synonymous with "boring" is one of the greatest injustices of our time. It's a truly unique and wonderful ingredient, thoroughly enjoyed this!
Him feeling around blindly for the cookies reminds me of Cookie Monster feeling around for the prop cookies.
Very surprised you didn't also include something like a custard or ice cream in your tests. In my experience, especially making a custard, the bean is the way to go.
My thoughts exactly. Big difference in custard type recipes.
Yea if it involves a custard or creame. Real stuff. Other applications I'd say the fake is better for the cost and familiar taste
I live for these ingredient deep dives he's been doing.
Right? I love these!
Seriously! I've been watching Ethan for at least 3 years now and his videos have always been really cool, kind of an every-man youtuber (that is a compliment btw, sorry if it sounds like a diss). However, I feel like he really found his niche lately with the San Marzano, the Parmesan, and now this vanilla comparison. Watching him discuss recipes, pickle onions, or try to beat a fast food favorite in time and quality is entertaining and interesting. But these comparative investigations are amazingly insightful and helpful for real world applications. They satisfy my curiosity while still somehow leaving me hungry for more!
I've always unconsciously wondered this about vanilla (as well as both the Parm and San Marzano differences), being someone who loves to bake (and eat pasta), and now I wonder how many times I wasted money on various extracts when baking items that require a long time in the oven or even missed out not sourcing more exotic versions like Mexican vanilla, seeing as how Madagascan and Tahitian dominate the market (which is ironic considering Mexico is vanilla's place of origin).
Seems like, even though it's shunned by most pro bakers, imitation is probably best for high temperature/long cook times and extracts are best for everything not cooked or at least for very long/at high temperatures. That said, I am now curious if a combination has any merits for certain applications or even separately, for instance using imitation in a cake batter but using high quality and complex extract for the frosting of that cake.
Brilliant and helpful deep dive!
I'm trying to remember which food-science/dubunker youtuber just did this topic 3 months ago. I think the punch line was: once it reaches a temp that removes the alcohol, there's no chemical difference between vanilla bean and paper pulp extract.
Nah for real
He stole this video from Adam rugusea who just did this a week or so ago 🤦🏻♀️
To use the real vanilla beans properly, you would infuse your butter or your cream with vanilla before using the butter or the cream in the recipe. The smell and taste would be much stronger, and it would be a legit candidate in the tests!
PS. By infusing, I mean cooking the vanilla bean inside the heavy cream for a little bit with the seeds extracted and the pod inside.
yeah the real pods definitely got snubbed
In addition, if you can also leave the seeds and pod in the heavy cream (or whatever you may be using) overnight in the fridge to infuse gently 😋
@@dudbud7872 I agree 100%. The infusion time is the key when you use vanilla beans. I often do vanilla sugar by adding one or two opened beans in a jar full of sugar. Wait one month or longer, and the sugar will get a strong vanilla flavor. Then you'll just have to use the sugar in your pancakes, cookies etc.
Like Ilya says: you need to scape the beans out of the pod and the cook BOTH the beans and the pod together, usually in milk or cream. Vanilla is shy and will not share its flavor unless you make a very long argument telling it to let it go. On its own, it's a bit like dropping a bay leaf in soup while it's still in a sealed glass jar. I know it sounds nuts, but, left to its own devices, vanilla will keep its flavor to itself. The best is to use extract in the milk or cream and heat a pod or two in that same liquid. Again, your scrape the beans into the liquid, and you also put the scraped pods back into it.
@@hadimazzi He should have used whipped cream or something else that isn’t heated.
I used to cook with vanilla pods (beans) a lot till six or seven years ago when the global price of them sky-rocketted to more or less where they are now (they used to be 5-10 times cheaper). One thing that's great to do with them after you've used them, is to keep them in your sugar jar - even after the seeds have been removed for cooking with the empty case can still impart a lot of aromatics into the sugar.
In Germany everybody uses vanilla sugar in little packages for baking or flavoring desserts.
@wembleyford - I know there was a drought in Mexico a few years back so that the crop failed and they became very hard to get (and therefore, much more expensive). Perhaps this contributed to your observation.
I think the thing that's important to remember about vanilla is that it's a very volatile, "fragile" molecule (vanillin). If you're making a pastry cream or an ice cream base that's going to simmer gently for a few minutes, of course a vanilla bean or vanilla paste is your best option. If your making a Bundt cake that's going to be in a 350° oven for 75 minutes, the extra pungency of immitation vanilla (which would make pastry cream taste like a decorative candle) might be just the thing.
To make french crème brûlée, we cut the bean in half, scrape out the seeds and put them into the hot cream, then add the bean pod to the liquid to make an infusion. So we don't get the flavor only from the little black grains, but also from the bean pod. It makes a huge difference in such a recipe where the vanilla is the star of the show.
Then I reuse the empty pod to prepare myself a hot beverage before discarding it 😛
Never heard about the hot bev reuse, sounds delish!
You can also dry the pods even after making tea, til completely dry, grind them up & add them to sugar. That way you get even more use out of them.
I did that when making the custard for my homemade ice cream. Didn't seem right to just throw away the pod after scraping.
@@sjt4689 you can put them in hole, no need to grind, unless you want softer sugar.
ever put a vanilla bean in coffee?
I am a hobby ice cream maker, and a few years ago I switched from using imitation vanilla to powdered vanilla. Boy let me tell you the insane difference that made! I didn't even know that vanilla ice cream could taste so good!
I use homemade vanilla powder in my icecream too! It’s a gamechanger from vanillin, that’s for sure - YUM❣️ 🤗😋😍
I just received an ice cream maker for Christmas and was wondering this. Thank you!
I did miss checking cold uses, I buy vanilla beans once a year, for my Yule ice cream and it's heavenly!
Question good sir, what brand do you use?
Brother! Make a video with your recipes and ideas? I’ve wanted to get into this for years. Happy new year and thanks for sharing dude.
Sorry babe, I can’t talk to you right now, I’m watching a grown man blindfold himself and sniff pancakes alone in his kitchen
Forreal though, thanks for this thorough experiment!
😂
Ok understandable
😂
Record it n when I get there we will do our own test ya know what I mean?
@@garylee8132 ew
My parents have been making homemade vanilla with beans in a small bottle of spiced rum. I am now doing it now myself. It tastes like home to me.
@@RenataKleinRK - I did it once with Rum. But I was too impatient waiting for all those months to go by. >_
As a pastry chef I thoroughly enjoyed this in depth testing, discussion and overview of Vanilla. Definitely an important ingredient when baking. And it’s great to know which one to use in which scenario and when to use it. For sure want more of these detailed ingredient breakdown vids in ‘23!
My favourite way to add vanilla to baked goods is vanilla sugar. I keep a separate jar of sugar that has a few split vanilla beans in it, the sugar absorbs the vanilla flavour over time and seems to hold onto it really well when baking.
