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Drink

Vanilla Syrup

A sweet liquid made by infusing water with vanilla beans and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Gelatin and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,778 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Vanilla Syrup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Split the vanilla beans and scrape out the centers.

  2. Combine the beans and centers with 1 gallon of water and ¼ ounce of gelatin in a pot.

  3. Bring to a boil for a few moments.

Make the syrup

  1. Add 12½ pounds of sugar and stir until dissolved.

  2. Remove from heat.

  3. Skim off the scum.

  4. Strain into a jug.

  5. Add 5 ounces of vanilla extract to each gallon of syrup.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Vanilla + beanstop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,293 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Vanilla + gelatintop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together924 recipes

    Shared aroma: maltol (caramel, sweet).

  5. Beans + gelatintop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together57 recipes

    Shared aroma: maltol (caramel, sweet).

Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Provides sweetness and the bulk of the syrup, dissolving to form a thick liquid.
Gelatin
Helps clarify the syrup and gives it a slightly more body as it is heated.
Vanilla beans
Supply the characteristic vanilla flavor and aroma through their seeds and pods.

The step that matters

Skim off the scum. Impurities rise to the surface as the syrup cooks. Removing them before straining keeps the finished syrup clear and clean-tasting.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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