# Clear Vanilla



## spoons (Nov 10, 2000)

I have read/heard somewhere... That their is a clear vanilla that is the REAL stuff(pure). Not immitation vanilla extract. Is this true?


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

What and where did you read this, who's vanilla?
I understand there is a clear vanilla, could be pure, just bleached somehow. 
hmmmmmm.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Yes it exist I buy it regularly. Should say used to buy, I make my own now but it’s brown not clear.


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

Wilton makes one for super white icings, but is that brand pure and who else makes pure clear vanilla?
Remember Pepsi Clear? eeeyyuuooo. That flavor is just not natural!!!


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

The vanilla I have is made by Les aliments Berzi in Montreal. It is pure extract.


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## spoons (Nov 10, 2000)

Iza, where can I purchase that Vanilla here?

And, Wilton's is Clear Vanilla Extract (artificial flavor),and doesn't taste real.


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## spoons (Nov 10, 2000)

I guess I meant, not in Canada.
U.S. cities. Thanx.....


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Spoons,

Where is here?


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Spoons,


The company only sells locally.


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

Spoons,

It would help if you could verify your source... I don't believe it is true. Logic would say that the purest vanilla extract is NOT clear. Why? Because vanilla beans are dark brown as are the seeds. Have you used fresh vanilla beans/seeds in your recipes?

I think it's an oxymoron to say that clear vanilla extract is pure. Have you ever noticed that brown vanilla ice cream has more of a vanilla flavor than white vanilla ice cream especially when homemade? Usually this is because they used fresh vanilla seeds instead of any type of extract at all.

Why don't you try making your own homemade vanilla extract? I can't imagine anything being more pure than making your own.

The following recipe for homemade vanilla extract is from our fellow forum member logose, posted November 22, 2000 06:35 AM under [The Inside Scoop » Making Food Gifts For Christmas]


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

cchiu,

Nice to see you around again 
cc


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

Thanks cape chef!


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## spoons (Nov 10, 2000)

Cchiu,
Yeah, I don't believe there is a pure clear vanilla either.I think I read it on another forum somewhere(?) Oh well. Thought I would ask. 
Love to use vanilla beans in my cake recipes.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

This has been bugging me for days. I wanted to find out how it’s done but since I am not a chemist, I can not explain how it is possible to remove colour from a liquid but I am sure it can be done. Just think about eau de vie, most are colourless even if they are made from fruits. Just think of Kirsch, it’s made from cherry yet somehow it’s colourless. If you can have colourless cherry alcohol I am sure you can have colourless pure vanilla extract. Furthermore I doubt it would be legal to put on a label pure vanilla extract if it wasn’t true.


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

Iza,

I'd assume the "extract" itself would be so minute as to just flavor the main ingredient that it wouldn't be enough to color it.

FYI (I found this interesting):

Here are two recipes for "kirsch/homemade brandy":

From *Kitchen Cordials* by Nancy Crosby and Sue Kenny:

3 cups cherries 
3 cups 80-proof brandy 
1/2 cup sugar

Pierce cherries with a fork and put in glass jar along with 2 cups brandy. Be sure fruit is covered. Leave for 1 month. Strain and filter. Add additional cup of brandy and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir well to dissolve. Leave until clear.

Decent flavor additives: cloves, cinnamon, mace.

http://gunther.simplenet.com/liqueurs/cherrybr.htm

From *Sweet Sips 2* by Charles Thomas:

2 pounds Royal Anne or other yellow-red variety of cherries 
2 pounds sugar 
2 1/2 cups brandy 
1 1/2 cups vodka

Wash and stem fruit, then cut each sherry open with a knife, exposing the pit. Put cherries in a large, clean jar and cover with sugar, stirring well to cover all the fruit. Let sit for 3-4 hours. This allows sugar to pull juices from the fruit. Stir in
the vodka and brandy until most of the sugar is dissolved. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for 2-3 months, stirring or shaking occasionallt (once or twice a month) to enhance flavor extaction.

Strain and filter as needed. Set aside fruit pulp you filtered out and use on waffles, ice cream or whatever suits your fancy.

As a variation, substitute Bing or other dark cherry for the golden ones above. Remove the pits from about half the cherries. Wrap the pits in a cloth and crack them open with a hammer. Add broken cherries to the mix. (If you want to preserve the pulp as above, put cherries in a cheese-cloth bag before adding to mixture.)

Or substitute vodka for brandy to make a "Cherry Schnapps" - a more pure cherry taste.

http://gunther.simplenet.com/liqueurs/goldench.htm


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## katherine (Aug 12, 2000)

I'm sure that in a factory setting the color could be removed from vanilla through activated carbon filtration or some other chemical means, but probably some flavor is lost in the process. The price would be higher, too.


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## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

I use the clear vanilla in some frosting recipes. I think Wilton is the only company manufactoring it. Under the name it says "imitation vanilla flavoring". 