How much of the sugar component do you replace with the vanilla sugar? For example if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar - how much of that is vanilla infused sugar?
@@carrington2949 Depends! Usually a 50:50 ratio is plenty but if I want it really potent I'll do the full amount
I do the same thing, I usually scrape the seeds for custard and then put the pods into a jar with sugar
I wonder if this would make the sugar go bad due to the moisture in the vanilla 🤔 sugar doesn't expire unless hit with moisture. (Not saying it will go bad right away just will it lower the shelf life of sugar that naturally doesn't expire)
@@JappyChan I started my jar about 5 years ago, I do add more sugar every time I take some out, and of course add more pods whenever I make custard with the seeds, so the fact that it's ever changing might prevent it from "going bad" but I don't know for sure. I do have to break it up to use it because it clumps.
I learned a trick to stretch a penny that my grandmother did during the depression and passed it along. She would take her vanilla bean hulls after scraping the seeds and paste out and placing them into a bottle of vodka and with time she would placed even more hulls in and would have strong vanilla flavor. She said it was difficult to keep it hid so nobody would raid a swig from the bottle.
Good episode, but the one test I think you really need is ice cream. It's a pure vanilla flavor, and of course there are cooked and uncooked recipes (for extracting flavors for the whole bean or paste via heating the fat with them in there?).
Would really like to see that.
I would like to see an update where a test for ice cream is done too
I want to do a follow up with ice cream for the summer! I actually wanted to do a vanilla ice cream test in this video, but it was going to take too long to freeze 5 to 6 different batches in addition to the other testing.
That or a thick vanilla custard.
@@Henrik_Holst Great idea, and perhaps easier to accomplish.
@@EthanChlebowski Cool, will look forward to it. I find these experiments with a matrix of similar ingredients (for lack of a better term) really interesting. I keep thinking about making a stew divided into a few dutch ovens with different umami hacks (tomato paste, anchovy, and straight MSG?) vs the nominal recipe, for example.
*For anyone wanting a reason to buy and try cooking with a whole vanilla bean - make crème brûlée.*
It’s actually remarkably simple to make (no, you don’t have to own a blow torch), and it’s absolutely delicious. The process of boiling the halved bean and seeds in cream is a really great way to fully extract and preserve the aroma and taste compounds from the vanilla bean, and (I personally believe) this is a recipe where the quality and flavor of the whole bean _really_ comes through!
How does one get the nice top layer without a blowtorch?
Thank you for suggesting this, a different comment mentioned crème brûlée and I've been on a huge dessert kick lately, but I was intimidated enough to not even consider trying
@@cass6020Oh yeah, you should go for it!! It’s the perfect “looks really complicated so it will totally impress friends & family but actually is really easy” dessert! 😆
Only key points are remembering to temper the eggs, using a Bain Marie (hot water bath) when baking, and chilling it long enough before torching/broiling it (especially if using the broiler instead of a blow torch)! Sounds complicated - but read a few recipes/watch a few videos, and you’ll see it’s actually really easy!! My only other tips are to definitely use the whole bean (#1 way to take it from merely “pretty good”, to “holy crap this is amazing!”), and to splurge on higher quality eggs and cream. This is a very simple, few-ingredient dessert, so getting the best you can for those few ingredients will Really make a difference :)
If you don’t have/don’t want to get a blow torch, just chill the individual dishes as much as possible first, and then sprinkle the sugar, and throw them under the broiler for a few seconds, till the sugar melts and starts to brown. Works perfectly - though if you want to add the extra dramatic flair of torching it right in front of your guests before serving it (and let’s be honest - it’s just fun to do 😉), you can pick up a cheap culinary torch on Amazon, or even use a basic propane torch from the hardware store/Walmart!! It seems intimidating at first, but practice for a bit with some sugar on some thinly sliced apples (also a delicious snack), and you can get the hang of it before doing it in front of others!
Also, if you don’t have ramekins don’t worry - any small shallow oven-safe dishes will work - though you can also find cheap ramekins at thrift stores, some dollar stores, and (last resort) at Walmart. If you’ve got the cash of course, it’s always nice to patronize your local cooking shop - they’ll always have the highest quality stuff, and you’ll totally be able to use them for other stuff, too. I find ramekins are great for serving candy/nuts, putting out sauces, garnishes, and individual dips, and all sorts of other things, as well!!
Good luck!!! ☺️
@@AlexaHerrera90 Chill your baked crèmes as much as possible (overnight in the fridge is ideal), then heat up your oven’s broiler, sprinkle sugar on top, and put the chilled custards on a tray on the top rack right next to the broiler for a few seconds, until the sugar melts and starts to brown. You can even put them in a large baking dish in an ice bath, to try to keep the custard from heating up while the sugar melts!
Another trick, if you’re having trouble getting a nice layer, is to sprinkle a very fine layer of sugar, melt it, add another, melt it, and do this 2 or 3 times until you get a nice layer built up! (This also works when using the blow torch). The trick is to get a nice, fully caramelized layer of sugar on top that’s thick enough to crack with a spoon, without warming the custard up too much.
This approach will do a passable job at making a nice top layer, and is good enough that I will always encourage people to make the recipe even if they don’t have a blow torch - but it is true that a torch will still produce the nicest result, will be the easiest to work with, and also will have the most dramatic visual effect, when serving 😏. I’d recommend trying it once with the broiler, and if you like it enough to think you’ll want to make the recipe again, you can pick up a cheap culinary torch on Amazon, or even get an inexpensive propane torch at Home Depot or Walmart (assuming you’re in the US). These will work just as well, though they’re a little larger, and more “industrial looking” than a regular culinary torch. Just make sure you get propane (blue bottle, or dark green if using Coleman), and not anything else. You don’t want MAP, or acetylene, or anything like that 😂.
Good luck!!! 😊
@voldemortified - Thank you for the tips. I never tried crème brûlée, so I appreciate the cheerleading. One thing, though, I would be inclined to simmer the cream and not boil it. Love the username, too!
My experience is that when making something like creme brulee, or anything like a custard, real beans or homemade extract is the way to go. My cookies hasn't really had a difference since I began using my homemade extract, but the custards and creme brulee both went up a notch.
100%. Haha! Like creme anglaise - the vanilla bean is like poetic with it. It comes through so beautifully!
As someone who doesn't really care about vanilla and it's use, I have spent 32 minutes of watch time on this vid. Not only were the segments excellently structured, but thoughts, ideas, results & explanations were spot on. High quality video.
Also, these taste tests are becoming more fun to watch you...with the chill ambient music in the background...and what made me laugh was at 26:30 you reaching out for your drink as if you were petting air while talking. Comedic gold!
I saw the vid, I thought "30min vid about vanilla?? probably gonna watch a few min" But I wasin over 20 min before I realized I was going to watch the whole thing.
