Vanilla essence is the best substitute for vanilla pods. In fact, this is a food flavoring that is not much inferior to natural in taste. A big plus and a clear advantage of the essence over other similar products is that very little is required for cooking, unlike the same vanilla powder or pods.

When preparing the essence, she insists on alcohol and gives it part of her essential oils, a small amount of enzymes, resin and tannins, not to mention vitamins and minerals. The latter include sodium, calcium and iron, vanilla pods and phosphorus are not deprived, as well as potassium and zinc. There are 288 kcal per 100 grams of essence.

In Europe, vanilla appeared in the 16th century. She was brought from America. Subsequently, this spice became widespread in cooking and perfumery.

How to do it at home?

At home, the essence is quite simple to make, following the instructions, but it will take a lot of time to bring it to readiness. To prepare vanilla essence, you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 vanilla pod
• 100 grams of alcohol (at least 40%).

Cut the pod lengthwise and then into several parts, place it in a dark glass container, fill it with alcohol and close tightly so that the alcohol does not evaporate. Leave the vial with the essence for 2-3 months, shaking occasionally. Remember, the longer it sits, the stronger and brighter the scent will be. Store vanilla essence in a dark, cool place.

After bringing the essence to readiness, it can be filtered from the remains of the vanilla pod through a coffee filter.

From the waste pods, with their preliminary drying, in the future, you can make vanilla sugar, aromatic bath salts or use them in soap making.

If you do not have the time or desire to wait until the essence is infused at home, then you can simply buy it at the nearest supermarket or online store.

Cooking applications

Vanilla is widely used in cooking. Many people love this spice for its delicate and sweet aroma. Vanilla essence is often used in:

• desserts;
• drinks;
• meat dishes.

Vanilla also goes very well with alcohol and some types of fish. In addition to carbohydrates, vanilla pods contain proteins and fats, which means they dissolve well in alcohol and give it a subtle exotic flavor. This has led to the widespread use of vanilla in the creation of alcohol and alcoholic cocktails.

If you have vanilla essence in your kitchen, a couple of drops are enough to replace a packet of vanilla sugar or powder. How much vanilla you add to a dish depends on the recipe or your taste preference. But the essence is used a little differently than the extract. Due to the alcohol base, the essence evaporates during heat treatment. Therefore, it is correct to add it at the very end of the cooking process.

Nowadays, natural vanilla is not so often used on an industrial scale, in particular, due to its cost and difficulties in preparing for use. Vanilla is replaced with synthetic vanilla, which is cheaper and more convenient to manufacture.

How to replace vanilla essence?

You can replace vanilla essence with vanilla powder (vanillin) or vanilla sugar. Vanilla powder tastes brighter than sugar, so you need a lot less of it.... Thus, observing all proportions, you can replace 25 grams of vanilla essence with the products indicated in the table.

For a person who loves vanilla, vanilla essence will be a real godsend!

Sometimes you read a recipe, and you lose heart ... Fennel, capers, anchovies, mascarpone, coconut milk, mirin - what is it and where to get it all?

And we often put off the coveted recipe with a sigh of disappointment: either you need to go to a distant supermarket for an ingredient, or the price for it hovers in the clouds. However, there is nothing in the world that is irreplaceable! Let's try to cheat a little.

Anchovies

The funny thing is that many people still confuse them with gherkins or pickles - small, young cucumbers. In fact, anchovies (Latin Engraulidae) are a family of fish of the herring order.

The notorious anchovy often annoys the eyes of housewives in meat and chicken pates, various salads. In meat dishes, anchovy gives a slightly noticeable flavor. You can replace it with a sprat of a spicy salting, and if you need a light tone, then a completely ordinary, workers 'and peasants' one. Alternatively, replace the anchovy with Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce. It is possible, however, that there will be no problems with the latter. But it is cheaper for sure.

Mascarpone cheese

In fact, mascarpone is not cheese at all, but rather creamy yogurt. It is prepared from fresh high-fat cream: lemon juice or white wine vinegar is added to heavy cream and slowly heated.

The mascarpone cream is made from the milk of cows that have been fed only fresh flowers and grass. Mascarpone is very high in calories - 450 kcal per 100 g. Traditionally, this delicate cream cheese is perceived as a dessert. The most popular dish with mascarpone is the Tiramisu dessert.

You can buy mascarpone in supermarkets or in specialized stores of Italian products. True, it is not cheap. You can replace it with either fatty grated cottage cheese, or a mixture of heavy cream and cottage cheese.

Chef's rice wine, mirin

Cook's rice wine is a type of sake, the only difference is that dry wine with a low alcohol content is used in cooking, which is usually not classified as alcoholic beverages. Adding rice wine is a common technique in Japanese and Chinese cuisines.

