Penzey's Double Strength Vanilla. I buy the 32 oz size and it even has whole real vanilla beans in it.

Nancy

Nancy, even the small bottles of single strength have the vanilla bean. I just graduated to the large, Double Strength myself. Good stuff!

I stuff a vanilla bean in a small glass bottle with a cork top, fill with vodka, put in the cabinet, & in a couple months I've got vanilla extract. Been doing it that way for 30 years. I've usually got 2-3 bottles going at once. And in September I always start an extra bottle for holiday baking. I use the Madagascar vanilla beans from KA.

/t

I got some Mexican Vanilla in a swap... I don't remember the brand, but I love it! :-)

Triciae, next time try using brandy instead of vodka, adds a real interesting depth to the flavor. I also got some vanilla paste from Williams Sonoma, really intense flavor, it's just about solid vanilla seeds. I made a vanilla bean cheesecake with it that was amazing. I also have a Watkins lady down the street from me, and they have (here we go!) the absolute best double strength vanilla that I have ever used. I also heard, and maybe someone here can verify, that in baking you are no better off using the real stuff as opposed to the imitation, that heat kills all the subtleties. When making a noncooked item frosting, etc, to use the very best real extract that you can find. Any truth to that?

Steve

I use Adam's pure vanilla most of the time.
Also have a bottle of pure Mexican vanilla.
It is very good, too.

Some months ago I acidentally bought a bottle of Adams that said "Adam's best, pure and artificial flavors".
Used it in a cake I make that takes quite a bit of vanilla.
And that was, without a doubt,
the WORST cake I have ever made.
So I heartily disagree with the statement that
"in baking you are no better off using the real stuff as opposed to the imitation,"

There was defiinitely a difference!
Never again will I use imitation vanilla in anything.

Rusty

I use several vanilla products.

-My sister lives in South Texas and keeps me supplied with Mexican Vanilla.

-I use Cook's Pure Powdered Vanilla in my homemade dry baking mixes.

-Penzeys Double Strength is great.

-Homemade vanilla - vanilla beans soaked in vodka, cherry vodka, spiced rum, etc. I like to use homemade vanilla when vanilla is a stand-alone flavor (vanilla ice cream or vanilla pudding). Vanilla made in cherry vodka is great added to homemade chocolate pudding. I "strip" (hold the bean between your thumb and index finger and "milk" the rich black liquid out of the vanilla bean) the rich vanilla concentrate out of the vodka-soaked vanilla beans and place them back in the vodka. You can strip the beans several times.

I'd hate to think I'd have to be restricted to only ONE! (LOL)

I was always surprised when they did the taste test for vanilla at America's Test Kitchen and the tasters couldn't tell the difference between real or imitation vanilla.

Vanilla oddity... When Coca-Cola messed around with the original recipe and came out with "NEW" Coke (1985), it was vanilla they omitted from the recipe.

-Grainlady

There was more different between the old and new Coke. Real sugar was omitted. "Classic Coke" doesn't use it either which connoisseurs suggest is the biggest difference. I don't care for Coke so IDK!

On vanilla, I believe I can definitely taste a difference between imitation vanilla and pure vanilla extract so I'm with Rusty on this. I noticed I was adding more and more imitation and then decided to try real stuff and haven't gone back since.

I've never heard of powdered vanilla. That sounds interesting. I see on the site they have powdered almond too. Do you have to order it online or is it available in stores? I don't recall ever seeing it in stores around here.

I use Nielson-Massey real vanilla, but didn't know/think to put a bean in it. I'm going to go do so right now.

I also use the Penzey's double strength, and I don't like the imitation vanilla at all. I have some cheaper Tone's, but it's real vanilla, not imitation. I use it in things where vanilla is not an important or dominant flavor and it's OK, but I really like the Penzey's a lot better.

But I really like vanilla...

Annie

Found glass "cigar" tubes of vanilla beans at local farmer's/flea market?? Booth was selling sun glasses or watches, but had a box with these glass tubes with 3 beans each. Marked $3 of 2 for $5?!? I figured I didn't have a lot to lose, so bit! Have a mason jar sitting on counter with split beans in vodka, just steeping away. It's been a little over a mont and it's starting to get fairly dark. Not as dark as normal supermarket stuff but smells really good. I know it'll never go bad and I'll have enough vanilla extract for a LONG LONG time.

Here's a vanilla bean question. On cooking shows, any time they put a split bean into something they end up saying don't toss it... stick it in sugar. When I decide my extract is "done" can I drain off beans and do the same? Thinking "tipsy" sugar that would be nice in coffee!?!

Wow, I have learned soooo much about vanilla!!! Thank you so much for your time!

Trudy

I use McCormick's Pure Vanilla (not the McCormick's imitation vanilla). I buy it because it's less expensive at the supermarket than the fancier Madagascar vanilla by Neilsen-Massey. Also, the McCormick's won a Cook's Illustrated magazine taste test of vanillas.

Be careful of vanilla from Mexico. The FDA has issued Import Alerts on mexican vanilla. It may be cut with an extract made from tonka beans, which contains coumarin, a blood thinner which can cause cancer, liver damage and can also be lethal in doses as small as a gram. Ironically, vanilla that is cut with tonka beans/coumarin actually tastes better, causing people to say they prefer Mexican vanilla. You can google this topic, or look at my link to the article from the FDA about Mexican vanilla.

Here is a link that might be useful: FDA Article about Mexican Vanilla

I've used Double Strength Vanilla from Penzey's which I agree is very good. My favorite vanilla though is vanilla bean paste, which to me, doesn't seem to ''cook out'' of whatever I'm using it in like liquid vanilla. I do think it's the amount of the real vanilla bean in the paste that gives it more flavor, and I like being able to see it in the product.

I was always surprised when they did the taste test for vanilla at America's Test Kitchen and the tasters couldn't tell the difference between real or imitation vanilla.

Grainlady - America's Test Kitchen amended their conclusion about real vs. imitation vanilla with another vanilla taste test. They divided the test very specifically between baked goods and milk/pudding tests. In the milk/pudding tests, imitation vanilla fell to the bottom of the rankings. In baked goods, they found that "flavor and aroma compounds in vanilla begin to bake off at around 280 to 300 degrees. Cakes rarely exceed an internal temperature above 210 degrees; cookies become much hotter as they bake. As a result, pure vanilla kept a slight flavor advantage in the cake--but not in the cookies." Their conclusion was "If youâÂÂre only buying one bottle of vanilla for cooking, baking, and making cold and creamy desserts, our top choice is a real extract. If you only use vanilla for baking, we have to admit thereâÂÂs not much difference between a well-made synthetic vanilla and the real thing. Speaking to pastry chefs, we learned that many buy an arsenal of vanilla extracts, using cheaper imitation for baking and pure for confections made with moderate or no heat, such as puddings, pastry cream, and buttercream frosting." Their overall winner was the McCormick's Pure Vanilla.