And indeed, him reaching for the can and failing to find it while talking completely undisturbed for that long was so funny.
Infotainment of very high quality, much appreciated!
I agree. This will age well
Lol I have no sense of smell and I still watched.
Why is this man wasting my time with excessively long videos? 20 minutes later...
What really gets me about this video and the structure: The way this video is structured is eerily similar to how a scientific paper (or proper essay for that matter) should be structured.
Introduction that sells you what the video is about, why it matters and what you can expect.
"Theoretical groundwork", that explains how and why the video covers what it covers to answer the question.
Main body that covers the tests and the findings.
Conclusions that tie everything up nicely.
I have no attachment to this channel at all, and this is the first vid I've seen of his, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ethan has a college degree of some sorts.
I’m used to make cakes and pies as a home business. (My son is now a pastry chef in a Michelin star restaurant.)
In my humble opinion, the final product is the actual carrier. Try scraping the bean into a vanilla sauce vs extract. Day and night. Ice cream vs Italian meringue buttercream (no powdered sugar there!) and yes there are a lot of differences.
I keep a Mexican extract, and my own extract made with potato vodka, cognac and a variety of beans on hand, plus the paste.
Very interesting topic for hardcore foodies for sure.
Have you ever done a video on “super tasters”?
I think there’s a connection there.
Vanilla is a very low key amazing flavor. People always say it's the "plain" flavor. But randomly get a vanilla ice cream and you'll be loving that ice cream. I don't know. Vanilla always reminds me how great it is.
I think the reason we perceive vanilla as “plain” nowadays is that it *used* to be prohibitively expensive.
Then it (and synthetic vanillin) became affordable, and everyone put it in their products due to the flavour’s prestige.
In earlier times, there were different “default” flavours for sweet foods, such as rose water.
This. There is only cream, milk, sugar and vanilla, maybe eggs but definitely nowhere to hide.
Vanilla ice cream is common, but a truly good one requires both good ingredients and experience. For this reason I also enjoy white chocolate.
ice cream might be the reason its percieved as plain
low quality vanilla ice cream just tastes sweet to me
My favorite is chocolate, but vanilla is good, but it's great if you get real vanilla like with Breyer's.
I love a 'premium' vanilla ice cream. Still my favorite flavor.
I just got an Ice Cream maker for Christmas, and I didn't realize that there are SO many recipes out there for a base. Would love to see a video with the different types/recipes compared!
My grandmother was a huge baker. And she swore by Mexican vanilla. She said it did better under heat.
Because is the original, the vainilla is from Mexico... Like the chocolate, bubble gum, tomato and the corn
@@taniaplay9204 original doesn't mean good
@@oldcowbb - Whether or not it's because of being "original" or the climate or the taste of terroir, Mexican vanilla is my favorite way to eat orchids. I made myself a taste-test using Nielson-Massey's Madagascar, Tahitian, and Mexican extracts - although all great, I prefer their Mexican vanilla when I can get it.
These videos truly get to the bottom of why lots of enthusiastic home cooks read ATK or Serious Eats but the thing you do best is you directly ask if it makes a difference in practice. I’m shocked they haven’t offered you a position or a guest article here and there.
AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA
ATK's vanilla test was basically the same as this.
Kenji has given Ethan's channel a shout out a few times now.
I tried for the first time making a traditional German Christmas cookie, vanilla kipferl, which are basically a vanilla flavored shortbread cookie dusted with vanilla powdered sugar. I used imitation vanilla in the cookie dough itself to better stand up to the baking heat and I used powdered vanilla mixed with powdered sugar for dusting. Made a very good cookie I must say. I agree that there seems to be a better form of vanilla flavoring to use depending on the application.
If you've ever seen an otter reach for a treat or a marble, that's what Ethan looks like pawing at his samples while blindfolded.
LOL
Cannot unsee
26:31 i chuckled quite a bit at this part of the video, haha
That's funny!
I thought muppetlike
I use vanilla to make spiced rum, hazelnut liqueur, etc. Those are room temperature extractions. For this purpose the whole bean, including the pods, not just the seeds, can't be beat. Very deep complex flavor.
This channel is sooooo excellent. Such clear and useful answers to some of the most practical questions in cooking.
When you have used the bean, you should stick the leftover bean into a jar of sugar to flavour it.
I also stick seeds in raw sugar, it's amazing in drinks. Been doing it for over 20 years now after having it in Maui
It’s delightful on fresh fruit, and brings sparkle to cookies, pies, scones and more!
And when you've used up the sugar just top up the jar again. The flavour just keeps on going!
thx for that, Ive been wondering what I should use it for since its so much stuff going to waste
Agreed! It makes the best vanilla sugar 💕
That doesn’t work
Many years ago (maybe a decade) I decided to make my own vanilla vodka by dropping a couple of Tahitian vanilla beans in it (a friend visited Tahiti and brought a small bundle back to me as a gift). I pushed it to the back of the cabinet and forgot about it. Fast forward to last year when I ran into it again and realized I had made something I could cook with. I use it instead of commercial extract and I can't believe how good it is in everything I make. Especially vanilla syrup which is just white sugar dissolved in hot water and extract added once it's cool. It's the best coffee/tea syrup I've ever had. Maybe it's not the same as commercial extract, but I love it. And that's the real point, right?
Becky from Acre Homestead uses rum! I just might try one of these!💕
@@robine916 I started one with bourbon a couple of months ago and can't wait to try it. I'm trying to forget about it for now so it will get to full strength first.
@@TheAmateurListener 💕
@@TheAmateurListener vanilla bean bourbon sounds so good!
Yes.
Having been to Tahiti and it's islands multiple times I am obsessed with Tahitian vanilla(both powder, beans and extract) but it's really only good for things that don't hit a high heat. It's a very delicate(to me) flavor. Almost more of a mild cherry and cola note compared to the other varieties on the market. I love it. Makes amazing French vanilla ice cream, custard, creme brulee and frostings
It is also because it is not the same specie of vanilla. (V tahitensis)
Bourbon vanilla (v planifolia) from the reunion island (also french colonial island) is another great but completely different experience (less red fruit/cherry, more compot/cacao)
Tahitian Vanilla I've only use in no-heat situations, added to syrup after it coolssyrup as you said it would work well, I've made whipped cream with it and it really brings out those flowery notes, great on pie or combining with pastry cream to fill choiux puffs
Thanks, Ethan, for a knowledgeable experiment on vanilla. I bought McCormick vanilla imitation a few times, and got disappointed every single time, and won't ever use it again.
Your experiment has helped confirm that my judgment was right on the unimpressive flavor of real vanilla beans.
Now, in Thailand, I use only vanilla paste bought from the USA with the Thai brand called "Best Odor" (a vanilla flavor, aka an imitation) which gives the best aroma of vanilla that makes every baked good taste so naturally good.
