The History of Vanilla Flavoring

In the late 19th century, scientists discovered a way to derive vanillin (the main compound that gives vanilla its signature aroma and one of nearly 250 chemical compounds that make up the flavor we recognize as vanilla) from less expensive sources. These included eugenol (a chemical compound found in clove oil), lignin (which is found in plants), wood pulp, and even cow feces. Today, roughly 85% of vanillin, or artificial vanilla flavoring, is derived from guaiacol, which is synthesized from petrochemicals. Unfortunately, the process of creating artificial vanilla has environmental costs, although work is being done to lessen these. Wondering if there’s really a discernable difference between real vanilla derived from vanilla beans and vanillin (vanilla flavoring)? Ice cream offers one of the most distinct comparisons of the two — ice cream made with real vanilla is typically a darker color and is usually speckled with seed fragments, while ice cream made with vanillin is lighter in color and doesn’t have any seed fragments. The flavor of vanilla may also be less nuanced and more uniform across products, while real vanilla varies from batch to batch due to subtle differences in flavor between beans grown at different times and in different parts of the world. Because vanilla beans are very expensive to grow and harvest, much of the vanilla that we consume today is actually artificial vanilla flavoring.