What is pure Tahitian vanilla extract?

Pure. The word conjures images of unadulterated spring water gushing forth in a pristine environment under a blue sky filled with sunshine. Or perhaps your mental image is of gleaming 100% gold bullion, unalloyed with inferior metals. The word pure is often seen alongside the words natural, authentic, and true, implying a homogeneous composition, free from extraneous matter.

Our pure Tahitian vanilla extract is made up of a solution containing the finest Tahitian vanilla beans, grain-free alcohol and water. That’s it! We use only real Tahitian vanilla beans originating in French Polynesia (official name: Vanilla X Tahitensis JB Moore) and we don't mix it with other, cheaper, similar kinds of beans—such as Papua New Guinea beans, which would lower costs, but also diminish the flavor.

See, the flavor and fragrance of vanilla is contained in the oil of vanilla beans and seeds. When the oily beans are steeped in alcohol, the vanilla essence in the oil is dissolved and the flavor is extracted. The alcohol evaporates in the cooking process leaving the flavor of vanilla in your food. This purity is what sets Vanilla From Tahiti apart from the others.

Allergic to gluten? Many other vanilla extracts are made with grain alcohol, which could cause an allergic reaction. Because we use synthetically derived ethyl alcohol (ethanol), not derived from grain, our extract is allergy-free. Learn more about how we keep our extract allergy-free and safe.

Diabetic or avoiding sugar and carbs? Some vanilla extracts are filled with sugar, starch, or toxic coumarin, which means they’re cheaper to make. When you find cheaper imitation or artificial vanilla at your grocery store, it is made from synthetic vanillin—the same compound that is naturally found in vanilla beans. Synthetic vanillin is most often made from lignin, a wood pulp byproduct from the paper industry, or castoreum, beaver anal gland secretions. (We’re not making this stuff up!)

Extract derived from natural vanilla beans includes several hundred different compounds in addition to vanillin which give it complexity. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Which is better for you and your family; real food or chemicals? The list highlighting what our extract doesn’t contain is long: sugar, starch, fillers, castoreum or beaver anal gland secretion, synthetic vanillin, artificial colors, additional flavors, preservatives, emulsifiers, carriers, antioxidants, ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, ethyl vanillin, coumarin or any chemical that is next to impossible to pronounce.

Bake with love, bake with Vanilla From Tahiti!