Mostly, I solely use "Best Odor" in custard pudding, cookies, pancakes, scones, pound cakes and other types of cakes, and it yields a good-tasting end-product every single time.
Your experiment has helped ensure that one's favorite vanilla imitation is something (s)he should stick to. No need to spend a fortune on the nonsense.
God bless you!
Very interesting! Here is the quote from Julia Child I was reminded of while watching the video: "The vanilla bean is favored by many fine cooks, but lately I've not had much luck with it; after steeping the bean in warm syrups or hot milk, I've always had to add vanilla extract to get the right effect." -- (, 1975)
I wish all 3 tests included no vanilla as a control, and bean scrapings so that the results were complete. I also question if the quantities of powder, paste and extract are equal by weight. I suspect that in actual usage more powder or paste is required. Although I‘ve always used Mexican vanilla purchased on vacation, it sounds like the culinary student suggestion of a blend is a great idea- maybe 1/2 tsp of paste for the flecks, 1 drop of artificial, 1/2 tsp powder, and 1/4 tsp of real extract from Mexico or Madagascar sounds like the perfect marriage of synergistic layers. Still a fun video to watch- my favourite is when blindfolded, Ethan keeps trying to find his can of palate cleansing liquid…
❤ thanks for sharing. I can’t wait till I can test
My own! I just started mine two days ago and then today ! So I have started 2 batches ! ❤🎉❤🎉 birth box pp😅
AaaAa❤
@geofftrimpol4467 - Yes, this wasn't really a scientific taste test. And it's just one guy with all his particular likes and dislikes and his childhood experiences, etc. I wonder if "America's Test Kitchen" has a segment on vanilla? Will have to check.
I really appreciate how you maximize objectivity of your ratings/analyses with these control procedures. Cooking is definitely an art form, but it's also a science!
I love your scientific approach to everything!!!
Both the paste and the powder are vanilla mixed with the simple sugar dextrose (also known as glucose). The extracts are vanilla mixed with alcohol. This will make a huge difference in the icing test, since you are tasting the alcohol in the extract samples (I doubt that the dextrose in the paste and powder makes a difference in the already sweet icing). Theoretically the alcohol boils off when heat is applied (pancakes), so this strikes me as a more accurate evaluation.
I read that there isn't that much alcohol actually burned off when cooking, but maybe the alcohol flavor is reduced?
I love that you reference, "On Food and Cooking" so much. It was a transformative book for me almost 20 years ago. Anyone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen should read that book.
You usually let the vanilla bean sit in the ingredients to infuse them with flavor. Some cook the vanilla bean in milk or let it sit in sugar and use that. The vanilla flavor will also be more potent the next day, I always notice this in cakes
People usually only buy real vanilla beans when making custards and maybe ice cream, I can’t believe those didn’t get tested
I was really disappointed not to have him test vanilla ice cream. Maybe too hard to make? He coud have done it with yogurt, though - take plain yogurt and add vanilla. Would be close enough.
I have made incredible dessert fusions with vanilla beans. cinnamon sticks and vodka, bottled for several years.
I've tried vanilla beans in ice cream and I was very disappointed. Barely any flavour, especially when considering the cost!
Now I use pure extract +imitation in a 2:1 ratio and it's perfect.
The frosting was the test case for uncooked use and surely is pretty similar to those.
@@CorrodiasYeah, but he didn't use the actual vanilla bean in that test, so your point is, well, non-existent.
Ethan, we need a re-test with some cremé bruleé or vanilla ice cream. Brian Lagerstrom just put up a good, simple cremé bruleé recipe the other day(and he used a real vanilla bean, for anyone curious).
Crazy, I just made my own vanilla this morning. I used Bourbon and spiced rum with Madagascar vanilla beans. See ya in 6 months.
It's been three days
I'm trying to be patient...
@@seronymus & @Zoe R , LOL
@@CabinFever52 4 days. Also happy Orthodoxy Christmas Eve
It's Worth the wait!
Last year I started getting into baking cakes and stuff and I always used imitation vanilla and never thought twice about it. But when someone gifted me Mexican vanilla, I immediately noticed how much different/better it tasted and I have never gone back to imitation.
I feel cake bread are one the foods that real vanilla shines in. Seems like cookies due to what’s mentioned in the video doesn’t make much of a difference. I don’t bake but I use real vanilla in shakes. Other than that, I use imitation for most dishes I make because I can’t tell the difference when a dish has other strong flavors. Cake bread has a mild but nice flavor which allow vanilla to shine.
Is there a Mexican vanilla that you recommend?
Exactly
Don’t listen to ppl who say it tastes the same
It surely does not!
i wonder if that distinction between the vanillas is more noticeable because youve used imitation vanilla as your primary vanilla source. interesting
I find that the type of flour makes a huge impact. Not too surprisingly, the earthier flavor of the Mexican compliments the earthy notes of cooked flour.
Interestingly, olive oil is kind of similar in that the extra virgin is really best on salads and so on but is just not strong enough in a cooked or baked item. Here the denser, more "earthy" plain types stand out more. The same for frying/used as an oil for cooking. You can plainly taste it, but a few drops of oil on top or a single olive has far more impact.
I made 10 pints of vanilla in Oct 2022. I bake a LOT and was tired of the cost of extract. I made some with vodka, some with spiced rum and some with bourbon. They are all delicious. I waited a year before using any of them. They will save me money in the long run.
Very interesting post. I read about an experiment carried out in the UK quite a few years ago. They asked around 50 chefs to do a taste test on natural Vanilla vs Vanillin. As I remember, the experiment was with cooked items but can't remember what they were. At the end of the tasting the result was pretty well even, which implies that even professional chefs couldn't tell the difference. I also read that vanillin and "2,4-dithiapentane" (truffle flavour) were the first flavour compounds to be synthesised. Probably because they were highly profitable items.
I wonder if the stage at which you add the vanilla matters. Like, maybe vanilla bean would perform better in a pancake if you mixed it into the melted butter so that any fat-soluble flavor compounds could get dispersed better. Just a thought :)
This is an EXCELLENT thought. I'm going to try this the next time I make pancakes. I always use vanilla beans, simply because I can afford it and I look for excuses to visit the spice shop nearby(it's AWESOME).
Smart query. I used to have a book called “What Einstein told his cook” which discussed how much of cooking is science. It explains the Maillard reaction, protein denaturation, fat vs water solubility, and a bunch of other things. Cooking really is a science, and the more you understand, the better your cooking is.
I learned to cook from both my parents (very different styles) and several great aunts... at the end of the day cooking is about 95% science/chemistry and about 3% experience the balance is a mix of voodoo and black magic....
