Vanilla and how to make (what I think is) the very best extract

Where does vanilla come from? Why is it soooo expensive? And what is artificial vanilla made of?

Did you know that vanilla comes from a species of orchid? Vanilla beans or seed pods are the resulting fruit from pollination of this species of orchid.

Originally vanilla production was limited to the Americas, as this orchid had just one natural pollinator, a specific bee. Methods of hand pollination were implemented as a way to grow vanilla outside of the Americas.

Today, with hand pollination, the majority of the world's vanilla beans come from the islands of the Indian Ocean, Bourbon vanilla (from Bourbon Island, not made with bourbon), or Madagascar vanilla (from Madagascar and neighboring islands). Other sources of modern day vanilla still include Mexico, as well as the Tahitian Islands, and the West Indies.

Vanilla is a costly spice/flavoring, second only to saffron, due to the labor-intensive process of artificially pollinating the blossoms.

Because of this high cost, artificial vanilla flavors are commonly found in many commercially baked goods.

The most common consumer artificial vanilla flavoring contains a form of vanillin, synthesized from a natural polymer found in wood. It's a synthetic flavor. In addition, artificial vanilla flavoring often contains coloring, for which the label does not need to specify this coloring's origin (often simply called "caramel coloring"), and sugars.

When the label says "natural" flavoring on a vanilla product, does this mean natural vanilla? Or something else?

So, there's this rumor/myth circulating that a natural, vanilla-like flavoring comes from beaver glands and is used in "natural" vanilla flavoring. The castor sacs of beavers produces a secretion that does have a vanilla-like essence. And it has been approved by the FDA to be safe for use in food. However, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group (who thoroughly investigated this), no major vanilla manufacturer in the USA uses this as a source of vanilla flavoring. In years past, it may have been used, but not in today's manufacturing process.

So, what is "natural" vanilla flavoring?

The FDA is very specific about what can be called vanilla extract, and what has to be called vanilla flavoring. Only products made with vanilla beans, alcohol and water can be called vanilla extract. The alcohol-free substitute, made with glycerine and/or propylene glycol, must be called vanilla flavoring. It's still made from natural vanilla, but it's flavor is slightly different from pure vanilla extract.

Vanilla extract is also allowed to contain sugar, dextrose, corn syrup, caramel color and stabilizers. It's these extra ingredients that makes me inclined to favor homemade vanilla extract.

If you are traveling outside the US, all bets are off as to what is in that cheap bottle of "vanilla extract". Other countries do not need to abide by the FDA's regulations, if they are selling their product outside the US. I remember my mom buying "vanilla extract" in Mexico, when we'd go down to Tijuana (I grew up in So. Calif.). She raved over how cheap it was. But who really knows what was in those bottles?

Just to simplify all of this, I prefer to just make my own. That way, I know exactly what it contains. And if I'm not satisfied with it's strength, then I can adjust that myself, at home.

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To make vanilla extract

If I'm gonna go to the trouble of making my own vanilla extract, I want it to be goooooood! Here's how I do it.

To make your own high-quality, pure vanilla extract, you'll need:

a 1-quart glass jar, with plastic lid
12 ounces of vodka (I use bottom-shelf vodka, whatever is cheapest -- and you can fudge a bit on the amount of vodka and use up to 14 ounces per 8 or 9 beans, but it will be of lesser strength)
8 to 10 whole vanilla beans
a sharp knife and cutting board
and, eventually a small, dark glass bottle to decant your finished product

A lot of homemade vanilla isn't much more than vanilla booze. Many online recipes say to pop a vanilla bean into a fifth of vodka and let it sit a month or two. You just can't get enough flavor out of that one vanilla bean. The FDA actually has set standards on what can be called vanilla extract. It's a ratio of about 9 beans for every 12 ounces of vodka. (The amount of beans is set by weight and not count, hence the "about".)

I say, go for the beans! I use 8 beans in 10 to 12 ounces of vodka (however much I have at the time). And I really love the resulting flavor.

If your vanilla does not taste as strong as you like, that's easy to remedy. Simply add another split bean or two, and wait a few weeks. If your vanilla is too strong, then either add less to recipes, or add a bit more vodka to the jar.

