{"id":3591,"date":"2018-09-12T20:17:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=3591"},"modified":"2023-08-08T12:35:04","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T16:35:04","slug":"chillin-with-vanillin-how-to-beat-the-high-cost-of-vanilla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=3591","title":{"rendered":"Chillin’ With Vanillin: How to Beat the High Cost of Vanilla"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you can believe headlines these days, vanilla is nearly as expensive as silver. A cyclone in Madagascar last year put vanilla bean on the “endangered spices” list. Maybe we should now include vanilla extract in our homeowners\u2019 policies.<\/p>\n

But all is not lost. For those of us who swirl spoonfuls into our yogurt and pour it into our baking, there\u2019s no need to cut back. It\u2019s \u201cvanillin,\u201d the active flavor ingredient in vanilla, that we really love. \u201cVanilla extract\u201d has other chemicals, too, but they have negligible taste and degrade when heated. We\u2019re in it for the vanillin. And we can get it in \u201cimitation vanilla.\u201d<\/p>\n

But why, Mr. Science, should we settle for \u201cimitation\u201d?<\/p>\n

First, imitation vanilla has oodles more vanillin that vanilla extract does. In taste tests, imitation vanilla ties or wins against the fanciest stuff.<\/a> For uncooked dishes, where the booziness of vanilla extract can make a difference, just add a touch of vodka and nobody will be the wiser.<\/p>\n

Second, it doesn\u2019t matter where vanillin comes from. Whether it\u2019s produced in a manufacturing plant or inside a vanilla bean, all vanillin is identical: C8<\/sub>H8<\/sub>O3<\/sub>. Food historian Sarah Lohman puts it well when she writes that \u201catoms don\u2019t remember their history\u2014the synthesized vanillin has no relation to its source.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s all this fuss about vanillin? It\u2019s more than a flavor; it\u2019s a flavor enhancer. It makes chocolate more chocolatey and just about any sweet more luscious. I\u2019ve long suspected that it\u2019s a happy drug, and recently I found proof. A study in mice shows that simply sniffing vanillin relieves depression by boosting dopamine. <\/a> (As my neuroscientist daughter says, it\u2019s a great time to be a lab mouse.)<\/p>\n

My husband grew up next door to the Baker\u2019s Extract Company bottling plant in Springfield, Massachusetts. You\u2019d think the family would get sick of the sweet aroma. But no, like the lab mice, they got a kick from the free-floating mood enhancer. His sister Chris would even pull herself up to the factory\u2019s window ledges in order to get the strongest hit.<\/p>\n

So save for college tuitions or retirement and choose imitation vanilla, preferably containing super-potent ethyl vanillin. Double or triple it in your recipes. I guarantee everyone will love it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you can believe headlines these days, vanilla is nearly as expensive as silver. A cyclone in Madagascar last year put vanilla bean on the “endangered spices” list. Maybe we should now include vanilla extract in our homeowners\u2019 policies. But all is not lost. For those of us who swirl spoonfuls into our yogurt and pour it into our baking, there\u2019s no need to cut back. It\u2019s \u201cvanillin,\u201d the active flavor ingredient in vanilla, that we really love. \u201cVanilla extract\u201d has other chemicals, too, but they have negligible taste and degrade when heated. We\u2019re in it for the vanillin. And we can get it in \u201cimitation vanilla.\u201d But why, Mr. Science, should we settle for \u201cimitation\u201d? First, imitation vanilla has oodles more vanillin that vanilla extract does. In taste tests, imitation vanilla ties or wins against the fanciest stuff. For uncooked dishes, where the booziness of vanilla extract can make a difference, just add a touch of vodka and nobody will be the wiser. Second, it doesn\u2019t matter where vanillin comes from. Whether it\u2019s produced in a manufacturing plant or inside a vanilla bean, all vanillin is identical: C8H8O3. Food historian Sarah Lohman puts it well when she writes that \u201catoms don\u2019t remember their history\u2014the synthesized vanillin has no relation to its source.\u201d So what\u2019s all this fuss about vanillin? It\u2019s more than a flavor; it\u2019s a flavor enhancer. It makes chocolate more chocolatey and just about any sweet more luscious. I\u2019ve long suspected that it\u2019s a happy drug, and recently I found proof. A study in mice shows that simply sniffing vanillin relieves depression by boosting dopamine. (As my neuroscientist daughter says, it\u2019s a great time to be a lab mouse.) My husband grew up next door to the Baker\u2019s Extract Company bottling plant in Springfield, Massachusetts. You\u2019d think the family would get sick of the sweet aroma. But no, like the lab mice, they got a kick from the free-floating mood enhancer. His sister Chris would even pull herself up to the factory\u2019s window ledges in order to get the strongest hit. So save for college tuitions or retirement and choose imitation vanilla, preferably containing super-potent ethyl vanillin. Double or triple it in your recipes. I guarantee everyone will love it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,1,4],"tags":[464,462,463],"class_list":["post-3591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ingredient","category-other","category-techniquesingredients","tag-high-cost-of-vanilla","tag-imitation-vanilla-better-than-vanilla-extract","tag-vanillin"],"yoast_head":"\nChillin' With Vanillin: How to Beat the High Cost of Vanilla - Recipephany<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Imitation vanilla has tons more vanillin that vanilla extract does. 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She ran Brody Marketing (brodymarketing.com) for high tech and biotech companiess. She has an MBA with honors from Boston University, and a BA with distinction from Simmons College in communications. You can find her on Linked In if you really want to.\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/recipephany.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chillin' With Vanillin: How to Beat the High Cost of Vanilla - Recipephany","description":"Imitation vanilla has tons more vanillin that vanilla extract does. 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