Imitation Vanilla: As mentioned in last week's post, only 1% of the world’s vanilla flavoring is “real.” The rest is imitation. But what is imitation vanilla?
Imitation vanilla derives its vanilla flavor from vanillin, 3-methoxy, 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde, a colorless liquid, which is largely responsible for the flavor of natural vanilla. Vanillin is then dissolved in a mixture of alcohol and water, or glycerin/glycol water mixtures for consumers who prefer non-alcoholic ingredients.
vanillin or 3-methoxy 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde
Vanillin is manufactured from a variety of substances, but by far, the most commonly used starting materials are guaiacol, a petroleum derived product, and lignin (typically from the wood of spruce trees) as shown in the image below.
Raw Material used to synthesize vanillin
However, over 400 natural compounds have been identified in pure vanilla extract. The food community tracks the specific attributes of ingredients with a food wheel. The vanilla wheel used by the flavor company Fona International measures fully 29 distinct flavor characteristics. They are grouped into 10 main categories: smoky, spicy, botanical, sulfury, sweet, creamy, medicinal, cooked, fatty, and floral. In an attempt to capture some of that complexity, some producers add other flavorings such as cocoa or tea extracts. Caramel coloring is common, to make it resemble the natural product.
couldn't find the flavor wheel from Fona but here's one for vanilla in chocolate
Tasters at the America Test Kitchen (ATK) could not taste the difference between the natural and imitation vanilla when tasting two desserts, a sugar cookie and a vanilla pudding.
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| Variety of Vanilla Extracts tested |
With only 1%
of the world’s vanilla being obtained naturally, it becomes a problem when
companies such as General Mills, Hershey’s, Kellogg’s, and Nestlé announced to
the world that they will no longer use artificial flavoring.
There is simply not enough vanilla pods in the world to satisfy the demand for vanilla flavored products.
Still when comparing different imitation vanilla’s ATK did note the following differences.
· Imitation vanilla is stronger which is not a surprise because it typically has 15x the vanillin as natural vanilla extract.
· Natural vanilla extract is more complex. Again, not a surprise given that it has at least 400 additional minor components.
· Vanilla extract can be boozy.
· Booze Free Crowd – Simply Organic Vanilla Flavoring – certified organic which is made with organic glycerin or propylene glycol and purified water
The winner was Baker’s Imitation Vanilla, which sadly has been discontinues, but McCormick Premium Vanilla Flavor came in a good second and is now the top recommended Imitation Vanilla by ATS.
And the winner(s) are....
I thought long and hard about what aspect of artificial vanilla you might be most interested in. Finally, harkening back to my own childhood, I reached into the background of the vanilla wafer I knew as a child as ‘Nilla Wafers, previously made by Nabisco Company (National Biscuit Company) and now made by an international company.
“The recipe for vanilla wafers or sugar wafers was first invented in the late 19th century by German-American confectioner Gustav A. Mayer on Staten Island. He sold his recipe to Nabisco, and Nabisco began to produce the biscuits under the name Vanilla Wafers in 1898.[1] By the 1940s, Vanilla Wafers had become a major ingredient in the Southern cuisine staple banana pudding, and Nabisco began printing a banana pudding recipe on the Vanilla Wafers box. The name of the product was not changed to "Nilla Wafers" until 1967.”
“The original Nilla product is the Nilla wafer, a round, thin, light wafer cookie made with flour, sugar, shortening, and eggs. Originally flavored with real vanilla, Nilla wafers have been primarily flavored with synthetic vanillin since at least 1994, a change which prompted some criticism.”
And here’s two Banana Pudding Recipes
The Best no-bake Banana Pudding
Recipe by Kenneth Strother
Prep Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
25 mins
Ingredients
- 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 cups cold milk
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1 (16 ounce) package vanilla wafers
- 14 bananas, sliced
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat pudding mix and milk 2 minutes. Blend in condensed milk until smooth. Stir in vanilla and fold in whipped topping. Layer wafers, bananas and pudding mixture in a glass serving bowl. Chill until serving.
And just for completeness, here’s also the original recipe for banana pudding from the back of the Nilla Wafer box – this does require making a custard, and a meringue, and then baking in an oven. It takes no shortcuts and tastes like it!
Original Nilla Banana Pudding
Ready in: 60 mins.
Layers of Nilla wafers, creamy pudding and fresh banana slices
are the stars of this American classic.
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
45 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 1/2 cups), divided
Additional NILLA Wafers and banana slices, for garnish
1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler.
Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water,
stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove
from heat; stir in vanilla.
2. Reserve 10 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard
on bottom of 1 1/2-quart casserole; cover with a layer of wafers
and a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of custard over
bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make
a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining
1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon on top of
pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well
to edges.
4. Bake at 350°F in top half of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or
until browned. Cool slightly or refrigerate. Garnish with
additional wafers and banana slices just before serving.
Makes 8 servings
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION per serving
287 calories, 6 g protein, 50 g carbohydrate, 7 g total fat,
2 g saturated fat, 117 mg cholesterol, 134 mg sodium,
1 g dietary fiber.
Preparation Time: 30 mins.
Cook Time: 15 mins.
Cooling Time: 15 mins.
Total Time: 60 mins.
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