Hiya, and welcome back to The Vanilla Garden! Vanilla extract is magical. Vanilla is magical. But, sometimes, when it's treated improperly, it can take massive losses on the flavor fronts that keeps it from shining bright in your bakes. If you'd like to learn how to make the most of your vanilla extract, and also learn a little about it along the way, I'd encourage you to keep reading!
But, first, we'll need to get something else out of the way: what depth is in food. Depth is the incredible amount of flavors you may taste (or may not taste) in a dish. If you picked a head of broccoli out of the ground and ate it, it probably wouldn't be the best meal of your life. Spices, such as the wonderful vanilla extract, can elevate dishes and bakes without you even consciously tasting them.
Why would you put vanilla extract in chocolate brownies, for example? Depth!
This is the magic of vanilla extract. Vanilla extract has over 300 flavor compounds that can make whatever it touches wonderful. However, almost all of these flavors will die at the slightest hint of heat. That includes your oven! And when the flavors in vanilla extract die out, you lose tons of that beautiful, beautiful depth that it has. and, the less depth that it has, the more and more you might find yourself putting into something to make up for it.
So, with all of this in mind, here's how to avoid losing that depth:
- Avoid allowing your vanilla extract to heat! If you've ever made fudge, you know that you should put in the vanilla extract right at the end of making it. This will help to keep the full flavor of your vanilla extract in the bake.
- Buy quality vanilla extracts. Your average store-brand vanilla extract has been practically incinerated to speed up the extraction process. Weeks or months of waiting on the vanilla are shortened to days or even hours, but you lose large amounts of depth in the process. (The Vanilla Garden uses a cool distillation method to keep the maximum amounts of flavor in the vanilla.)
- Use a vanilla glaze. For those bakes that have to go into the oven, such as cakes and cookies, consider adding some sort of simple vanilla glaze that features vanilla extract to avoid destroying any flavor compounds by heating it. This should be obvious, but don't heat the glaze once you add the vanilla extract!
- Don't be stingy with the salt. There are a ridiculous amount of recipes out there that don't use nearly enough salt! Salt is a vital component of all dishes, meals, and desserts, due to it's wonderful flavor-enhancing abilities. Especially in bakes where the vanilla is the star, salt can provide great assistance in making bakes pack a punch. In most bakes, 3/4 teaspoon, or 1/2 of a teaspoon to be safe, won't provide a salty taste and will give you maximum vanilla flavor. Of course, a 3-tier cake will probably need more salt then a mug cake, so use your better judgement!
I hope this blog post will help you out with enhancing your vanilla's and your bake's depth!
If you'd like to support The Vanilla Garden, you can feel free to grab a bottle of vanilla extract from our store. And, if you like it, how about spreading the word? Thanks.
Again, I hope this blog post has helped you, and, until next time, -Chris