FAQs

Vanilla extract is a fragrant, amber coloured liquid made by macerating vanilla beans in ethanol (minimum 35%), water and sugar.
Vanilla Extract: What's the Difference? Vanilla flavouring, which is also often called essence, uses artificial ingredients and additives such as synthetic vanillin, emulsifiers, and chemically produced flavours and colours. Real vanilla extract doesn’t use any nasty additives and is made using Ethanol to extract the natural vanillin from the vanilla beans, water and sugar to help aid the extraction process.
Because it comes from an organism, it can be classed as a natural flavouring. Any questions, please get in touch using our contact form.
Substitutes for vanilla extract
  • Vanilla paste, also called vanilla bean paste
  • Vanilla powder
A lot of people ask me why does vanilla cost so much? The price of vanilla has increased drastically since around 2015. This is due to a number of different factors including theft of vanilla beans in Madagascar, the pollination process being extremely lengthy and is done so by hand. Extreme weather can also cause damage to the crop resulting in a smaller harvest which in turn leads to a higher price.
In terms of flavour, cutting out the vanilla extract is like making a Jam sandwich without the jam, or a chocolate cake without any chocolate in it…you just wouldn’t do it. Vanilla enhances the flavour of all of your creations.
Vanilla extracts contain 35% alcohol which is the minimum standard in the industry. This means that a small amount could technically be enough to get a person drunk if you chose to drink it. We highly recommend storing your Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste away from children and only using them as ingredients in your recipes. For example, when you bake a cake using vanilla extract, nearly all the alcohol will have evaporated prior to consumption.