As for the flavorings it depends on ones preference and there sensitivity to flavors and aromas.... I have numerous friends that swear I am a 'super taster' assuming such a thing truly exists...
I wonder for ice-creams, frostings, and pancakes, where vanilla bean flecks are visible in the final product if those items are more visually enhanced with vanilla bean alongside an extract/paste/powder of choice to provide aromas. It would be interesting to see an experiment where a third party could see vanilla bean flecks and if that has a sway on their opinion.
You can make the exp easily.
Cheap icecreams will use chemical vanilla aroma and will use shreded spent pods to make the black dots.
You get almost the same aspect (usually they also add yellow colour so you can tell by the colour which is the cheap) but the taste can't compare.
@@etienne8110 That "yellow color" is egg yoke.
@@coreymorse1347 No, not for the cheap stuff. ^^
Try making your own at home and you'll see that you can't get that yellow with "just" eggs.
I used a dark colored vanilla bean powder in sweets like that, so I got the flecks as well.
I am in Costa Rica and I buy real vanilla beans grown here in the central market and leave them in edible alcohol for months. It does taste different and more complex so I would say for perfume, or where you want the vanilla to be the star of your dish (vanilla ice cream or so) then it its worth and makes a difference.
Vanilla and chocolate are both native to Central America 🍦 pura vida!
I personally think that vanilla beans are very useful to create your own vanilla sugar, which makes a real taste difference
Try putting the bean pod in sugar, then use the sugar. It is much stronger. Slit the pod. Emerse it in sugar in an airtight jar for 3mths or longer then replace 1/3of the sugar in a recipe with vanilla sugar. I continually replace sugar in the jar but the beans last about 5 years.
One day I substituted vanilla extract with whiskey. The logic that the complex aromas and flavors of bourbon would be a great substitute. I then realized that the oak extracted flavors from the barrels are the same in imitation vanilla extract.
Adding actual alcohol to baked goods is an age-old cheat. :)
Like adding bacon. It simply elevates things. But you can't exactly sell it in a grocery store, so you rarely see it and have to make it yourself.
I love baking, and I mostly use beans. However, I almost always let it "sit" in the liquid for ages. For instance, if I'm using cream, I'll boil the bean in the cream, let it rest for a few hours, then proceed as instructed. It gets even more obvious in things like "canelés", a cake from Bordeaux, France, where I let everything rest for a whole day. So far, haven't been desappointed!
It is to be noted that in France at least, you can get fairly good beans for about 2€ a piece, which makes it easier to use in recipes.
Agreed - I think this was the vital missing step in this comparison.
The other obvious bias is the recipe.
Too much sugar will just drown the vanilla flavour. So american cookies probably won't make good use of real vanilla pods.
@@etienne8110 - American here. I automatically cut the sugar amount in half when I bake.
My consensus has been that it depends on the application. I started using imitation in baking after seeing an ATK segment. I don't notice a significant enough difference (or any really) to spend the money on real vanilla. It's so expensive these days. I live in Rhode Island. There are no $2 bottles of vanilla on any of my grocery shelves. A small bottle is currently $6. Real vanilla is better in uncooked applications, like adding to rice pudding at the end of cooking. ETA: My husband says $4.50 is the cheapest one he saw recently--the smallest bottle of McCormick.
Exactly, I’m baking goods the differences are hardly perceivable but in custards, pudding whipped creams you can tell.
Why add it at the end?
You want to extract the flavours so the vanilla pod needs to swim in your milk for a few hours before cooking and stay in the milk when heating it.
A lot of the difference also comes because people just don't know how to use the ingredient. ^^
@@etienne8110 I'm talking about extract or imitation flavoring. In rice pudding, which simmers for an hour on the stove top,
an extract would lose some potency. In a long cooking time the alcohol in the extract
or flavoring will cook off taking most of the vanilla with it.
@@Mixxie67 Oh sorry. Using extract didn't even cross my mind.
I though you were talking of full pods in bottles, my bad. ^^
@@etienne8110 No worries. I didn't take it personally. 🤓
Loved this deep dive, with all the cooked and uncooked variations. The pancake test with the 'control' was interesting. I wonder what the cookie 'control' would have tasted like? Also, I really like how you label the taste tests on the screen clearly for the viewer. Thank you again Ethan for a very informative and helpful video!!!
I’m just a home baker, but I did go down a vanilla hole a few years ago.
Mexican vanilla QUICKLY became my favorite & I actually ended up sourcing Mexican, Madagascar, and Tahitian beans to make my own extract with I use in everything now!
Not much to say other than this little series youve been doing of olive oil, tomato, vanilla, etc is some of the best content you have and I look forward to each of them.
I used to work in a restaurant where we made scratch made our own ice cream, right down to the vanilla extract.....for the first year. It was crazy expensive, and when we switched to high-quality, but commercially produced extract, we used half as much. And there was maybe more....clarity to the home-made extract, but more breadth to the flavor of the commercial extract.
do you remember what brand that was that you switched to?
@@jamesgarner2103 Nothing exotic. As so many of the taste tests on this and other channels say, the mid-range is the sweet spot. Ultra-expensive, artisanal products are frequently not worth the money, but even moving up one or two tiers of quality makes a HUGE difference from the low-budget, bulk options.
We wound up mixing Madagascar and Mecican, two extracts and a paste, different combos for different applications. I know we used Nielson Massey paste and extract for our Madagascar, but I don't remember what the brand was for Mexican.
I have been doing a custom blended for over a decade, using home-made mixed bean extract, good commercially produced extracts of different beans, and a small amount (~10%) of artificial to punch up the bottom end. The commercial ones I use are generally Nielsen Massey and Lochhead.
@@TheInfinityzeN do you sell your own?
@@14ToeBeans No, it is just one of the many things I make for my own use and to give to family and friends.
I also make varies cello (mostly Lemon and Blood Orange), mulberry and muscadine wine, salad dressings (up to and including making my own vinegar), old style BBQ sauce (closest is Pig Stand BBQ sauce, grew up friends of the family), truffle oil (shave a whole truffle into a gallon of high quality unfiltered olive oil and age for a year or so), and chocolate (normally use single source cacao pods). I also dry age my own beef and make smoked sausage from scratch (including intestine casing).
Since I retired from the Army, cooking and making food has been something I use to help my PTSD. People keep telling me I should start my own restaurant but the way I cook is the opposite, since I take my time and use it to release stress. I will happily spend several days to cook something completely from scratch.
This was fantastic! It also confirms my own experience which is that vanilla bean paste is excellent for UNcooked things like frosting (icing), but imitation vanilla is just fine for things like cookies. Note thatI have never used a real vanilla bean -- because of price, but maybe someday I will. Anyway, great video.
