Vanilla beans bulk - Pure Vanilla Extract

Vanilla beans are quite expensive, retailing in some of the specialty shops for around $2-3 each. The real price of pure vanilla extract is also very obviously too very high, but also varies due to the quality of the vanilla beans that is used. 

Pure vanilla extract should have absolutely no sugar added to it and will also last forever, aging like the fine liquor. Beware of those cheap "pure" vanilla extracts. If the bargain seems to be too very good to be true, it is probably just an adulterated vanilla extract. 

In order to meet the FDA standards, genuine and pure vanilla extract must definitely contain about 13.35 ounces only of pure vanilla beans per gallon during extraction and about 35 percent pure alcohol.

Imitation Vanilla: Imitation vanilla is only made from artificial flavorings, most of which also come from the wood byproducts and very often contain several chemicals.

Discerning palates find the imitation vanilla bean products to have a very harsh quality with a very bitter aftertaste effects. Twice as much imitation vanilla flavoring is also required to match the great strength of some very pure vanilla extracts.

Vanilla Flavoring: Vanilla flavoring is usually an equal combination of the imitation vanilla and of pure vanilla extract.

Beware Adulterated Vanilla: Most of the adulterated vanilla extract comes by the way of Mexico only, where these extracts from the Tonka bean are also added. 

Tonka beans, a member of the pea family plants, have a very high concentration of coumarin, which has a much stronger vanillin-type aroma, but virtually no flavor at all. This actually makes it very difficult for the average consumer to spot all the fakes. 

Coumarin was totally banned as a edible food ingredient by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the year of 1954 after the tests actually showed liver toxicity in test conducted on animals. Some studies also indicate that coumarin derivatives are an anticoagulant or even a blood thinner. 

Yet, this adulterated impure vanilla extract still makes its easy way into the United States, since there is no testing done by the customs inspectors and the addition of coumarin is not at all illegal in Mexico. Look for very high alcohol content in unadulterated pure vanilla extract, since the synthetics usually have too little or absolutely no alcohol at all.

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