By the by ~ have you noticed the price of Vanilla

[valley ranch]

Vanilla has increased in price from $70 a gallon to over $500 ~ that makes a nice size bottle $38 to $40 ~ that don't nice is it ~ and imitation vanilla is made from Coal and canceragenic from what Me reads ~ what's your thought ~ I'm running low on Vanilla ~ don't like the idea of using coal tar ~ gonna try a larger amount of Almond extract in Biscotti that I make regularly ```

 

[PhilaGardener]

Slice and scrape 4-8 fresh vanilla beans into a quart of cheap vodka and age 12 months in the dark. It is well worth the wait! (Honest, the flavors clearly developed over that time so I wouldn't rush it.)

(I was using my current batch this evening - started January 2018 and is about a third gone). Really easy and great!

 

[valley ranch]

Did you grow or buy the bean ```

 

[Prairie Rose]

I bought vanilla beans in bulk a couple of years ago...three dozen for about twenty dollars. I double wrapped them and stuck them in the freezer, haven't even used half of them yet. I make vanilla like PhilaGardener, but I don't age my vodka nearly as long. Three or four months, usually. Then I transfer the beans to a fresh bottle, add a few more, and start that one aging. I will reuse the beans at least once, if not twice. Each time I trim a little more off one end so I know how many times I've used it. Once I'm done using them in vodka, I will let them dry, and either bury them in a pint of sugar for a month or so, toss them in a pot of simmering water to make the house smell good, and their final destination is my compost pile.

If real vanilla is going to be that expensive, I might take a risk at trying to grow my own. I know it is an involved process, but at least I can say I tried to do it myself!

As far as baking? If I am out of vanilla I usually reach for the almond or the lemon extracts.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Fake vanilla is actually not made from coal-tar, it's made mostly from wood-tar creosote or wood lignin. The simple fact is coal-tar..aka coal is not cheap, wood is. Coal-tar is still used in some 3rd world countries but not really in the US anymore because of the cancer causing concerns.

They are some "horror" stories of things like cow poop being used but if you buy any imitation vanilla labeled natural or made with natural flavors it can't legally have been made with cow poop. It also used to commonly be made with waste wood pulp from the paper industry but due to much much less virgin paper waste thats not done anymore either.
Most imitation vanilla sold in the US is made of things that are safe to eat...wood products, clove oil, cinnamon, fermented bran, etc.

Now I know you are thinking wood-tar doesnt sound better, well really if you every have a bonfire, wood burning fireplace, eat smoked foods, etc anything with wood burning you're already exposed to more wood-tar creosote then your getting from that teaspoon of fake vanilla in those 24 cookies you made. Much like real vanilla is only made with 10% vanilla bean, imitation is a very small percentage of the liquid in the bottle.

Part of the reason I'm fine with imitation vanilla is because real vanilla extract actually gets most of its flavors destroyed when heated or baked. Vanilla is usually a flavor enhancement no the primary flavoring in most things we cook. All that said I do have real vanilla I use to make ice cream.

If you feeling weird about eating wood products, don't wood is very safe to eat and is in a lot of our foods. A side note...most activated charcoal is made in similar ways was the material used to make fake vanilla flavoring.

If you ever want to stop eating anything you dont raise, butcher, farm, can, preserve, make yourself...go read FDA laws and food processes. A good one is look up how maraschino cherries are made, then find someone who worked at a place they were made and can tell you all about the things(animals included) they pulled dead out of the tanks. DH has worked at those, a pickle factory(more ew) and commercial slaughter plants for the number one beef and pork producer/s(really the same company) in the country.

 

[catjac1975]

Vanilla is very expensive. I have tried for years to grow vanilla beans. The plant will live for years but I cannot get it to bloom. I will keep at it but my kitchen does not yet support a viable plant.

 

[pjn]

make my vanilla

 

[misfitmorgan]

Making your own will save you money in the long haul compared to buying the real deal at the store, however it will still be costing you approx $1.57/oz if you using proper ratios (approx 75 beans per gallon of 35% alcohol) compared to imitation being $0.13/oz.

Also Watkins Baking Vanilla is not pure vanilla extract its mostly imitation with a tiny bit of pure vanilla extract added so they can label it differently. It's really about perception, because real vanilla cooks off to easily to be fully tasted in any finished baked goods...so tadaa baking vanilla fixes the problem, marketing

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I sorta got around it by buying my vanilla from stores that deal in remainders (Home Goods, mostly) where everything is on a steep discount. Though this plan does rely on being able to stock up when the stuff is available (so you need to be able to lay down significant amounts of money when the supply is available.)

I currently have a fairly large supply of vanilla left from the last time I did this, so I'm good for the moment.

This method also allows one to taste around different sources of vanilla and figure out which kind is best for your needs. Most of what I have is standard Bourbon Madagascar, but I also have some from places like Tahiti and Mexico (note that you have to get from someone you REALLY trust, as a lot of cheap Mexican Vanilla is adulterated with Tonka beans/courmarin, which is carcinogenic.) I USED to have some from New Guinea, Indonesia and Uganda but I ran out (Ugandan was my favorite but due to unrest, I don't think they export Vanilla anymore.)

When I get desperate enough I supposed I will do the bean in the vodka thing (though since the higher the proof the more you extract, I'll probably use my 180 proof stuff.)

 

[flowerbug]

when you read up on the process involved in getting good vanilla beans finished i've always been amazed it was so cheap. we have a friend who travels to Mexico once in a while and he gets us vanilla in exchange for goodies. we don't bake a lot with it even then as people have noted the finished flavor is not really that noticeable in a lot of baked items. however in a pudding, custard or ice-cream it is well worth it. and once in a while i like some in my coffee but i am rationing it closely the past 6 months.