I have come to discover that Vanillin mutes flavors overtime, somewhat like EM does…
In the past few days I have filled my tanks with older juices that only contained 1% EV or less and each and every one tastes nothing like they used to. All of them taste identical to each other now and that taste is a steeped mild EV taste.
At first I thought it was just the juice and the fact that it was 8 months old. But after tasting several different juices, I have now come to believe that it is the EV that is muting everything.
I don’t typically use EV for the vanilla aspect of it, I like what it does to certain flavors. It really changes them and at times adds this exotic quality, with no vanilla flavor at all…which I have now learned is limited…
I really like what it does with orange/citrus and pomegranate flavors but I’m saddened to learn that it is limited when it comes to time.
This won’t stop me from using it but I now know that if I will be using it, that I won’t be making larger batches of it, to prevent it from sitting too long.
“Vanillin and ethylvanillin are used by the food industry; ethylvanillin is more expensive, but has a stronger note. It differs from vanillin by having an ethoxy group (–O–CH2CH3) instead of a methoxy group (–O–CH3)”
So Vanillin is just a synthetic Vanilla? Ok, reading into it further, I always heard pure vanilla was very expensive, and the vanilla extract we use is just synthetic vanilla. Still kindof confused. What is the difference in Vanillin and the other vanilla flavors we use?
Somewhat off topic, you can go buy a vanilla bean. I can get them for $3 a piece, but primo Madagascar can be $10 or more, especially if bought from a grocery store. Cut to length and split that puppy lengthwise into quarters, throw half to a whole bean in 30ml of PG and shake daily. In 6 weeks you will have an unconcentrated, but true vanilla flavor.
Some of my recipes cannot be duplicated without DIY vanilla. Some are better with one of the others, like Pearvana. Just make sure you let the bottle settle for a few hours and then take off the top. You can refill and repeat a few times with the same bean.
Finally, like coffee, the different bean origins taste different. But, it’s all good stuff, so start out with a cheap bean, I get mine from the natural store where everybody smells like weed and patchouli. They are a little dry, but $3/bean is a good price up here anyway.
So do you manage to get consistant concentricity using the same bean over and over? Also, if you leave the bean in the same bottle longer does it just keep getting stronger? I am just curious if I started making recipes with this how I would be able to replicate a recipe over and over and it be the same every time. Thanks for the info. Very interesting little trick I never knew anything about.
Well, this is an unconcentrated vanilla. To get significant vanilla flavor from it you need to use it at about 10%…so how consistent the concentration is is kinda less important. Again, because it’s not strong like a bought flavor. You can add 3% and it’s not going to overpower anything.
Good question, but I’m not able to tell by taste. I just go by color. TBH I started doing this before I found this forum. I could be suckling in oils that I ought not…but this is not something I’d do high volume or commercially. It’s just one of my tricks to get the vape I want. If I ever find a custard base that I like, it will be my vanilla.
I guess I should put that as a disclaimer. It doesn’t gunk up my coils. It’s also clearly not an option for those with PG sensitivity due to the volumes required. You could also vacuum filter with a Buchner funnel, because vanilla seeds are tiny. Bottom line, and this is for noobs and lurkers, use at your own risk.
Vanillin is a vanilla extract alternative made from wood pulp. It is commonly used to reduce production costs. And, unlike real vanilla extract which is produced from real vanilla beans, vanillin is synthetic and may be produced using petrochemicals and byproducts from the paper industry. Unfortunately, because it’s cheap, the stuff is everywhere. Vanilla flavored over-the-counter medicines, beverages, and cookies are all places you’re likely to find vanillin.
Effects of Vanillin
Don’t get too frightened, vanillin isn’t one of the most toxic food additives you’ll find and in fact usually won’t trigger much more than a headache or allergic reaction in sensitive folks. Usually, switching from artificial vanilla extract to pure vanilla extract is all that is needed to avoid issues. Many connoisseurs of the vanilla bean claim vanillin to be an inferior product to pure vanilla extract anyway. If you’re making an attempt to eat quality food, you probably won’t encounter much vanillin anyway.
Benefits of Pure Vanilla
The other thing to consider is that when you’re consuming worthless vanillin, you’re missing out on beneficial vanilla. Vanilla in its pure form has a few health benefits. Real vanilla extract contains a number of antioxidant compounds, at least according to one study. Interestingly enough, this same study claims that vanillin contains a much lower amount of protective activity. Vanilla extract may also be helpful for fighting bacteria.
Choose Only the Best
Vanillin may not be one of the most dangerous food additives, but it certainly won’t provide you the benefits obtained from pure vanilla. If you purchase processed foods or beverages, always choose organic. Most organic cookies, while still not the most healthy food on the planet, often contain pure vanilla. When baking, always choose organic vanilla beans or organic vanilla extract over artificial vanilla. Your health–and your taste buds–will thank you.
Why? As in why for the vanilla or why for the synthetic part?
I use it for the reasons I specified and I still use it here and there. There’s nothing wrong with it, outside of it’s steeping effects after half a year or so
Ahh OK. I have been confused as hell throughout this thread. So help me understand. If I have Flv, FA, and MF Vanilla - what would be the benefits of using Vanillin? I am not suggesting it shouldn’t be used. I am just trying to figure out if it is something I should try. What exactly does it do to citrus flavors? Sorry, I missed that part in your first post.
Yeah I think you keep getting confused because of the vanilla part and it just being another vanilla, which it’s not…but it is…but it’s not… haha!
It’s like comparing fresh cream to a bavarian cream…they are both creams but not the same at all. Vanillin smells of vanilla, like a cheap vanilla cookie, but it really doesn’t do the same thing as a french vanilla would do.
Have you ever had Space Jam’s Andromeda? They use vanillin in that and the last thing you would ever guess is there is “vanilla” in it.
Just buy a damn bottle already!! lol! You will never understand what it is by this thread, other than seeing it as another vanilla flavor.
As far as what it does, if you have had SJ’s andromeda, that’s a great example. Almost an exotic like exhale…can’t really explain it to well, sorry bud
Yeah, I have vaped Space Jam Andromeda. I am going to grab the bottle right now out of the closet and try it again. I put a few drops on my dripper a month or so again and wasn’t too impressed because I thought it hadn’t steeped yet.
I used to think they wore the patchouli to cover up the smell of the weed. That was until I lived in Asheville, NC for several years and figured out they wear it in lieu of a bath. Nasty.
My wife worked at this hippy pizza place in college. They were all about weed and 'shrooms (my wife was not really the sort of person to fit in, but it somehow worked. The chicks were F I N E! But, they were proud of not bathing for 10+ days. They’d reach over to fill your drink and it’d look like they had Chubacca in a headlock, then BOOM a blast of BO and shortly afterward a punch of patchouli would suppress your impulse to wretch. Pizza was good though.
