What is the difference between vanilla and vanilla extract?

Vanilla and vanilla extract are both made from vanilla beans. It seems that people assume that they can interchange the two because they seem similar to each other. The truth is that they are different in the sense that vanilla extract has been mixed with alcohol so it will have a more distinct and bitter taste.

The main compound that you will be tasting when you try out vanilla extract is called “vanillin.” This is something that you can find naturally in vanilla beans. Vanilla in its pure form is composed of different ingredients such as vanilla bean extract, glycerin, and water. Vanilla extract would take longer to make because the vanilla needs to ferment first.

Vanilla and vanilla extract are two types of flavors and ingredients that can be used in recipes. Vanilla obtains its flavor from orchids, which come from the vanilla genus. They can also be known as flat leaved vanilla or V planifolla. They can predominantly be found in Mexico. Vanilla extract is a solution. This solution has the vanilla flavor, but it is not from vanilla. It gets its flavor from a compound that is called vanillin.

Another difference between them is the amount of alcohol that is in the two of them. Between them, vanilla extract has more alcohol than the amount of alcohol that is in vanilla.

First of all, you should recognize the fact that vanilla is a flavor that is obtained from the orchids of the vanilla genus. These species are also referred to as V planifolla or flat-leaved vanilla, and they are dominant in Mexico. The term vanilla is actually gotten from a Spanish word "vaina," which means a sheath or a pod.

It is not an easy job to grow the real vanilla, and probably they make the second most costly specie of its kind after saffron. Vanilla is also unique for its flavor, and it is really in very high demand. Conversely, vanilla extract is a solution that contains the vanilla flavor, but it is not a flavor gotten directly from vanilla itself. The primary ingredient for it, which is obtained from the vanilla flavor, is known as compound vanillin. A pure vanilla extract is usually prepared by macerating and percolating vanilla beans in a water and ethyl solution. There are also triple and double strength vanilla extract too. And the vanilla extract contains more amount of alcohol than vanilla itself.

Vanilla is a tropical, climbing orchid of the vanilla genus, bearing podlike fruit-producing an extract used in perfumes or in flavoring food. Although vanilla is now grown in different parts of the world, its origin can be traced to Mexico. While vanilla is mostly discussed due to its powerful flavor in ice cream, it can also be used as spices for different kinds of dishes.

Vanilla extract, on the other hand, is a liquid that is prepared by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol. The proportion of vanilla beans and alcohol to be used is not constant for every country. In some countries, vanilla extract is made to contain 100 grams of vanilla beans and 35 percent of alcohol, whereas, in other countries, the percentage of alcohol in the mixture can be higher or lower than 35 percent. However, the percentage of alcohol in the vanilla is about 3 percent. While vanilla is used to describe the flavor, the substance that is producing the flavor is the vanilla extract.