Vanillin is a quality indicator for vanilla beans These two molecules are key players in the flavors of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. For example, it shows a lot of similarities with eugenol and cinnamaldehyde. The structure of the molecule is similar to that of flavor molecules found in other spices. Vanillin molecule (from: Wikipedia commons) Its chemical name is 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde. It is quite a simple, small molecule, with the chemical formula C 8H 8O 3. They quickly identified its chemical formula and structure as well. They appropriately named this molecule: vanillin. Vanillin makes vanilla taste like vanillaĭespite the fact that vanilla beans contain hundreds of flavorful components, chemists found that one molecule in that mix is absolutely crucial for making vanilla taste like vanilla. To do so, chemists got to work to understand what makes vanilla taste like vanilla. So, we humans decided to look for ways to replicate this desirable flavor, without having to use vanilla beans. Even nowadays, vanilla beans are one of the most expensive spices in the world. Over time, supply couldn’t keep up with the demand and vanilla beans became (too) expensive. Vanilla has been popular for a long time. The discovery of vanillin stems from the mid-/late-19th century. Now that we know what vanilla is and where it comes from, let’s have a look at vanillin. But from a chemical perspective, vanilla paste is a vanilla bean. Some might contain some other ingredients, others don’t. Formulations differ, but most vanilla pastes are a mix of vanilla extract and ground-up vanilla beans. Lastly, you can use vanilla paste, yet another version of a vanilla bean. This process does take some time! Vanilla paste By soaking it for some time, the flavor molecules can seep into your milk & cream. When making vanilla ice cream you may be asked to soak a vanilla bean in the milk and cream. You may need more vanilla to reach the same strength level, but the flavor profile will be very similar. An alternative therefore, is to extract the flavor of the bean directly into your product. ![]() Some extracts need to stand for months, if not years, to fully develop their flavors. Making a good vanilla extract tends to take time. Alternatively, manufacturers may finely chop the whole bean and add that. You can do so by scraping the seeds from the beans, and adding those in. Using vanilla beans to add flavorĪdd the beans to your ice creams, cookies and cake, and you’ll get that characteristic vanilla flavor. All of them contribute to creating a rich, complex vanilla flavor. Vanilla beans contain sugars, amino acids, fats, and more. They enter your nose where they play a key role in defining flavor.īut, there’s more. They contain over 200 volatile components. The resulting black beans are very aromatic. Processed vanilla beans contain >200 aroma components! Processing also causes the vanilla pods, also referred to as vanilla beans, to turn black and shrivel. Similar to how coffee beans, tea and cocoa need to be processed to properly shine. Through processing the pods, these flavors will come out. These are molecules that, under the right conditions, can be converted into flavorful components. But, it does contain a lot of precursors. They also need a lot of manual labor and attention to thrive.Ī freshly harvested vanilla pod is green and doesn’t yet have a rich vanilla flavor. An important reason for this is that vanilla orchids can only grow in select regions of the world. It’s these pods that, once harvested, can be transformed into vanilla flavor bombs. This orchid grows pods, that hold its seeds. More specifically, a type of orchid that can only grow in the tropics. This vanilla was no concoction, or special recipe, instead, vanilla stems from a plant. For instance, we know the Aztecs enjoyed a chocolate drink that was flavored with vanilla. We humans have enjoyed vanilla flavor for centuries. To start our vanilla flavor journey, let’s have a look at the ‘original’: natural vanilla. References Vanilla flavoring started out with beans.Ethylvanillin – Vanillin's artificial powerhouse cousin.Artificial vs natural vanilla & vanillin.Vanillin is a quality indicator for vanilla beans.Vanillin makes vanilla taste like vanilla.Vanilla flavoring started out with beans.
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