The refined taste of vanilla ice cream, liquor, milkshake or cream for the cake becomes softer and more refined, and the unique aroma fresh baking will be even richer if vanilla is added to these dishes during cooking. What is it, why confectioners and ordinary housewives love him so much? This issue should be well understood in order to learn how to apply all the useful properties of the product in practice.
Ah, what a fragrant vanilla!
Vanillin owes its unusually spicy aroma to the fruits of a plant native to South America. Vanilla is a "relative" of the orchid, grows on vines and has yellow-white flowers. After they fade, green pods remain, on which white crystals form upon drying. This is the real natural vanilla.
The first mention of it is associated with the Aztec tribes. The Indians added spice to their traditional drink - hot chocolate. The first European to taste vanilla was Christopher Columbus. It happened at the beginning of the XVI century. Since then, the spice has come to Europe and has become widely used in cooking.
The collected green vanilla pods are odorless. And only after drying in a certain way they acquire a sophisticated spicy aroma, exquisite taste and brown tint. Drying time for vanilla fruits takes about a month. And you can understand that the pod is dry and ready for use by the appearance of slightly noticeable white crystals on its surface. Dried natural vanilla can retain its beneficial properties, taste and aroma for 30 years.
What is vanillin?
Natural vanilla pods are a very expensive spice that could not be used in the manufacture of confectionery and bakery products on an industrial scale. Therefore, at the end of the 19th century, its artificial analogue, called vanillin, was synthesized. What it is?
Vanillin is a flavor identical to natural. These are white crystals obtained in the laboratory by artificial means. At the same time, wood or paper is most often used as a raw material for the production of vanillin. This spice has a rich bitter taste and not as sophisticated aroma as natural vanilla. But at the same time it is inexpensive and therefore used in industrial production in this form.
Vanillin and vanilla sugar: what is the difference?
Unlike artificial flavoring, vanilla sugar can have a more natural composition. It is obtained by mixing vanilla pods with regular sugar or icing. Vanilla is left in sugar for a while, then taken out - and the aromatic sugar is ready. But sometimes manufacturers try to reduce the cost of a product; this primarily affects its quality. In this case, not natural vanilla is added to the sugar, but ethyl vanillin, which is identical to the natural flavoring.
That is, we can assume that vanilla sugar and vanillin are one and the same. Only vanillin is a more concentrated food supplement, and vanilla sugar is mixed with sugar.
Types of Vanillin
The product in question is crystalline, powdery and liquid. The field of its application depends on the state of this spice.
Crystalline vanillin is the most fragrant and retains a spicy smell for a long time, even after heat treatment. It is used for baking bakery and confectionery products. It is a food supplement with a pronounced strong taste. That is why crystalline vanillin is recommended to be added only when baking.
Powdered vanillin in structure resembles powder. It has a harsher smell, has artificial flavor enhancers, and sometimes even fruit flavors. Easily soluble in water. It is used in the preparation of hot chocolate and various drinks.
In the form of aromatic essence, liquid vanillin is produced. What it is? This is an alcohol solution that is used in cooking, perfumes, and in the preparation of drinks.
Vanillin has a calming and relaxing effect, so it is often used in the manufacture of fragrances for home and car.
How to use vanillin in baking?
Traditionally, vanillin is used in cooking. But when cooking, you should consider that this is a spice with a pronounced taste. That is why it is important not to overdo it so that the culinary masterpiece does not become bitter.
Synthesized artificial vanillin has a very rich taste. One bag weighing 1 gram will be enough for 1 kilogram of flour. When using vanilla sugar, the proportions are slightly different. In this case, for 1 kilogram of flour or 1 liter of liquid, you should take a bag weighing 8-10 grams. When preparing drinks, milkshakes or ice cream, it is better to use liquid vanillin. What it is? This is vanilla essence or extract. It is enough to add 1-2 drops of liquid vanilla to the dish, and it will get a pleasant spicy aftertaste.
How to replace vanillin? If you want to get an exquisite soft taste of natural vanilla, then you should give preference to vanilla sugar.
Useful qualities of vanillin
Often, when preparing a dish, to get a good result, you need to hide an unpleasant aftertaste or remove it, as well as give the product a unique flavor. In this case, vanilla flavor will come to the aid of the hostess. It dissolves well in a liquid medium, alcohol and water, and it is in this state that the vanilla aroma reveals itself more fully. In addition, the spicy smell has a calming effect on the body, helps to relax and cheer up.
Vanilla sugar at home
If vanillin is obtained in the laboratory by artificial means, then vanilla sugar can be made independently at home. To do this, just take 1 long vanilla bean, 1 kilogram of granulated sugar, a little powder.
To prepare vanilla sugar, the vanilla bean is cut in half lengthwise, the seeds are removed, ground in a mortar to a powder state and mixed with powdered sugar. After this, the resulting mixture is combined with sugar, the vanilla bean is added to the same and sent together to a dark place for storage for 3-4 days. After the specified time, the food supplement is ready for consumption.
To get aromatic sugar, one vanilla pod will be enough, and the seeds can be used to make some kind of dessert.
Unfortunately, the natural flavoring cannot be stored for a long time due to the fact that the pleasant smell disappears quickly. To keep the aroma longer, add it to the dish at the end of cooking.
Choice: vanillin or vanilla sugar
Before you buy a flavoring supplement, you should know how to distinguish a natural product from a synthesized one in the laboratory. Indeed, in fact, vanilla sugar and vanillin are one and the same, the difference is only in the way they are prepared. Of course, vanillin can also be obtained from natural raw materials, but on the shelves in stores to find such a product is almost impossible.
When buying vanillin, you should carefully read the inscription on the label. If the product contains a flavor identical to natural, or ethyl vanillin, then this product is synthesized in a laboratory. It is usually packaged in bags of 1 gram. It is such an aromatic additive that is most often used by confectioners for baking due to the low price for it. One bag of vanillin costs about 3 rubles.
Vanilla sugar is sold in bags, packaged in 8-15 grams. Sugar, as well as crushed seeds of vanilla pods or ethyl vanillin, must be indicated in the composition of such a nutritional supplement. The latter option has the same qualities as artificial vanillin. The price for it ranges from 8-10 rubles. Vanilla sugar with a natural vanilla flavor is more expensive - about 30 rubles per bag weighing 15 grams.
When preparing a culinary masterpiece at home, it is better to give preference to a product with a natural composition, and leave artificial substitutes for mass production.