And time. You've got to let it infuse for several months. IMO, the best flavor emerges around the 8-month marker. The flavor of the extract is complex and rich at this point. So, if you want vanilla for holiday baking or gifting, now is the time to start.

The process:

You will get the most flavor by exposing a lot of surface area of the pod to the infusing liquid (vodka is my alcohol of choice for making vanilla).

So, using the point of a sharp knife, I first split the pods lengthwise.

Then I scrape out the seeds with the back of the knife blade, and put these scrapings in a quart-size glass jar along with the vodka.

I cut each split pod into 2-inch lengths. Every time you add a cut surface to the vanilla bean, you add the ability to draw out more flavor. (I could chop the beans finely, but I want to be able to fish out the pieces after 2 years.)





Place a lid tightly on the jar and allow to infuse in a dark place. From what I've read, you want to store your vanilla in a dark cupboard to protect the fragile oils from exposure to light (could weaken the strength over time).

Start testing your vanilla around the 4th or 5th month. I think the flavor really matures around month 8.

When ready, decant the vanilla, a couple of ounces at a time, into a small dark bottle. (I reuse an old commercial vanilla bottle.)

To make more vanilla:

I leave the beans in the same jar of vodka for 2 years. I add new beans and vodka each year.

To determine which beans are the two-year old ones, I alternate years with my cutting technique.

• On year one, I split the beans, then cut into 2-inch lengths. 
• On year two, I split and scrape the beans, but leave them whole. 
• On year three, I remove the old 2-inch lengths before adding new 2-inch ones. 

I figure that a vanilla pod that is a year old should still have a bit of flavoring left in it, so I leave it to infuse with the new pods.

Don't throw those used pods away! Dry them, and add to a container of granulated sugar. You'll have a mild vanilla-flavored sugar to add to coffee or tea, or to sprinkle over shortbread and other cookies.

Just how high quality of vanilla beans do you need for making extract?

Do you need premium vanilla beans? Nope! (Finally a do-it-yourself project that doesn't require premium anything!) Vanilla beans are graded based on appearance and moisture content. Highest grade vanilla beans don't necessarily have more flavoring potential than lower grade. So, those $10 glass vials at the supermarket, containing one lone vanilla bean may be significantly overpriced for making extract. Go for less expensive beans.

I've been very happy making vanilla extract with less expensive vanilla beans and bottom-shelf vodka for several years.

In my next post, I'll tell you where I get most of my vanilla beans for free, and how you can too (plus a giveaway). And I'll give you a couple of sources for buying quality vanilla beans at a good price. So, stay tuned.



sources for this post include: the website from FDA.gov, wikipedia,The Vegetarian Resource Group


What are your thoughts on home-made vanilla? Do you make your own? Buy pure vanilla extract? Buy artificial vanilla flavoring? Does it matter to you whether vanilla is real or artificial? It is only a teaspoon or so added to recipes. Maybe real or artificial doesn't matter to you. Just wondering what your thoughts are.

Don't buy cream puffs and eclairs (they are crazy-cheap to make!)

(It was a rainy Thursday afternoon. I was stuck inside all afternoon, so guess what? You get me this morning, as I had time to type up what I was doing -- baking. Now aren't you lucky?! Haha!)

This week, the grocery ads for Mother's Day are featuring cream puffs and eclairs for $6 for a 7 to 9-count package.

They are so easy to make (really!!), and crazy-cheap.

I baked 15 medium-size cream puffs the other day, for under $1. Here's the breakdown in cost:

• 1/2 cup butter -- 50 cents
• 4 eggs -- 36 cents
• 1 cup all-purpose flour -- 8 cents
• 1/4 teaspoon salt -- 1 cent

total to make my own cream puffs -- 95 cents. Even if your grocery costs are double mine, it would still be under $2 to make a batch of 12 to 15 cream puffs. My filling (whipped cream and fruit -- remember the whipped cream I bought on markdown, whipped, then froze back in February?) will cost about 50 cents for the whole batch. So for me, my price per cream puff will be about 10 cents per filled puff. The grocery store cream puffs work out to almost $1 per cream puff!

