Vanilla Flavoring

[hobbitgirl]

Since Vanilla extract contains alcohol, I was looking for a replacement to use when cooking. I found Fronteir Brand Fair Trade Certified Vanilla Flavor, with no alcohol. Here are the ingredients:

Glycerin, fair trade certifiedâ„¢ vanilla bean extractives, and water.

What do you think? I wasn't sure about the glycerin, but it's not a sugar (oddly enough, isn't glycerine used in soaps? It kind of weirds me out even seeing it as an ingredient).

[Johnny M]

I'm actually not sure. I have seen it approved in supplements but not as a food. I did find this on the internet and it might be a good alternative:

If I were you, I would use and buy vanilla beans as needed. They are really easy to work with and there is no need to make vanilla extract. They can be used in ANY recipe calling for vanilla extract.

Simply steep the beans. Do this buy heating whatever liquid the recipe calls for, drop a vanilla bean into the liquid, simmer for a minute, pull it off the heat and let it steep for about 5 minutes and strain the liquid. If the recipe calls for cold liquid, then simply cool the liquid before you use it.

You also want to cut the bean in half length wise before steep it. You can scrape the seeds out with the dull side of knife and add both the bean and the seeds to the liquid to steep. The seeds is where all the flavor is.

Here is a video that shows you how to scrape a vanilla bean:

Another option to vanilla extract is to buy vanilla bean paste, which is just the inside of a scrapped vanilla bean. You can purchase this at specialty food shops or online. Just add the paste to whatever it is you are making instead of vanilla extract.

http://www.amazon.com/LorAnn-Oils-Natura…

Source(s):

chef

culinary school grad

29 years in the industry

I never use vanilla extract

[Derval]

Vanilla beans are so expensive though!

[Life More Abundantly]

Though glycerine is not technically sugar, in its pure form, it does have a natural sweetness to it, so I would avoid anything with glycerine as it could be a trigger. I do love the suggestions above about steeping and scraping!

[Adagio]

I use that Frontier Vanilla flavoring all the time since I am gluten intolerant and unable to use Vanilla Extract. (Alcohol is not gluten-free.) Since going Whole30, I've given it up, though.

It's very sweet tasting. Glycerine is too tempting for me. I have a bottle of it that I use to make herbal tinctures, and spray hair conditioner. If you put some glycerine on your finger and taste it, it tastes like pure sugar. Trigger! (for me)

Some health food stores sell powdered raw vanilla with no additives at all. I had a jar in my hand this morning. Very expensive.

Let's face it, good vanilla beans, powders, and pastes are expensive. But you usually don't use much of it at one time. I'm planning on ordering vanilla bean from Penzey's as soon as budget allows.

BTW, don't waste money on fake vanilla. Blech.

[Robin Strathdee]

Hobbitgirl -

You're good to go with that one! Glycerin is totally fine on your W30 as long as you aren't drinking it to curb your sweet cravings ;0) If you find that it's a trigger for you after all, then you can always remove it, but I find that a bit unlikely in the quantities you'll be using.

[hobbitgirl]

Yeah, I'm thinking just a pinch to add to mashed sweet potatoes or a butternut squash bake. That, some pumkin pie spice, and some pecans.....In my head it sounds like heaven.

[kayell]

Sadly, the vanilla bean paste is not so good. )-; "Invert Sugar Syrup, Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Seeds, Xanthan Gum, Acacia Gum"

Although vanilla beans are high, they can be reused, or only a piece used. They're really quite intense. You can get 16 vanilla beans for $10.43. That's a LOT of vanilla flavor!

[ecb]

You can also buy pure raw vanilla bean powder; I can't find the one I get at Whole Foods online, but it's similar to this:

http://www.therawfoodworld.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1001607

Only ingredient is vanilla and it is very minimally processed. I've used it in recipies that call for extract and it works perfectly. If your grocery store has a raw food section look for it there either in a small jar or plastic bags. Whole vanilla beans probably taste even better, but this is a lot more convenient and less expensive and a serious upgrade over vanilla extract!