Vanilla 101

Vanilla is one of the most loved and versatile flavors in the kitchen, but not all vanilla products are created equal. At Rodelle, we offer pure, gourmet vanilla in several forms—each with its own strengths. Whether you're baking a batch of cookies or crafting a custard, knowing when to use vanilla extract, paste, or beans can elevate your dish from good to unforgettable. Beyond that, knowing when to use which product can help you maximize the flavors in your recipes and get the most out of your ingredients. After all, when you are spending the time and energy to bake or cook, you want the results to meet or exceed your expectations. Read on for tips about how to best use vanilla extract, paste or beans in their best capacity.

When to Use Vanilla Extract

Vanilla extract is the most common and convenient form to add pure vanilla flavor to sweet recipes, savory dishes, and cocktails. It’s perfect for everyday baking like cookies, cakes, and quick breads. This is because the vanilla flavor supports other ingredients like your classic chocolate chip cookie where you’ll also get the flavors from brown sugar, chocolate chips and butter. Vanilla extract also blends easily into batters and doughs, making it a go-to for most home bakers. Especially if you’re just getting started in baking, vanilla extract is the product that you should purchase because it has varied uses outside of baking including enhancing savory recipes like salad dressings and adding balanced flavor to cocktails. 

When you have a recipe where vanilla flavor is the star, you may consider vanilla bean paste or vanilla beans for an even more complex and vanilla-forward flavor. As you advance in your skills in the kitchen, you may want to add a more specialty flavor or aesthetic to your recipes and that’s when we recommend branching out to add vanilla paste (also commonly called vanilla bean paste) and vanilla beans to your pantry.

When to Use Vanilla Bean Paste

Vanilla Paste offers a rich, concentrated flavor and includes beautiful specks of vanilla bean. >If you’re unfamiliar with vanilla paste, start with this blog post about what it is!

It’s ideal for recipes where you want both visual appeal and a more intense vanilla presence—like crème brûlée, ice cream, or buttercream frosting. It’s a great substitute for beans when you want that gourmet touch without the work of cutting and scraping a vanilla bean. Vanilla paste also inherently has an added sweetener so it’s delicious in cocktails in place of or in addition to simple syrup, like our Vanilla Old Fashioned Cocktail. Vanilla paste is also a quick way to sweeten yogurt or oatmeal for a more delicious breakfast or snack!

Avoid using vanilla paste in recipes where the paste’s thickness might affect texture, such as delicate meringues.

When to Use Gourmet Vanilla Beans

Gourmet Vanilla Beans are a delicious option and surprisingly versatile way to add vanilla flavor. They’re preferred by many chefs because they deliver the purest and most complex vanilla flavor without added ingredients (like vanilla paste) or liquid (like vanilla extract). They shine in custards, sauces, and syrups where the flavor can infuse slowly and deeply. Scraping the seeds from the pod adds a visual and aromatic wow factor. 

Because vanilla beans can be more expensive and time-consuming to use, they are often reserved for special occasions. While we agree that they are best used where the other recipe ingredients will not outshine the delicate and nuanced flavors, we think vanilla beans can be used in just about any place vanilla extract or paste is used. Just be sure to save the beans after you scrape them for so many other uses - outlined here.

How to use a Vanilla Bean

Choosing the right vanilla product is all about matching the ingredient to the moment. Across all recipes, we recommend a 1:1:1 usage for vanilla beans, vanilla paste and vanilla extract. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract = 1 teaspoon vanilla paste = 1 vanilla bean. Whether you’re reaching for extract, paste, or beans, Rodelle’s commitment to quality ensures your vanilla will always be the real deal.

What is the Nutritional Value of Vanilla Extract?

Vanilla extract is made from three simple ingredients: vanilla bean extractives in water and alcohol. Because vanilla extract is a flavoring, not a food, it is considered exempt from listing a nutrition facts panel. The FDA states in the Code of Federal Regulations 21 CFR §101.9(j)(4) — "Foods that contain insignificant amounts of all required nutrients (e.g., flavor extracts, food colors) are exempt." Furthermore, vanilla extract is used in small quantities for flavoring purposes only. Some consumers of vanilla might be interested in learning more about the nutritional value in vanilla extract because of dietary restrictions, preferences, and more. Within one teaspoon of Rodelle pure vanilla extract, there are fifteen (15) calories that are mostly from the alcohol used to extract the vanilla flavor compounds from the vanilla bean pods. Rodelle does not add any sweeteners or sugar to our pure vanilla extract so there are zero grams of sugars or added sugars. All other nutritional values equal zero (no fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber or protein).

Vanilla paste does have added sweeteners and thickening agents - we do list the nutrition facts on those labels and you can see the fat, calories, sugars and carbohydrates there. Calorie count in vanilla paste for one teaspoon is fifteen (15), zero (0) grams fat, three (3) grams carbohydrate and three (3) grams total sugars.

What is the Difference Between Vanilla Extract and Imitation Vanilla?

Pure Vanilla Extract and Imitation Vanilla are typically used for different applications.  The FDA has a standard of identity for Pure Vanilla Extract and dictates the ingredients and specific percentages that must be present. For this reason, "pure vanilla extract" that you buy from countries outside the United States may not be of the quality that you expect - or they may include ingredients (like artificial flavors) that are not permitted in products labeled as pure in the USA.

Pure Vanilla is an extract and made with alcohol, so is especially popular when making a non-baked dairy recipe, like ice cream because the flavor "flashes" off on your tongue as you eat it. Also, when baking in application, the alcohol allows the vanilla to mix with the other ingredients and stay behind as a flavor. You do get more of the aroma of vanilla when baking as some of that alcohol bakes off. The vanilla extract products have a deeper flavor as more levels of the actual vanilla bean are pulled from it. Vanilla Flavor or Imitation Vanilla is one note, and may have a great flavor but only of that one note. If you're doing a side-by-side comparison, you will likely notice that there is a lack of complex flavors that you get from natural or pure vanilla. Imitation flavors are commonly used in commercial baking to achieve the exact same flavor every single time.

Additional Vanilla Facts

• Vanilla is such a staple base flavor, therefore the quality of your vanilla extract or vanilla bean is key to a fragrant, warm, creamy end result for all your culinary endeavors.
• Vanilla extract gets its rich “vanilla" taste and aroma from vanillin, which is the primary flavor component of vanilla.
• Vanillin is a natural flavor component found in high-quality vanilla beans, the higher the vanillin, the better the quality.
• Vanillin levels are easily measurable, therefore a great quality indicator for profiling fine vanillas.
• Rodelle Vanilla Extracts have set the bar for vanillin content! We offer a pure vanilla extract with one of the highest vanillin levels on the market.
• It’s a fact, all vanillas are not created equal. Rodelle Vanilla Extracts are a superior vanilla ingredient that delivers a superior end result.
• You can use Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Paste and Vanilla Beans interchangeably in your recipes: one teaspoon of extract = one teaspoon of vanilla paste = one vanilla bean.
• Look for Rodelle Vanilla Products your favorite grocery store and online for a continuous superior taste.