The Simply Recipes Guide to Vanilla
https://ift.tt/311JSSl We add vanilla to sweets and baked goods without even thinking about it. Sugar cookies, yellow cake, and ice cream would not be the same without that all-important teaspoon of aromatic brown extract. But its usefulness is not limited to dessert. Vanilla has its own character, and it serves as a valuable flavor lifter. It can soften sharp flavors and invigorate earthy ones. If you’ve ever wondered what makes vanilla so special or how can you get the most from the vanilla you buy, we have answers for you! A few facts here may shock you (seriously) but don’t fret: it’s all G-rated, and after reading this, you’ll never think of vanilla as tame again! WHERE DOES VANILLA COME FROM?Vanilla begins its life as the seed pod of the climbing orchid, one of the three edible vanilla orchid species. Vanilla orchids are native to Mexico; the Aztecs developed the lengthy process of curing and drying that transforms the smooth, blasé green seed pods into perfumed, shriveled black “beans” (not being legumes, vanilla beans are technically a fruit). Veracruz is the heart of Mexico’s vanilla industry today. But that industry is tiny – the majority of world production now is in Madagascar, the massive island nation off Africa’s southeast coast. WHAT MAKES VANILLA TASTE AND SMELL SO DISTINCTIVE?The chemical compound vanillin is chiefly responsible for vanilla’s personality; there’s simply nothing else like it. Vanillin can be produced by artificial means, but when you buy imitation vanilla extract, that’s all you get: vanillin. Therefore, imitation vanilla extract can smell and taste one-dimensional. But natural vanilla contains over 250 other compounds that contribute to its flavor and aroma. At harvest time, vanilla beans are smooth and green, with none of their trademark aroma because there’s no vanillin in them yet! THE REASON REAL VANILLA IS EXPENSIVEIn short, labor. It takes a lot of time to cultivate and process vanilla, and it’s not the sort of crop that takes to industrial planting. Vanilla thrives best on small farms in a narrow band in the tropics. A newly planted vine won’t even produce a flower until three years have passed. Vanilla orchids bloom for less than a day, and to ensure a good yield, the flowers are pollinated by hand. Curing and drying the beans takes six to nine months. Unstable climates in Madagascar—political and natural—led to record-high prices in 2017 and 2018. Combined with rising global demand for vanilla in processed foods, vanilla farmers and producers were put in a tricky spot. Vanilla beans grown in Madagascar often have a little tattoo on them, like how ranchers brand cattle. It’s pricked in while the bean is still green to make a subtle pattern of pock marks on the cured bean. This is to deter vanilla bean thieves. That’s how valuable and time-consuming vanilla farming is. Can you think of another food plant that gets branded? Until we have tropical forest biodomes orbiting in space, there’s simply not enough real vanilla to meet the global demand for it. The majority of vanilla-flavored processed foods we eat are made with imitation vanilla. The ice cream and beverage industries are two big users. Even the black specks in many mass-market vanilla ice creams (my grandfather used to call them “fly specks”) are synthetic. MAJOR VARIETIES OF VANILLA BEAN
If you see Mexican vanilla extract that’s quite cheap, it’s best to avoid it. Pure vanilla extract from Mexico, available through specialty retailers, tends to be more expensive than the run-of-the-mill grocery store vanilla. WHAT ARE VANILLA BEANS?Whole vanilla beans are the entire cured and dried seed pod. Vanilla extract makes food sing, but vanilla beans make it really pop. Exquisite and expensive, vanilla beans are not an everyday ingredient for most of us. Do right by them and they will do right by you. HOW TO BUY AND USE VANILLA BEANSWhen shopping for vanilla beans, look for ones that are supple, not split or withered. Keep them loosely wrapped in an airtight container and store in a cool, dry spot. They will last indefinitely, but after about a year their flavor dulls and they lose pliability. Don’t freeze or refrigerate the beans—it makes them withered and brittle. You don’t need to use the whole bean at once. If a recipe calls for half a bean, cut it in half crosswise, then split the bean half lengthwise. This keeps your unused half from drying out. Best Recipes for Whole Vanilla BeansVanilla beans communicate their flavor best in recipes that have a lot of moisture—think ice creams, custards, puddings, jams and jellies, frostings, syrups, and sauces. Recipes with a lot of flour, like cookies and cakes, tend to mute vanilla beans. If vanilla beans were 50 cents a pop, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but since you’re likely paying up to $15 per bean, you probably want to get the most bang for your buck. Try vanilla bean in these recipes! DON’T THROW AWAY THE VANILLA HULL!A lot of cheffy recipes call for scraping the seeds from a vanilla bean pod, then discarding the hull. This is a waste! The hulls have a ton of flavor—more than the seeds, in fact. You can save those hulls for steeping in liquid to infuse vanilla bean’s mystique in future recipes. I’m so bonkers over vanilla beans, I even save spent hulls. I rinse them off, let them air-dry, then stockpile them until I have enough to pulverize in my spice grinder. These ground, spent vanilla beans are not nearly as potent as new ones, but they are a fantastic addition to all sorts of things when you want subtle vanilla bean flavor: preserves, sauces, chocolate chip cookies. I even put a quarter teaspoon in chili or ragouts to round them out a little! WHAT IS VANILLA BEAN PASTE?You may have seen jars of vanilla bean paste, which promises the flavor of vanilla beans in an easy-to-measure paste. Inside the jar is a gelatinous brown goo made of vanilla bean seeds and ground pods in thickener vehicle like gum tragacanth or xantham gum. I’m a big fan of vanilla bean paste. It delivers nearly the same potency of a freshly halved and scraped pod. The label of the jar should offer substitution amounts, which will vary depending on the paste’s concentration. A VANILLA EXTRACT PRIMEREarly American baking recipes often didn’t call for vanilla extract. Why? They didn’t have it! Vanilla extract only became a household staple in the late 1800s, when improvements in vanilla orchid pollination made vanilla much more affordable. Now we add it to everything… but what is vanilla extract? Let’s look at each variety. 