Using chef's intuition, I could see the benefits of combining some of these to get the benefits of each and hopefully stunt the drawbacks of them alone. As a side note, cool trick, plop a vanilla bean in your sugar bowl to aromatize your sugar for casual use in coffee or for an extra boost with baking, it can last like a year! Now that I think of it, I bet it would be equally useful in aromatizing coffee grounds, I'll have to try that. Vanilla is my favorite!
Cool. I usually toss the scraped pods in the blender with some sugar and sieve the powder. Works well for me.
The cookie taste test had me ROLLING. "Smells like a cookie" plus the cat-like attempt to find the 'palette cleansing' Rambler XD
I loved watching him try to talk as he felt around the counter for the drink. There's a relatable comedy to it.
There was some serious depth and consideration given to his cookie taste test.
I made my own vanilla extract during the vanilla shortage in 2020.
But though it was made with Madagascar beans, I actually found it weak for a vanilla flavor.....so I did the unthinkable.
I used my Costco Kirkland vanilla bottle and added my homemade with the imitation and loved it. Sorry purists, but sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do.
I’ve been making my own vanilla infusion for a few years, what I have noticed is that the older the infusion is the better scent and flavor. I usually let mine sit for at least a year before I open it.
@@lisamariejohnson6622 Same i let mine sit for at least a year before using, and I often use more vanilla beans than I otherwise might, to intensify the vanilla flavor and aroma.
@David Toccafondi apparently this is controversial, but I put my sliced beans in the alcohol within a mason jar. I seal it up and pressure cook it on high for 45 minutes. This essentially jump starts the process, and I can use it sooner. I prefer Madagascar grade A instead of grade B, as it seems to have a better time releasing its colors faster. This year I did a whole 1.75l of titos vodka and added it back to that bottle to go into my cabinet to sit for a long time.
Make my own with organic Madagascar and cheap vodka. The longer it sets, the stronger it gets.
Time is your friend when making your own vanilla extract. A year or two makes for scrumptious extract. 6 months is the absolute youngest I'd open it.
Interesting timing for this. I actually started homemade vanilla about a year ago and just gifted it to family, including my mom, a frequent baker, for Christmas. I’m excited to see how it works for her. It certainly smells good.
Thanks! Just discovered your channel. Baking is science, and your experiments and conclusions are very unbiased and helpful.
Love the channel, scientific and ask the right questions.
Ethan doing the MOST for all of us home cooks, 10/10 thank you
You always put in so much research when it comes to your videos It’s greatly appreciated !
What anime is your pfp from?
Chocolate chip cookies have a lot going on so vanilla doesn’t stand out so much to me, but in sugar cookies or peanut butter cookies it’s really noticeable imo so that would have been an interesting test. Also ice cream would have been a great test too
I recently experimented with several batches of shortbread cookie (butter, sugar, egg yolk, whole wheat flour) and my favorite had a combination of homemade extract (whole Madagascar beans soaked in whiskey for several months) and commercially available vanilla paste at approximately 1:1 ratio.
@@popefacto5945 that sounds fantastic because you’re not getting just the vanilla you’re getting the notes from the whiskey as well which is going to be really nice.
If you’re really noticing the vanilla in peanut butter cookies you don’t have enough peanut butter in them. Peanuts are an extremely strong flavor and would entirely overwhelm any notes of vanilla.
@@pjschmid2251 I love peanut butter so I usually add more than the recipe suggests. I also tried this with different types of peanut butter. I can always notice if vanilla is used or not or if it’s imitation or real. Maybe it’s just me 🤷🏽♀️
@@pjschmid2251 I still get a hint of corn on the nose but the flavor (after several years) seems to be all vanilla. My favorite part is that I can use "extract grade" beans (which are fairly dry but much less expensive) and they rehydrate and are preserved in the liquor so I have "fresh" vanilla beans any time. I also do Tahitian vanilla in blackstrap rum (which has a lot of flavor and compliments the vanilla nicely).
I use a lot of European recipes, which call for vanilla sugar (usually a few TBS per recipe). I purchased about 6 vanilla beans online. I used 1-vanilla bean and flavored approximately a cup and a half to 2-cups of sugar, and use that in most recipes. So, ounce for ounce, you may pay more for vanilla bean but you use a 1/16th to 1/8th as much of it, and it lasts forever. I use real vanilla extract in some recipes, but again, a tsp here and there, and the small, 3oz bottle lasted a year. So, while it seems expensive, for as little as you actually use vanilla, it doesn't hurt your wallet to use the real thing. For homemade ice cream, and custard, I use real vanilla bean. Always.
Top Notch content! I first watched your steak videos, then caught a couple of your fast food vids.. and now this one... This one won me over, and I subbed... You're covering topics that alot of people wonder about, but no one else seems to adress... Great stuff!!
Interesting Video.
I tried making popcorn with "Vanillin Sugar" which people use for baking
(sugar and oil in a pot heated up with the popcorn-corn, caramelizing etc).
My whole Apartment smelled like Vanilla for several days and the actual popcorn didn´t really taste much like vanilla.
If you don't like frosting then you could've done the raw vanilla test by making vanilla pudding and adding in the vanilla after it has solidified. I don't think it would've changed the results, but it definitely would've been more enjoyable for you lol
Very interesting. The use of vanilla in the US and Europe are a bit different (I am German and also lived in the US and Italy).
In Germany we mostly use the real vanilla beans, BUT: what we usually do is that we scratch out the pod, use it in "whatever we are making" and preserve the scratched out pod in sugar, which will get a wonderful vanilla aroma, and we use this sugar also for the product that we are making. Kicker is: the pod has to sit in the sugar for a while, so you usually don't use the seeds from the same pod and the flavored sugar. Also you can buy vanilla sugar sleeves (8 grams) and one usually is enough for 500 grams of flour. There are different sleeves that you can buy, some with real vanilla and vanilla extract - called Vanillezucker (vanilla sugar) others are artificial, they are called Vanillinzucker (vanillin sugar). You also get vanilla extract - not as popular here - and vanilla paste - becoming more popular (and in my opinion better than the extracts). There are also tiny flasks of artificial liquid vanilla flavor (kind of an oily substance), which are ok for cakes, (a few drops up to a whole flask are usually good for a whole cake). I would not use them in pancakes, whipped cream or buttercream. They will taste artificial. In a cake, however, it is not that obvious as being an artificial product.
You can also buy ground vanilla, which personally I like to use for all kinds of things and - I think - has a very distinct vanilla flavor. The ground vanilla, uses the whole pod. Unfortunately it does loose flavor when you keep it too long and don't use it up quickly enough, which is why you usually get in very small jars. You could still flavor your sugar with it, but in baked products it will not shine when you kept it for too long.
Would have been interesting for you to try the vanilla products you don't have in the US. Would have sent them to you with no problem.
I am a big fan of these comparison videos, they are always great fun and very interesting.
