Is Real Vanilla actually worth it?

The real thing is always better,even in perfumery synthetic vanilla is horrible which unfortunately it’s TREND nowadays

Omg you trying to find ur cookie plate and drink at 26: haahahahah that had me cackling. I always feel like a genius after ur videos I love all the cooking knowledge I’m gonna be a master cook

The imitation has more vanillin and, thus, is less volatile than many of the components of the naturals. Your blind assessment of the cookies is right on target per volatility so it seems. Great video.

Very interesting! Here is the quote from Julia Child I was reminded of while watching the video: "The vanilla bean is favored by many fine cooks, but lately I've not had much luck with it; after steeping the bean in warm syrups or hot milk, I've always had to add vanilla extract to get the right effect." -- (, 1975)

Beans are good when you can seep them like a tea. Like heating them in warm milk.

Also, the quality of the vanilla matters. Go with a good brand. I use Nielsen-Massey.

Nothing i hate more than vanilla flavoured foods.

What is most shocking in these videos is the prices US customers have to pay.
I buy real vanilla essence for £1/60ml and tinned plum tomatoes (ie either Roma or San Marzano varieties) for £0.40 per 400g can.
Why are US prices so ridiculously high? Is the US consumer bing ripped off on a giant scale?

Don't ever tell home vanilla makers doesn't make a diff...lol most make double fold...and many people give it a go, but don't follow the ratios that are best...not just FDA standards... but single fold is best at 1 oz bean per 1 cup alcohol. Doublefold woul be 2 oz of the beans to 2 cup alcohol. And...on top of that, different alcohols go better with different origion beans...so far, my favorite is Hawian beans in dark rum.

US grocery stores have an entire aisle just for vanilla?!

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I'm currently making vanilla. I'll let you know how it turns out in 2 years, that's how long it has to cure.

You should also test vanilla with ice cream see the difference

No one, but you, calls this molecule vân-uh-lin... it's vuh-nîl-in and you know it is.

Hi Ethan. I noticed you used Clear Vanilla Extract, while instead in the video you referred to it as "Imitation Vanilla Extract" which baking wise they are used to achieve two very different flavor profile. Clear vanilla extract is usually used to achieve the fake "birthday cake flavor", whereas imitation vanilla is what would be the closest to the rest of the other vanilla flavoring in your video. I think the comparison might have been a bit uneven given that since the McCormick vanilla bottle you picked wouldn't want to compete with the other vanilla flavorings in the first place. :) Let me know what you think.

I've only ever heard vanillin pronounced just like vanilla but with the -in at the end. VAN-illin is totally new to me.

Knowing what artificial vanilla is made from makes it a hard pass for me. We try to eat as much real food as possible and stay away from "imitation" things. Your test is interesting though, because I finally made chocolate chip cookies with my homemade extract (been sitting for nearly 2 years) and they were noticeably better. Couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was there. One thing to note when making your own extract- there is an alcohol to bean ratio that needs to be followed. A couple beans in a jar of alcohol is not correct (I've seen a lot of people do it).

the vanilla isle? dafuq kind of stores do you shop at

I don't get why you know that vanilla bean is only good when uncooked, then you only use it in the test where the vanilla gets cooked

I feel like when you did the blind taste test you should have had somebody else to who doesn't know any of the facts of the different vanilla and had somebody who didn't know what was going on
Try it out
Hopefully this makes sense since I use a speech to
Text app

What im getting from this is:
Cooking it? Imitation
Not cooking it? Mexican extract

What are you using as a palate cleanser between tastes? It looks like a shandy lol

The best way to extract flavour of real vanilla bean is to put the shell in alcohol. if you got a nice rum it will add complexity.

home made icecream or custard would also be a good comparison

Sugar is actually a wet ingredient :))

Research imitation vanilla.. It comes from a gland of a furry mammal. Guess what one.😊

As a chef & baker, I grabbed my pearls and gasped when you asked “Does real vanilla or imitation matter?”.

Almost fainted. Lol

Of COURSE it matters 👺!

I have made a cookie recipe lately that didn't have vanilla in it. I could tell there was something missing once baked. My husband said the same thing and didn't watch me make the cookies or the recipe I used.

i love this channel so much thank you for the amazing videos 💓

Omg, we love the Mexican vanilla so much! We also make a bunch of different vanilla extracts using different alcohols. Some have shown themselves to be worthwhile some pointless, a few negative. AND you will have to check for yourself🙂🙃 for a make your own extract video. Hint makes a good holiday gift. Specially with a cool thrift store bottle.👍

The best part for me is the blindfolded food tasting. Those are engaging, and occasionally humorous.

