I never thought I would do it

[TickTockMan]

I bought vanilla ice cream. I'm turning into my mother.


I've been craving it.

 

[Vannie]

Simplicity in life is better than a rocky road.

 

[LeicsDom]

Simplicity in life is better than a rocky road.

I quite like Rocky Road

 

[TickTockMan]

Simplicity in life is better than a rocky road.

Oddly enough. Rocky Road is one of my favorite ice creams usually.

 

[unloadonme]

Ah, another vanilla thread.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I quite like Rocky Road
View attachment 3016203

But that's fudge, isn't it?

To the OP's point, I have become more appreciative of simple flavor profiles as I age. Although I like casseroles, spice cookies, Chinese fare, and other dihes with mixed flavors, I am increasingly choosing simpler items.

Roast pork.

Pound cake.

Peach ice cream.

Broccolini

Hash browns

Scrambled eggs

Steak

I've had special and interesting preparations, and they are good for variety, but the baseline is the baseline.

 

[TickTockMan]

Back when I used to work I was in charge of the frozen and refrigerated food sections for a large grocery store.


Just for one brand of ice cream we sold six vanilla flavors. Vanilla, French Vanilla, Vanilla Bean and three other I can't remember. I always wondered what the difference was considering I rarely tasted anything when eating vanilla ice cream.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Back when I used to work I was in charge of the frozen and refrigerated food sections for a large grocery store.


Just for one brand of ice cream we sold six vanilla flavors. Vanilla, French Vanilla, Vanilla Bean and three other I can't remember. I always wondered what the difference was considering I rarely tasted anything when eating vanilla ice cream.

Although you may have a condition affecting your sense of taste, it may also be that you just take vanilla for granted in a flavor profile.

A good way to test is whip heavy cream. Separate the portion and stir in vanilla to one. Put both portions away and let stay for hours, so you won't be influenced by having just smelled vanilla extract.

Taste them the next day. If they are different, you can detect the flavor. People assume the the taste of cream is vanilla since it is added frequently.

 

[Dargelos]

Vanilla is unfairly discriminated against. The natural flavouring is extremely expensive so when you taste a mass market product which is called "vanilla flavour" it will only contain a microscopic amount of the costly spice, leading to the popular assumption that the flavour is bland. But if you taste a better quality product with enough of the good stuff in it, the taste is deep, satisfying and memorable, not bland at all.

 

[me203]

The problem with vanilla is that it's so vanilla.

 

[me203]

Bad jokes aside...

My complaint with vanilla ice creams was that they generally seemed tasteless. (Sort of my like some of my jokes. )

Years back, my mother made ice cream a few times, using one of those home ice cream makers that have a cylinder that gets chilled a long time in the freezer, first. I remember her making vanilla. Details are hazy now, but I don't remember feeling like "how bland!" I do remember I really liked the ice cream. Indeed, I have been struggling off and on with the decision of whether or not to keep a similar ice cream maker. I haven't used it since I got it. Plus icecream doesn't fit my current avoidance of dairy, attempts to minimize fat, and attempts to minimize sugar intake. So it seems pointless to keep it--but I can't forget how much I liked the ice cream that gadget made...

 

[me203]

To the OP's point, I have become more appreciative of simple flavor profiles as I age. Although I like casseroles, spice cookies, Chinese fare, and other dihes with mixed flavors, I am increasingly choosing simpler items.

I think I noted the joys of fairly simple recipes when I was first cooking. I'm sure the idea appealed to my lazy side. But it was amazing how good something simple could be. Although quality of ingredients seems to matter much more, which is a problem in today's world of flavorless offerings (but are priced like gourmet treats) at the average grocery store. The decline of quality is not totally new--I remember a later James Beard cookbook that commented about meat quality, with IIRC a suggestion that he found it more necessary to do things to add taste.