I always use vanilla paste, it has a perfect balance in flavour. I think the use and kind of vanilla you use depends on what you are using it for, for a custard I would use real vanilla because it's going to sit for longer and disperse flavour throughout the custard, if I'm making a cake I use paste because it gives a consistent flavour spread throughout, same with cookies. I used to use imitation but it's a really fine balance between vanilla flavour and overpowering artificial flavour and would require a very specific measurement, in pancakes though where you use it as a base imitation works fine.
My wife and I discovered your channel and its great. Really enjoy your perspective and approach. These types of comparisons are perfect. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, different types of salt (sea, granular, crushed, etc) are a few of other products we wonder about and would appreciate your viewpoint. We have a lot of catching up to do and look forward to watching until we're caught up. Thanks!
The Cook's Vanilla powder that you used here is good stuff, I grew up working for them so I'm very familiar with the product. It uses the sugar as the flavor carrier similar to the way extract uses the alcohol & water. Since it doesn't use the cold percolation in alcohol and water that they used in their high quality liquid extracts, so you do lose a little complexity, but you can't use alcohol and water in a powder obviously. I think the frosting application is a good one, another is coffee, and things where you aren't baking the alcohol out. Great video. Everything you said here in your explanation of the way the flavor compounds interact with our smell and taste is accurate. I will say I don't use the amount of vanilla specified in recipes, I use far more! Pure vanilla is forgiving to use - adding more won't ruin your recipe. Artificial vanilla you have to be careful with. One thing I do remember about Mexican vanilla specifically (if it's extracted in Mexico at least) is that there was less regulation on the labeling of extracts from Mexico, so you might end up with a less consistent product from brand to brand etc. Maybe more or less alcohol, maybe some extra things boosting the flavor or color here or there. In the US the regulations on what can be labeled "Pure Vanilla Extract" on your grocery store shelf are quite strict to protect the consumer. Watch out for wording like "All Natural Vanilla" on your labels. Those probably have other natural flavor and color additives - it's not necessarily bad and probably better than artificial, but it's not as delicate as "Pure".
I also want to add that the demand for vanilla flavored products is so high, we would run out of real vanilla immediately if we were to only use that. So it’s really cool we have vanillin!
I've been making my own vanilla for a few years now. It's mostly used for ice cream which I make regularly. I use a lot! I also keep a stock of vanilla paste for recipes where I want the visuals of the black speckles. The extract goes into every batch regardless of flavour and the paste goes into vanilla bean flavour. Adam Ragusea stated on one of his videos that most recipes seriously underutilise vanilla and I agree with him completely. I usually use 3x or 4x whatever a recipe calls for. Vanilla is one of the best flavours in the world. I want it to punch me in the face. That bottle you suggested might last a year would probably only last me a couple of months. I buy my beans in bulk from either Amazon or Costco and put them directly into new bottles of vodka. I have a few years worth in the making in my pantry. Also you can change the flavour with kind of liquor you use. I have a rum version which I've yet to try, but I once used some German liquor and it was very noticeable in my ice cream, in a good way.
I made vanilla with vodka, bourbon and captain Morgan’s spiced rum. By far, the spiced rum is my go to!!
What do you mean by “i make my own vanilla”?
Darren :: you need to look into good quality planifolia beans roughcut for extraction at Saffron Vanilla Imports. It was my answer to economically stepping up production (sorta) economically when the smoothies started getting a tsp per batch. What a difference! I use 4 oz beans in a liter bottle of a reasonable quality (not harsh) vodka. It's an added flavor bonus if you can keep production ahead of consumption (and gifting). My current in-use vanilla extract is 6 years old...
@@kilianhzh Making (extracting) your own vanilla in alcohol is dead easy. Search TH-cam or the wider Internet for hundreds of instructionals...
@@kilianhzh I made my own vanilla using vodka, vanilla beans, and my instant pot. Search for Frieda Loves Bread for lots of info and an instructional video.
I made some homemade extract. 7 beans(organic) and put them into a bottle with 350ml of vodka
Leave it for 10 weeks to be ready, but i just let it sit for 6 months. Lovely sweet and mellow. Still doesnt cost that much compred to 350ml of bought extract.
When making vanilla extract, instead of just splitting the bean as most recipes show, I use a stick blender to get full exposure to the vodka for the vanilla seeds and bean, then strain when doing the final bottles.
I would love to see a follow up video that compares real vanilla extracts of different price points to see what level of expense is worth paying. Is a $20 bottle considerably better than a $15 or $10 version?
I just decanted 12 ounces of Tahitian vanilla. My cost was under $30. McCormack vanilla is $5/ounce in my local Walmart. I had to wait a year but it was worth it.
@@lindaprovencher5224 if you use a vacuum pump to pull out the air when you bottle the bean for steeping, you can make your extract in less time (about 6 or 7 months), but you can still wait a full year too. I vacuum mine but let it steep a year just to give the chemistry the time it wants.
This is super informative. My mom always said not to bother with imitation vanilla, but I may try it in my baking now. Thanks!
You can make your own using whiskey and vanilla beans
Your mom was right. Stick with the real extracts and leave the imitation vanilla in the store. The stuff is awful.
@@barbarasmith2693 I make my own yogurt. When I add vanilla extract to the finished yogurt, I can taste a hint of alcohol, so for yogurt I prefer imitation vanilla.
I really enjoy the food science of your videos. One of my favorite TV Shows is Good Eats with Alton Brown. He gives the science of the food also. Since I live in Texas I use Mexican Vanilla. My friends go to Mexico and bring back vanilla in bottles that look like wine bottles. I love the flavor of Mexican Vanilla. Great Job on these videos!
Not to bust your bubble or knock Mexico, which I love, but I was told back in the 1980s that what comes in those large bottles is derived from wood pulp and has nothing to do with vanilla. So sorry. Caveat emptor especially in Mexico, where all kinds of things happen.
@@johnmcglynn2125 as long as it's not mixed with methyl alcohol that's going to make me blind and it tastes great.... No Fs given
As someone pointed out, giant jugs of vanilla like that are certainly imitation vanilla. Food labeling and safety are different. Genuine Mexican vanilla is just as expensive as other world vanillas. It is a labor intensive and time- consuming process to pick and cure the beans.
@RickTexas - In addition to wood pulp, etc, Mexican manufacturers sometimes substitute "tonka tree beans" instead of vanilla beans. The FDA bans those beans for food in the USA, though I don't know why.
Blue Cattle Truck traditional vanilla extract from Mexico has been my favorite for years and is all that will ever be found in my kitchen.
Thanks for another great, fun video!
It's definitely true that real vanilla shines where there are no high cooking temperatures involved, so something like crème anglaise. For floating islands or crème brûlée, real vanilla is the very best, although real vanilla extract is an OK substitute if there are no vanilla pods available. I wouldn't use anything else!
