Vanilla
Vanilla beans are the long, greenish-yellow seed pods of the tropical orchid plant, Vanilla planifolia.
Before the plant flowers, the pods are picked, unripe, and cured until they're dark brown. The process takes up to six months. To obtain “pure vanilla extract”, cured vanilla beans are steeped in alcohol.
According to law, pure vanilla extract must be 35 percent alcohol by volume. Vanilla beans are grown in Madagascar, Mexico, Indonesia, and Tahiti.
Vanilla beans and pure vanilla extract has a sweet, perfumed aroma with a woody or smoky flavor.
Vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) is a synthetic compound and not the same as pure vanilla extract. Avoid it.
The Benefits
- Special diets: Autoimmune Paleo Diet, Candida Diet, Diabetic, Elimination Diet, Gluten-Free Diet, Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Diet, Grain-Free Diet, Low Acid Diet, Low Carb Diet, Low FODMAP Diet, Low Histamine Diet, Low Oxalate Diet, Low Starch Diet, Paleo Diet (Light), Paleo Diet (Strict), PCOS Diet, Pescetarian Diet, Primal Diet, Thyroid Diet, Vegetarian Diet, Whole Food
- Excellent Source of:
- Good Source of:
- Preferences: No Fish, No Red Meat, No Pork, No Eggs, No Shellfish, No Gluten, No Nuts, No Seeds, No Soy, No Dairy, No Poultry, No Molds, No Coconut, No Pseudograins, No Corn, No Yeast, No Peanuts, No Citrus, No Nightshade, No Legumes, No Grains, Low Carbohydrate, Low Cholesterol, Low Fat, Low Sodium, Low Sugars, Low Saturated Fat
Related Foods
Related Recipes
Selecting and Storing
Store pure vanilla extract in a cool, dark, dry place.
