Your favorite vanilla extract...?

Question

A friend of mine went to Mexico recently and brought me back a bottle of the most tantalizing vanilla extract I've ever experienced. Every time I open the bottle, I make everyone within shouting distance sniff the unbelievable aroma. In fact, don't tell anyone, but I find the scent so seductive, I'm often tempted to dab a little behind my ears.

Needless to say, the bottle is nearly empty. Old McCormick's will never satisfy me again. So ... what vanilla extract should I buy now, and, where can I buy it?

Answer

Regarding dabbing a little behind your ears, I think there've been "studies" circulated about the fact that vanilla scent has been proven to have some kind of "aphrodisiac" properties on either men or women or both (I can't remember which).

To tag onto your question, I'm wondering if anyone can comment on use of the vanilla PASTES I've been seeing frequently all of a sudden (Trader Joe's started carrying it). Are the pastes so, so amazing? I enjoy the idea of vanilla bits in there...

Answer

I swear by Penzey's double strength--has a vanilla bean soaking in it too. After vanilla is finished--can use the bean for vanilla sugar etc. BTW, Penzey's stocks a mexican vanilla, try it. But, the double strength beats it hands down IMHO.

Answer

Premier Mexican. A litre is about $4 south of the border. I've got a whole unused bottle here I can't give away. Pretty good quality, can't beat the price.

Answer

http://www.watkinsonline.com/default.cfm

We purchased fantastic vanilla from Bill Porter, the door to door salesman...through Watkins.

Answer

I've been using La Vencedora for a while and love it. Here's a good article about Mexican vanilla. Much of it is excellent vanilla. You have to watch out for cumarin.
http://www.themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=1468&Section=Valley

Answer

Hello all! I'm new to the boards, but have been reading some threads over the past couple of days and am really enjoying the conversation. 
My favorite vanilla extract is my own. I've been making my own for over a year now, and there is nothing like it! I have been able to get the vanilla beans on EBay fairly inexpensively. I do buy high end vodka though, it definitely contributes to the quality of the finished product.

Answer

I really like the Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla that they sell at Costco - it's amazingly inexpensive and it smells wonderfully. However, I'm not a vanilla connoiseur - has anyone else tried the stuff from Costco?

Answer

I like Neilsen-Massey's Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla as well. I'd love to try some good Mexican vanilla (hmmmm ... next time I go to the Mexican market I'll have to look for some).

Mostly, I hate Tahitian vanilla. Hate it. It seems to be very trendy on these "describe all the ingredients" menus these days to tout Tahitian vanilla, which has the effect of making me order anything else.

Answer

I've been using Trader Joe's Tahitian Blend Pure Vanilla Extract and it's decent. But I also have some 100% natural ground whole vanilla beans that I use with or without vanilla extract to add a deep and delicious vanilla flavor. It's not vanilla powder, it's a black powder that looks like ground coffee...

Answer

I have been using Charles H. Baldwin and Sons (Baldwin Extracts) for years, which I get at their small general store in West Stockbridge, MA. It is very flavourful, aged in 100 year old oak barrels and made with beans from Madagascar. I buy it on my way through the area to visit relatives every year. It is also available online.

Answer

I love mexican vanilla, read the label though, Several have added "goodies" you don't want tainting your treats. I also have purchased vanilla made in Honduras. Very good, potent, and CHEAP. If you know anyone going on a cruise that stops in Roatan, Honduras, have them pick some up for you. About $4 for a huge bottle. You may also be interested in an article written some time ago in Cooks Illustrated...it showed that taste testers liked imitation vanillas as well as pure vanilla! Suprised me, I still use the real thing.

Answer

I've been using Trader Joe's Bourbon vanilla extract and I'm happy with it. I don't care for the Tahitian vanilla.

Answer

I have recently moved overseas and have been dismayed, that with all the wonderful food and cuisine offered, I rarely can find vanilla extract. The vanilla here comes in a white powder and is sold in a white plastic tubes with red lids. Does anyone know what this is, and how it is measured, for instance, does half a gram of this powdered stuff equal one teaspoon of real vanilla extract?

Someone help me.

Answer

Try The Vanilla Company in Santa Cruz, a coastal community here in Northern California. You can find them online at vanilla-dot.com

A 16-oz bottle of their certified organic premium-quality Bourbon vanilla flavor is a bit expensive at $35 a bottle, but it makes a real difference and is well worth the cost.

By the way, the difference between vanilla extract and vanilla flavor is the alcohol content. The alcohol content of pure vanilla extract is 35% vs. 17% in vanilla flavor.

The Vanilla Company product is a flavor, not an extract. Because the alcohol content in lower, the flavor is actually more intense and comes through with greater clarity in the finished food product you make.

Answer

Correction: You can find the Vanilla Company in Santa Cruz at vanilla-dot-com. My previous instructions were a bit confusing and I apologize.

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Your favorite vanilla extract...?

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