Imitation Vanilla Flavor
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine 7 lbs of sugar and 2 gallons of water in a kettle.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from heat.
While the syrup is warm, add 8 oz of vanillin and 2 oz of coumarin.
Blend and age
Transfer the mixture to a 10-gallon keg.
Add 2 gallons of alcohol and enough water to fill the keg.
Color the mixture with caramel color and red color to your desired shade.
Cork the keg and store it in a warm place for 3 to 4 months.
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
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Dissolved into water to make a syrup that gives sweetness and body to the flavoring.
- Vanillin (in the method)
- Provides the main vanilla aroma and flavor of the finished flavoring.
- Coumarin
- Adds a warm, sweet background aroma that rounds out the vanilla note.
- Alcohol
- Acts as a solvent that carries the flavor and aroma compounds through the liquid.
The step that matters
Add the vanillin and coumarin while the syrup is warm. Warm syrup dissolves these compounds more readily than cooled liquid, so they are less likely to remain as undissolved particles that settle or cloud the finished flavoring.
“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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