Thanks, Ethan, for a knowledgeable experiment on vanilla. I bought McCormick vanilla imitation a few times, and got disappointed every single time, and won't ever use it again.

Your experiment has helped confirm that my judgment was right on the unimpressive flavor of real vanilla beans.

Now, in Thailand, I use only vanilla paste bought from the USA with the Thai brand called "Best Odor" (a vanilla flavor, aka an imitation) which gives the best aroma of vanilla that makes every baked good taste so naturally good.

Mostly, I solely use "Best Odor" in custard pudding, cookies, pancakes, scones, pound cakes and other types of cakes, and it yields a good-tasting end-product every single time.

Your experiment has helped ensure that one's favorite vanilla imitation is something (s)he should stick to. No need to spend a fortune on the nonsense.

God bless you!

I do love Tahitian vanilla extract because it’s very bright and “vanilla-y” but it tends to diminish more quickly than Madagascar vanilla after cooking. Is good in Crème Brûlée.

I don’t like Mexican vanilla at all. Never have in 50 years of loving vanilla. Weird flavor.

I personally only use vanilla bean paste in my baking… you can always taste it in my bake goods

They say it takes a longtime for it to be ready to use. What good is that? You could be dead by then. I’ll buy it in the store no diss no muss. Done.

My vanilla powder is brown… 🤔 I use it a lot. Thanks for this comparison. I use extract and powder in my homemade ice cream- and have to use a lot to get it like I want.

Thank you, i really like your videos, I've always wondered what the difference is, but budget wise i always went to artificial, now i will buy the extract, and lucky for me we winter in Mexico and here it is much cheaper...lol thank you for educating me.😊😊😊😊

You got scammed on that vanilla bean just saying and for getting thr most out of that bean is by using the pod as the seeds barely hold any flavour this is done by putting the entire pod if preferred cut open into for example milk so the pod gives it aroma and flavour to the milk and you can make extract at home its not done by putting 3 or 4 beans in a bottle.of vodka thqt is so far from it for an entire bottle you need like 9 oz of vanilla beans if not more for example a Triple fold i got home made extract in the cupboard and i can really notice the flavour difference since you get to decide which beans go into it basic rule of thumb in making extract for each fold you need one time the weight of the alcohol you out it in so 9 oz of vodka means 9 oz of vanilla beans double fold means 18 oz and triple means 27 oz and i managed to buy that for 60 euro

Hey Ethan! The reason why you don't have to get carded for buying vanilla despite it having such a high alcohol percent is because much like cooking wine it is almost impossible to drink. The cooking wine has a very high percentage of salt/saline but the vanilla is just very bitter and harsh and that may be why there is no need to card for vanilla

Bet you didn’t know vanillin is a precursor chemical in the manufacture of not only mescaline, but also can be made into ecstasy and many of its derivatives. As can piperine from black pepper. The more you know.

Imitation tastes better anyway so short answer is no.

I love that you reference, "On Food and Cooking" so much. It was a transformative book for me almost 20 years ago. Anyone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen should read that book.

A couple of things.
First, why are vanilla beans so expensive in America? $16 for two, wow! They cost about $3 for two here in the U.K. and we definitely don't grow them, they still come from Madagascar.
Second, when using them, I've always used the whole bean not just scraped out the seeds, then removed the pod after it has 'infused' in whatever I'm making.

I love how you smelt each and every one of them just to let us know they smelt like cookies 😜

As a chef, I find it really knowledgeable; to understand how some food ingredients react under different heat level and methods. Thank you.

so basically for ice cream or something that you are not gonna cook will better with real and then cookies and cakes will be better off with artificial

Shame you didn't do ice cream!

Your comment about how vanilla tastes when you try it with a plugged nose reminds me of a thought I had when watching a documentary about cats. They pointed out that cats have far fewer taste buds than humans and therefore what cats taste is simpler than what we taste. My immediate thought was 'But so much of taste is smell and they smell so much more than we do.'

Also, vanilla is yet another thing we can thank the Americas (and more specifically Mexico, in its case) for. ^_^ Go team.