When I first started cooking I didn’t really know that there was a difference in real vanilla and imitation vanilla. Vanilla was just something that I grabbed off of the grocery store shelf (normally at the cheapest price possible) and tossed into my buggie without a second thought. I was sure it was the same as the expensive stuff…. Wrong.
Once I really got into teaching myself how to cook though, I noticed that no one was using imitation vanilla. Well none of the real cooks were using it, so what the heck, why was I using it?? Could it really make that much of a difference? Um…Yes. haha
It makes a ton of difference! Once I heard my father in law talking about real vanilla I knew that I had made the right choice in switching to real vanilla. He’s a pretty good cook so I thought, “Self, NOW you are using the best.”
Then when I really, really got into cooking and recipe development I realized that using the big bottle of $4.00 real vanilla from the big box store was ok but I could do better. I was starting to get vanilla samples in “swag bags” from conferences and I was falling in love. This high quality vanilla was fantastic and it’s what I needed.
Now I’m not saying that everyone needs to rush out right now and buy the most expensive vanilla out there (I’m not even to that point haha) but try some different vanillas. I thought that they’d all taste the same but I was wrong!
Using the higher quality vanilla has made my love for vanilla explode! Heck.. start using vanilla beans and you’ll be even more in love!
Need some vanilla ideas? I bet you’ll fall in love with vanilla too after you make these!!!
Oh and ps, don’t forget about the VanillaWeek giveaway we have going on! It ends tomorrow!
I love real vanilla in homemade vanilla pudding. We add bananas to it too sometimes.
I totally agree, you can definitely tell the difference with a good, quality vanilla! These recipes look delicious!
Have you made your own vanilla? I get like 50 good quality beans off of eBay or Amazon for about $20 and make liters of vanilla at a time. It’s so cheap and it’s good stuff, too. 🙂 And what a great roundup!
I love the delicateness of real vanilla, and try to add it to anything I can. I really love using whole vanilla beans and vanilla bean paste, too. These recipes are all making me super hungry!
I love making my own vanilla extract. I use it just about every day in one way or another. Great list of ideas : )
There is nothing like real vanilla and yes, the bean takes vanilla to the absolute next level.
Holy smokes! Those French Vanilla Chai Cinnamon Rolls look incredibly good!! What a fantastic round up and resource! BTW, I make my own vanilla. It’s super easy and you get to control the outcome 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Oh my I am hungry now! I’ll take some vanilla pound cake and bread pudding with vanilla custard sauce please!
I love vanilla. I make my own, but I also keep a few different store bought versions in my pantry too. I have a serious fondness for Watkins extracts. They make me swoon. But I’m an equal opportunity vanilla buyer, I love trying new ones and various beans. It’s so fun to play with the flavours right. I am digging every recipe here, but the ice cream is the one speaking the loudest to me. ha
I love vanilla like you don’t even know! I love using the beans by my real jam is the vanilla bean paste. I add that to everything!
You really can’t beat a really good vanilla. There are a few different kinds that I rotate between and the flavor is well worth any extra expense.