Planning ahead for this summer.

[rmd]

So, every baitcon season for the past few years, I've thought "Wouldn't it be great to do a 'tasting flight' kind of thing with a bunch of vanilla ice cream to compare various types of vanilla extract!" At which point I realize that I should've thought of that half a year ago so I could take some vanilla and make vanilla extracts from a couple of different types of vanilla beans.

This past year at baitcon, I was smart, and made a note in my calendar for the following Dec/Jan to start looking at making vanilla extracts. And so now I've ordered some small bottles and several varieties of vanilla beans. I should have enough to make a bunch of different batches of about 4 ounces each.

I figure that, at baitcon, I can make several gallons of vanilla ice cream mix (without the vanilla), and split it up into small batches and add the vanilla, each with a different extract. I'll be tempted to include a batch made with artificial vanilla extract, since cook's illustrated claims it's indistinguishable from the real thing and many people (me included) think this is a crazy result. And what do we do with crazy experimental results? WE TRY TO REPLICATE THEM.

I've discovered some interesting stuff I didn't know while researching this. Most notably, you *don't* want to use everclear for your extract. I read on the internet that "The results showed that there was approximately a 10% higher yield from the extraction process at 47.5% ethanol than at 95% ethanol. This suggests that vanillin is more soluble in solution at 47.5% ethanol than at 95%". However, you do want the booze to be at least 70 proof. The FDA specs for vanilla say that there should be at least 13.35oz of vanilla beans per gallon, and that the liquid should be at least 35% alcohol by volume.


So, now I just wait for all the parts to arrive and get myself a funnel and a knife.

Comments

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

I heartily endorse this experiment.

*nod*

[gayathri.livejournal.com]

what he said. I want a report!

also where'd you get thelittle bottles? Been thinking of making my own bitters, and need small dark bottles. :D

[rmd.livejournal.com]

american science and surplus (http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm/subsection/7/category/78).

[fich.livejournal.com]

> So, now I just wait for all the parts to arrive and get myself a funnel and a knife.

This is my favorite sentence of the day so far.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Mine too. :)

[rmd.livejournal.com]

*bows*

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It amused me to write.

[tb]

Moxie's, a seasonal ice cream stand in Wynantskill, NY (near Troy), makes six different vanilla ice creams (as well as a bazillion other flavors). Their "around the world with vanilla" lets you sample all of them, plus a scoop of blue moon (a weird midwest fetish flavor that sort of tastes like froot loops) for contrast and a bottle of water to clear your palate. The vanillas really do taste different; frotz has become a big fan of the Haitian, as I recall. What kinds did you order?

I've often thought Moxie's would make a good research/inspiration trip for Baitcon. They're the first place I had horchata ice cream, for example, and they do a mystery flavor every year for people to try to guess. I remember celery-apple was one of them.

[muffyjo]

That sounds absolutely wonderful. Go you, the reminders and your sleuthing abilities!

[emmacrew.livejournal.com]

Penzeys has a Mexican Vanilla now (in addition to their superb regular and double-strength varieties) if you're looking to branch out in the pre-made kinds. I have bottles of each plus a big cheap bottle of from-Mexico stuff as well as small empty bottles if you want any of the above without getting a whole bottle. Also some vanilla essential oil, which was bought out of curiosity - I have yet to try it.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

if your "from mexico" vanilla actually came in a bottle from mexico, it might not be vanilla. see this fda.gov link from 2009 (http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm048613.htm)

[emmacrew.livejournal.com]

I got it last year at Market Spice, so I'm pretty sure it isn't the coumarin stuff (which I did know about), but I should double-check the packaging just in case.

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

i love, love, love that you're doing this!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

I'll need a good basic ice cream recipe that will showcase the vanilla flavor.

[coraline]

omegabeth did this experiment, single-blinded, using chocolate-chip cookies, and in fact, a big subset of our friends can tell the difference, and prefer the real stuff.
(no one knew WHAT was being tested, se just had three bags of cookies and said "tell me what you think of each one, and which you like best"... the fake vanilla was much lower-rated than the two real vanillas).

i thoroughly approve of expanding this to the ice cream realm :)

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

Ice cream. For science!

[gayathri.livejournal.com]

let me know, I might join you. :)