1. PURE VANILLA EXTRACTThe FDA has very specific definitions for vanilla extract: a minimum of 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon of liquid containing a minimum of 35% alcohol to 65% water. Producers macerate or percolate chopped vanilla beans in water and alcohol. The beans can be all from one region, or a proprietary blend. Caramel color, sugar, and/or corn syrup are sometimes added, though it does not have to say so on the label. Some companies don’t add any sugar, and some add up to 30 percent. Many spice and extract companies offer different vanilla extract blends: a cookie vanilla, and an all-purpose vanilla. It’s completely fine to be a one-extract household, but it you’re curious, compare a few different blends or brands. A vanilla extract problem is less of a problem than a shoe problem. Vanilla takes up less space, it smells better, and it keeps for ages. You’ll work your way through it eventually. 2. IMITATION VANILLA EXTRACTVanillin, the main flavor and aroma compound in vanilla, was first synthesized in 1874 by two German chemists who isolated it from pine bark. Vanillin can be made from a number of sources, and most imitation vanilla today is derived from lignin (an organic polymer found in wood and bark) or creosote. Real vanilla gets its flavor from dozens and dozens of organic components. Imitation vanilla? Just one, vanillin, and that’s vanillin. Thus, imitation vanilla can come across as one-dimensional. 3. CLEAR VANILLA FLAVORINGPure vanilla extract is brown, so any clear vanilla extract is imitation, and should say so on the label. Cake decorators use it to keep frostings and fillings to be as white as possible. Interestingly enough, clear vanilla flavor is just imitation vanilla with no caramel color or dyes. THE SCOOP ON IMITATION VANILLAHere’s the news that will break your heart: tasted side-by-side, there’s surprisingly little difference in recipes made with imitation vanilla extract versus the real stuff. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself. Make a batch of sugar cookie dough and divide it in two. Flavor half with imitation vanilla extract, the other with real vanilla extract. After baking, if you can tell the difference in a blind taste test, I’ll pay you $100. Well, maybe I’ll just pay you $1, because there is a difference. Imitation vanilla has that telltale “cheap vanilla ice cream” taste. Not awful, but not fully enticing. The less flour in a recipe, the more apparent it is. You can get away with imitation vanilla more in cake or cookies than pudding or ice cream. WHICH EXTRACT TO BUY?It’s up to you. If you want to save some money, get the fake stuff. Unless you make a loud announcement before handing out your baking, no one will know the difference. I buy pure vanilla extract because I know some of my money is supporting tiny farms in developing countries. A lot of those growers are women. Real vanilla is a luxury you can—and should—feel good about. Think about the story and history summed up in every bottle! It’s amazing. IS HOMEMADE VANILLA WORTH IT?Homemade vanilla is a fun project, but it will never measure up to the commercially produced extract. Given current vanilla bean prices, it can be more expensive to buy the ingredients than to just get a giant bottle of decent extract. Makers of high-quality commercial vanilla extract use higher proportions of beans to liquid, employ time-tested proprietary extraction methods, and have access to the best beans in the industry because they have buying power. So, in my opinion, commercial vanilla extract is a superior ingredient. I know, I’m such a party pooper! If you do want to make your own vanilla extract, you’ll have the immensely pleasurable experience of handling the beans and enjoying their fragrance. It’s very much about the process, and there’s something to be said for that.
MORE FUN VANILLA FAQS!I’m out of vanilla! Can I make this (cake/cookie/frosting/etc.)?
This cake/cookie recipe calls for a tablespoon of vanilla extract. Isn’t that a lot? Usually it’s just one teaspoon.
My mom told me you can measure vanilla extract using the bottle’s cap—one capful is a teaspoon.
I read that imitation vanilla is made from beaver’s anal glands and coal.
Is vanilla an aphrodisiac?
EXCITED ABOUT VANILLA? MAKE THESE RECIPES!Recipes via Simply Recipes https://ift.tt/2F9fkDA October 8, 2019 at 09:00AM
The Flat Belly FixThis is the only 21-day rapid weight loss system that allows you to easily lose an average of 1 lb a day for 21 days without feeling hungry or deprived. The unique and brand new techniques used in this System are proven SAFE. And they do not cause the rebound weight gain common to all the other rapid weight loss systems that are not backed by the latest science. The Flat Belly Fix System takes advantage of a recent scientific discovery that proves the effective weight loss power of an ancient spice. Combined with other cutting-edge ingredients in the patent-pending Flat Belly Fix Tea™ — that you can make right in your own kitchen in minutes — this System is the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable way to quickly get the body you desire and deserve. Click Here
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The Flat Belly FixThis is the only 21-day rapid weight loss system that allows you to easily lose an average of 1 lb a day for 21 days without feeling hungry or deprived. The unique and brand new techniques used in this System are proven SAFE. And they do not cause the rebound weight gain common to all the other rapid weight loss systems that are not backed by the latest science. The Flat Belly Fix System takes advantage of a recent scientific discovery that proves the effective weight loss power of an ancient spice. Combined with other cutting-edge ingredients in the patent-pending Flat Belly Fix Tea™ — that you can make right in your own kitchen in minutes — this System is the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable way to quickly get the body you desire and deserve. Click HereCategories
All
Archives
November 2020
|