So you're thinking, "what do I need 15 cream puffs for?" Well, unfilled cream puffs freeze beautifully. You can use however many at a time that you need. And since the batter to make them is not at all sweet, you can use them to hold savory as well as sweet fillings. I sometimes make tiny cream puffs (referred to as cocktail-size) to fill with chicken salad, to take to potlucks.

Cream puffs are egg-risen. Once they puff up, they have a hollowed out spot inside, just right for a dollop of filling.

For a dessert, I pull frozen, unfilled cream puffs out from the freezer, allow to come to room temperature for 20 minutes, on the counter, then fill with either sweetened whipped cream, ice cream, or homemade vanilla pudding. You can frost the tops, sprinkle with powdered (confectioner's) sugar, or drizzle with a chocolate glaze or syrup.

What's the best, though, is if these are for guests, they look so spectacular everyone thinks I'm some sort of master baker!

I bake the cream puffs, in advance, so I'm not rushed at the last minute. (I baked the Mother's Day brunch ones on the Thursday before Mother's Day, then froze unfilled.) If more than a day in advance, I pop them into a ziploc and freeze them.

Here's the recipe I've been using for the last 30 years, and that my mother used for 20 years before that.

For 12 to 15 3-inch diameter cream puffs:

ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

equipment:

heavy-bottomed medium saucepan

large spoon

small bowl and fork

rubber spatula

large baking sheet

Prep:

Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (non-convection). Grease the baking sheet.

Cook:

In the saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add butter, and stir until butter is melted. Stir in salt.

Add the flour, all at once, and stir vigorously until throughly mixed in, and a large mass develops. Remove pan from heat.

In small bowl, beat 1 egg with fork. Add to this slightly cooled flour/butter/water mixture, and beat vigorously. When thoroughly combined, break 2nd egg into small bowl, beat with fork, then beat into the flour/butter/water mixture. 

By now, the mixture is cool enough, that you can add the last 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well in between, whole, and not need to beat the eggs in a bowl first So, add the last 2 eggs, one at a time, and beat vigorously until thoroughly combined. You'll have to beat hard for about a minute or so.

With the large spoon and a rubber spatula, spoon the batter onto greased baking sheet. The dollops will be about the size of a ping pong ball, before they naturally flatten. If desired, you can flatten the "points" with the back of a spoon, dipped in water. It's not necessary, but does make them more professional-looking.

Bake:

Bake the cream puffs at 450 F, for 14 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F, and bake for about 20-22 additional minutes, until golden.

Allow to sit on baking sheet for about 1 minute, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool throughly.

Filling cream puffs:

Just before serving, use a serrated knife to cut 1/3 off of the top, leaving a large hollow inside. Fill with sweetened, whipped cream, ice cream, cornstarch pudding or meat/egg-based salad. For the dessert cream puffs, you can also add a few slices of strawberries or a few blueberries, after the whipped cream. Replace the tops.

(Fill just prior to serving, as the pastry will become soggy if they sit too long already-filled.)

Once filled, sprinkle with powdered (confectioner's) sugar, drizzle with chocolate glaze or syrup, or ice with a thin frosting.

These freeze beautifully. Once cooled, slide into a large ziploc, whole and uncut, and store in freezer up to 4 months.

As far as calories go (I really am trying to cut back on extra calories, I know, hard to believe when you see me posting about cream puffs), these are only as naughty as you make them. Unfilled, each one has 107 calories. If filled with sliced strawberries (13 calories for 1/4 cup sliced) and use a fat-free whipped topping (15 calories for 2 tablespoons fat-free Cool Whip), then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, you can make a "decadent" dessert for under 150 calories. Even if using real whipped cream (30 calories for 2 tablespoons whipped), instead of fat-free whipped topping, the calorie count only "jumps" to 150 calories.

To make eclairs:

For eclairs, the recipe is exactly the same, only instead of using a spoon to form the dough on baking sheets, fill a pastry/icing bag, without the tip, with the dough. Pipe in ribbons, directly onto greased baking sheet, 1-inch wide, 3-inches long. Bake as above, at 450 F to start, then 325 F to finish, until golden. Slice eclairs horizontally, and fill with ice cream, whipped cream or cornstarch pudding.