vanilla
extracts
for baking & beyond
the 9 best
Although it's considered a spice, vanilla comes from the fruit of Mexican orchids. The vanilla beans you can buy in the store are the result of hand-pollinating the vanilla orchid flowers.
Because vanilla is so difficult to grow & extremely labor-intensive to produce, the best vanilla extracts aren't especially cheap. (Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice after saffron).
In my quest to find the best vanilla extract, I tested each option in both a baked and a raw application: vanilla cupcakes and Swiss meringue buttercream frosting, respectively.
BEST OVERALL
Value: 20/20
Quality: 20/20
Flavor: 19/20
Aroma: 20/20
Availability: 15/20
penzeys single strength
vanilla: 94/100
katherine gillen BEST FOR BAKING
Value: 18/20
Quality: 19/20
Flavor: 19/20
Aroma: 20/20
Availability: 16/20
NIELSEN-MASSEY PURE
VANILLA EXTRACT: 92/100
katherine gillen BEST FOR USEING RAW
Value: 19/20
Quality: 19/20
Flavor: 18/20
Availability: 16/20
SINGING DOG PURE
VANILLA EXTRACT: 89/100
katherine gillen BEST FOR GIFTING
Value: 18/20
Quality: 18/20
Flavor: 18/20
Aroma: 17/20
Availability: 16/20
SPICE HOUSE PURE MADAGASCAR VANILLA EXTRACT: 87/100
katherine gillen BEST FOR A NOSTALGIC FLAVOR
Value: 17/20
Quality: 16/20
Flavor: 17/20
Aroma: 17/20
Availability: 20/20
MCCORMICK PURE VANILLA
EXTRACT: 87/100
katherine gillen BEST VALUE
Value: 18/20
Quality: 18/20
Flavor: 16/20
Aroma: 16/20
Availability: 17/20
simply organic pure
vanilla extract: 85/100
katherine gillen BEST FAIR TRADE
Value: 17/20
Quality: 18/20
Flavor: 17/20
Aroma: 16/20
Availability: 16/20
beyond good pure madagascar vanilla extract: 84/100
katherine gillen BEST WITH BEANS
Value: 16/20
Quality: 19/20
Flavor: 17/20
Aroma: 16/20
Availability: 16/20
HEILALA ALCOHOL-FREE PURE VANILLA WITH SEEDS: 84/100
katherine gillen BEST FOR BEGINNERS
Value: 17/20
Quality: 16/20
Flavor: 16/20
Aroma: 14/20
Availability: 18/20
WATKINS ORGANIC PURE
VANILLA EXTRACT: 81/100
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