I can't believe anyone can detect pure vanilla extract from imitation vanilla extract in a baked product or frosting. Vanilla beans are of course another story.

I've been using vanilla bean paste alot lately. Anyone else?


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## lorib (Jan 3, 2001)

WDB, I have to strongly disagree with you on the vanilla issue. Not only can you tell the difference between imitation and real, but different brands have a very discinct flavor and aroma. I pretty much exclusively use Penzey's double strength. I challeng anyone to a taste test!


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## svadhisthana (May 6, 2001)

I agree! Penzeys Double Strength. My mother always used (still does  ) the imitation stuff. I keep trying to tell her that real is ALWAYS better. The only clear vanilla I've seen is imitation. 

Svadhisthana


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## svadhisthana (May 6, 2001)

oops! I guess that doesn't work.

How do you post the Graemlin with it's tongue sticking out?


Svadhisthana


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## svadhisthana (May 6, 2001)

Nevermind............


 


a blushing graemlin might be more apropo.....


Svadhisthana


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## vanilla saffron (Jun 5, 2012)

Vanilla extract is always brown to black depending in how many "folds or x" it has.  I fold or 1x = to 13.35 oz of vanilla bean per gallon,  2 fold is 26.7oz per gallon and so on but after 2 fold you start loosing some of the "basic vanillin oils" that makes vanilla extract so unique.  "Clear vanilla" does not exist it is synthetic.  To make meringue cover for you cakes etc, you save you beans in white sugar or bakers sugar and after a week depending how many you put in the bag you will get the "sugar" impregnated with the flavor of vanilla without the dark color of extract.   If the beans get hard and they will after a few weeks all you have to do is put them in whatever liquid you use for your baking (milk, cream, even "water") and the bean will reconstitute in a couple of hours or at least you will be able to split it open to get the seeds out. It is always cheaper and you will get better flavor in your desserts if you use the whole beans.  You should never put vanilla beans in the refrigerator they could get "moldy" from humidity and they need room temperature to further enhance the aromatic qualities and let the vanillin crystals grow which is a sign of super quality and that can take up to 3/4 years of aging.  (You never refrigerate raisin, do you?)


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## roosterado 9 (Jun 4, 2014)

* ORLANDO NATURAL VANILLA
FROM
MOTHER EARTH TO YOUR KITCHEN.*

Orlando products is a small Family owned and operated Natural Vanilla Company located just 9 miles from Puerto Vallarta in the quaint little village of Ixtapa, Jalisco.
Most of you opening this web site are existing customers who have experienced the true Natural flavor of our blended vanilla. For those of you who are new, you are in store for a new experience in vanilla flavor.
Our unique flavor comes from our special process of curing and aging our organically grown vanilla beans.
This process takes over one year to complete. Our entire blending process is done by hand the old fashioned way. We select only Premium vanilla beans in order to extract the more than 150 flavor components found in the bean. Once we have extracted the vanilla we then allow the liquid to age in order for the blending process to occur.

At Orlando,"Vanilla is our bussiness not one of our businesses"
My sister gave me a 125 mil bottle of this It has a sticker on it CLEAR VANILLA it is almost perfectly clear.


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## skyler (Jan 27, 2014)

Not sure why anyone would use the imitation stuff.  I've been using both Nielsen-Massey and Charles Baldwin and Sons vanilla products for many years.


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## roosterado 9 (Jun 4, 2014)

Me too I buy the Organic Kind in the health food section of the grocery store.Its more expensive but a 2 ounce bottle lasts me quite awhile


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## girlofthepuddle (Oct 16, 2015)

If you make professional, custom cakes, pure vanilla will tint the frosting or fondant. Not good for something like a wedding cake. But I despise the imitation flavor and would love to find it in a more pure form.


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## dagger (Feb 4, 2005)

I bought some mexican vanilla off amazon and it says pure and its clear. The ingredientes say vanilla pura so did i buy the wrong stuff? The amber color people said comes with a vinilla been in the jar


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## dagger (Feb 4, 2005)

I just read the bottle and it says vanilla beans inside, so how is it clear. Usumacinta is the brand


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## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

I regularly use Mexican vinalla, just like the taste better in most things. 
Never bought your brand but have Molina and Dancy. The Molina is better.


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## dagger (Feb 4, 2005)

chefbuba said:


> I regularly use Mexican vinalla, just like the taste better in most things.
> Never bought your brand but have Molina and Dancy. The Molina is better.


But what about the color. On another note can the whole egg be used in ice cream seams waste just useing yolks


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## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

I don't buy clear, I don't have a need for it. Don't mind the bit of color it puts in things. 
Kind of like years ago when it was pounded into my head to only use white pepper in dishes where black would show. I don't care 99.9% of the time and use fresh cracked black in everything. 

Egg yolks alone act as a thickener. Think hollandaise, flan, sabayon, creme anglaise, etc.


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