In our cupboard, there is a sealed container of caster sugar with one or two pods buried in the sugar. The vanilla pods keep well and the sugar takes on a most wonderful aroma!
Why not include plain cookies in the experiment? It would be really funny if you couldn't tell that apart from real vanilla ones.
I feel like he was trying to avoid outing himself by saying with confidence: this the real deal, and its the control cookie
@@lucamarin5421 oh there WAS a control cookie lol. JK i have no idea
I don't really think it matters as he clearly stated "Vanilla makes a HUGE difference compared to none"
Speaking from experience, forgetting vanilla (regardless of type) makes most baked goods taste flat.
@@lucamarin5421 ? He easily found the control with the pancake...it's not hard to tell.
Nice to have some solid confirmation of what we've been telling ourselves: real vanilla when it's the star of the dish (creme brulee, frosting), artificial when it's a supporting character (cookies, pancakes)
I bought a blend of natural and artificial for use when vanilla isn't the primary flavor. Save the pricy good stuff when needed
I'm going to have to experiment with this. I use actual beans in almost all my cooking calling for vanilla for a few reasons: I can afford it, I don't use vanilla particularly often, and I LOVE visiting the spice shop and literally look for excuses to go there.
That said, if I can get more vanilla flavour for less money in my pancakes(the #1 use for vanilla in my kitchen by a wide margin), I'd be an idiot to ignore that.
I take issue with the conclusion that one should buy the expensive stuff. From the taste test it seems clear that if one primarily uses vanilla for baking cookies and the like it's not worth spending more money. As usual it all depends on the application.
If someone doesn't bake frequently or only uses it for frosting or custards, then yes, better to splurge. But if you're like me and toss vanilla into anything that isn't savory, the imitation is good enough. I like Badia's Dominican style imitation - it's got a darker caramel color, and a bolder flavor, even if it's not as deep as the real stuff. And it holds up great in every baked recipe I've tried it in.
It doesn't cost that much.
you can use the pods in icecream and other milk rice and then put the "spent" pods in a sugar jar. It will flavour the sugar. Use that sugar in your pastries and cakes.
It will taste better than just vanilla extract and won't cost that more.
@keithkannenberg7414 - I take issue with your issue. I am a vanilla fiend and after years of experimenting at home, I can taste the difference. I would rather not buy vanilla than get the cheap stuff.
@@MossyMozart Fair enough. If you can taste the difference and the difference is enough to matter then go for the more expensive stuff.
As a chef, I find it really knowledgeable; to understand how some food ingredients react under different heat level and methods. Thank you.
Couple things about beans: you can buy them online for cheap because shipping is quite easy without the liquid. Also, you need to let them infuse in the batter for a few days. Extra points if the batter is alcoholic like in french Canales!
I stand by my infusion with rum it gets a lot of the woodiness and some other nuances from the beans as well as the pods.
That sounds better than the home made vodka based extract that I was given a couple of years ago. Not at all suited to cooking but I made do by using it in cocktails 😉
I did a bit of my own taste test recently using my normal chocolate chip cookie recipe with "artificial" vanilla or "real vanilla" extract. I couldn't tell the difference in the baked applications so I'm going to save my good vanilla for places where vanilla is the main flavor component.
Chocolate cookies are a mistake when taste testing vanilla, as the chocolate is just going to overpower the subtle notes. Maybe a sugar cookie?😕
@@KickyFut Oh yeah something milder would definitely make more sense if I was looking to taste the difference between the different vanillas. My main goal was to see if I could use the cheap vanilla without any observable decline in flavor
My grandma’s from Texas and swears by Mexican vanilla extract. It really is a fantastic product
Most of what people cart back from Mexico is imitation vanilla. Genuine vanilla extract is pricey. The US food industry is regulated differently than Mexico and that includes what constitutes a flavoring or an extract as well as what actually goes into the product ( in this case it is likely wood pulp ).
Is it the one with a chicken for a logo that one is absolutely amazing
@@otstx "...chicken logo..." That would be Danncy Mexican Vainilla and has listed its ingredients: Vanilla Bean extractives in water and natural flavors, potassium sorbate. US labeling requires vanilla extracts to contain 13.3% vanilla bean extractives and at least 35% alcohol. Alcohol is used to extract complex flavor components that are not water soluble, and is a preservative. Vanilla flavoring has no alcohol and may contain natural or synthetic flavoring in varying amounts.
@@otstx yes, we’ve used La Vencadora in the past! It’s fantastic- part artificial and part real but really a good product for the price
@@LouieLouie505 La Vencadora also has a chicken on the logo I believe
I also made a Vanilla test with vanilla beans from the store and vanilla beans freshly bought from the vanilla plantage and the difference was HUGE for me. Vanilla beans cooked in chicken dishes is so ultimatively nice and gives the food such an awesome flavour. Vanilla extracts or even the vanilla beans you get in stores are no comparison to the fresh beans from a vanilla plantage. They usually are already dried in the stores, fresh one is very juicy and you can eat the whole bean and not just the black scratch inside of it... you can just sliced it like chilis for example in small rings and add it into your food which makes the flavor so much better
For about $30-40 and some time you can make about a half gallon of vanilla. You will need about 20-25 vanilla beans (~$25 on amazon) , 2 (750ml) bottles of high proof alcohol (vodka is traditional) and a jar to put them in. You stick the beans in the jar of vodka and let sit for 6-12 months and you have quite a bit of vanilla for a fraction of the cost per oz.
When we brought vanilla extract back from Mexico, it had kind of a cinnamon-y type taste to it. I wonder if that’s the same thing that’s causing the autumnal taste you’re getting
I don't get that flavor using vanilla extract but I use a lot of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in making food during the week so maybe my taste buds are really keyed in on these specific flavors.
@themagicknightress7132 - There's a lot of adulteration and fraud in vanilla extract made in Mexico. The FDA says that they sometimes substitute "Tonka tree beans" instead of vanilla beans (something that is banned in the USA for food use) or they use stuff like wood pulp and other things. Best to get Mexican vanilla from reputable companies outside of Mexico.
This scratches that itch which Good Eats always has. Great stuff as usual :)
I was dying when he was looking for his drink while doing the cookie test! 🤣🤣
That was definitely a highlight for me too!
Yeah I cracked up laughing too. Good hard evidence that he doesn't cheat with tying the blindfold, too!
I use vanilla beans to make the custard for my ice cream bases, I scrape the seeds into a pot of milk and let it steep before adding the other ingredients. With the pods scraped, I put them in a jar of sugar to infuse the sugar with the vanilla flavor
One downside to artificial vanilla is that a lot of it is synthesized from petroleum products. There is a more sustainable version synthesized from lignan, but I don't know how you'd identify it.
Thanks for doing this! One thing this explains is the popularity of the "chef's secret" --double vanilla.
Look up castoreum. It will make you sick!