 

[me203]

Vanilla is unfairly discriminated against. The natural flavouring is extremely expensive so when you taste a mass market product which is called "vanilla flavour" it will only contain a microscopic amount of the costly spice, leading to the popular assumption that the flavour is bland. But if you taste a better quality product with enough of the good stuff in it, the taste is deep, satisfying and memorable, not bland at all.

Actually, I think mass market products are more likely to have artificial flavor, at least here in the US. Unless made with "real vanilla," at which point one can assume the maker is stingy with how much gets added.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Actually, I think mass market products are more likely to have artificial flavor, at least here in the US. Unless made with "real vanilla," at which point one can assume the maker is stingy with how much gets added.

Interestingly, Cook's Country performed taste tests, and their experts could not detect the difference in finished goods between artificial vanillin and pure vanilla extract. Decades of celebrity chefs pleading for us to buy the best vanilla has likely been a mindfuck.

That said, I still buy real vanilla, but not spending $60 for it.

And, cheap products with vanilla flavoring taste cheap for a variety of bad choices the manufacturer made, so do taste bad, as you said.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Vanilla is unfairly discriminated against. The natural flavouring is extremely expensive so when you taste a mass market product which is called "vanilla flavour" it will only contain a microscopic amount of the costly spice, leading to the popular assumption that the flavour is bland. But if you taste a better quality product with enough of the good stuff in it, the taste is deep, satisfying and memorable, not bland at all.

People tend to forget the cost of vanilla because it has been so successfully replicated with chemistry.

When I was reading up on cardamom, I was suprised to learn it was the third most expensive spice globally, after saffron, and vanilla. Of course, if you thing about it, the sources are in declining degree of difficulty in raising/harvesting: a crocus, an an orchid, and a relatively difficult-to-process seed in a husk.

 

[Kahaih]

Interestingly, Cook's Country performed taste tests, and their experts could not detect the difference in finished goods between artificial vanillin and pure vanilla extract. Decades of celebrity chefs pleading for us to buy the best vanilla has likely been a mindfuck.

That said, I still buy real vanilla, but not spending $60 for it.

And, cheap products with vanilla flavoring taste cheap for a variety of bad choices the manufacturer made, so do taste bad, as you said.

I believe you can make your own extract with a bottle of vodka and a few vanilla beans. I'd like to give it a try sometime, but not in the near future. Amazon has the beans.

 

[Kahaih]

I bought vanilla ice cream. I'm turning into my mother.


I've been craving it.

I've been hoping for a bit of clarity;

Did you never think you would buy vanilla ice cream, or that you would turn into your mother?

Seriously. We often become more and more like our parents as we age.


No need to model your granny panties, should you go that route.

 

[me203]

I still buy real vanilla, but not spending $60 for it.

I am relieved you don't buy $60 vanilla extracts. You just can't get a semi-decent vanilla extract for less than $90.

 

[me203]

Interestingly, Cook's Country performed taste tests, and their experts could not detect the difference in finished goods between artificial vanillin and pure vanilla extract. Decades of celebrity chefs pleading for us to buy the best vanilla has likely been a mindfuck.

I can kind of vaguely recall hearing some such taste test. I think I'd half thought of mentioning it yesterday, but didn't get around to it.

Since, I have done some fast research. There are some who disagree. And there were some interesting ideas why the tests ended the way they did, such as the use of a poor quality brand of real extract. I notice some in between thinking: for some things, artificial is more than good enough, but at times the real is preferable. The major difference here seemed to be baked=artificial can be more than good enough. A cold application=use the real stuff.

I'm not surprised by that. I had thought when I started researching that there could be confounding factors. And I'm definitely not surprised by the thought that one can make an argument for using artificial extracts for many things, because they are cheap, and saving the real extract for times when the user perceives an advantage.

 

[me203]

I believe you can make your own extract with a bottle of vodka and a few vanilla beans. I'd like to give it a try sometime, but not in the near future. Amazon has the beans.

That's my understanding, too. I've also heard of the use of other high proof alcohols, like rum.

I think a past self--the one that still baked--might have been curious to try this. A local grocery store actually carried vanilla beans back then.