In Japanese cuisine, sake is not used for the alcohol it contains, but to remove the odor from fish dishes. For this reason, sake is sometimes boiled before being added to other foods to evaporate the alcohol it contains. In addition, with the help of sake, you can significantly improve the taste of many products, rice wine is used as a marinade. When preparing Japanese and Chinese dishes, you can use white dry grape wine instead of sake.

Sweet culinary rice wine, or mirin, is also almost universally used in Japanese cooking. It is a thick, sweetish yellow liquid with a small alcohol content. Mirin is obtained from the corresponding varieties of rice, rice malt and sweet potatoes. Like sake, mirin is also used to add a specific aroma and delicate sweetish flavor to dishes. There are two varieties of this product: hon mirin and shin mirin, slightly different in taste, but equally used in the manufacture of sushi rice. Mirin can be replaced with light dry sherry, but in smaller quantities.

Balsamic vinegar

In Italian cuisine, balsamic vinegar is used in sauces for vegetables, meat, and fish. Vinegar preparation begins by squeezing the juice from Trebiano grapes from the provinces of Modena or Reggio Emilia in the Emilia-Romagna region. The grape juice is heated until it turns into a thick, dark syrup. Then the syrup is mixed with wine vinegar and kept in wooden barrels. Each manufacturer uses its own spices. The ripening period of vinegar is at least 3 years, and its best varieties can withstand up to 50 years.

Instead of expensive traditional balsamic vinegar, you can buy an affordable one that is industrially made in Modena. Balsamic vinegar can also be substituted for wine vinegar. And if you want to get a little closer to the original taste of balsamic vinegar, try to infuse wine vinegar with herbs and spices. This will give it a more sophisticated taste and aroma.

You can do it like this. Proportions - 1 cup of herbs to 2 cups of vinegar. For example, apple. Tasty to use for making vinegar tarragon wormwood. Start by leaving the herbs in a dark, warm place to dry overnight. Pour vinegar over the herbs so that the vinegar completely covers them. Leave to sit for 6 weeks in the dark. You also need to store the tincture in the dark, remembering to shake it from time to time.

Vanilla extract, vanilla essence

Vanilla extract is an alcoholic tincture of vanilla pods with an alcohol content of 35%, which is usually used to add to creams, puddings, desserts, does not tolerate heat treatment. Therefore, it is better not to use it for baking. You can prepare vanilla extract yourself. To do this, pour 100 g of vodka 4 cut lengthwise into 2 pieces of vanilla pod, chock the container and leave in a cool place for at least 2-3 weeks. It can be stored for 4–5 years.

But when there is no extract, sugar will do - instead of 1 tsp. liquid, take 10-15 g of vanilla sugar. Please note only that vanilla sugar can be both natural vanilla and synthetic vanillin. Of course, the first option is preferable.

Vanilla essence is a food flavor that is identical to natural, which contains natural and unnatural ingredients, so it is significantly cheaper than the extract. 12.5 g of vanilla essence can be substituted for 1 g of vanilla powder or 20 g of vanilla sugar.

Fennel

Fennel is a perennial herb of the Umbelliferae family. It has a high (up to 2 m) branched stem, which, like the leaves, has a bluish color. In appearance it is similar to dill, and in taste and smell it resembles anise. Often found in fish and vegetable dishes, salads, teas. In hot dishes, fennel is often combined with capers. In cooking, both stems and "heads" of fennel are used. The latter are stewed and fried.

Fennel root can be substituted with stalked celery. If fennel is prescribed for taste in the recipe, then its fresh greens can be replaced with seeds. The latter are sold in seasonings and taste like caraway seeds.

Capers

Until now, in Russia, they are wary of salted green balls in jars - it is not clear what kind of fruit it is and what it is eaten with. In fact, capers are not fruits at all, but the unblown buds of the caper thorny bush (Capparis spinosa). By the way, they are an important ingredient in the original Olivier salad. From which you have already guessed how you can replace capers.

Capers add spice and sourness to the dish. And you can replace them with olives, olives or gherkins.

Coconut milk

Coconut milk is a creamy liquid obtained through special processing of coconut pulp (not to be confused with coconut juice formed inside the fruit) and is often used in Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, Caribbean cuisines. It is an ideal base for oriental cream soups, an ingredient in sauces for meat, fish and seafood, curries, and is used in desserts and cocktails.

Coconut milk is sold in stores canned in cans, but you can not buy it everywhere and not always, besides, some people do not like the smell and taste of coconut. Therefore, in sauces, coconut milk can be replaced with low-fat (10-15%) cream, in desserts - with ordinary milk. If you want to add a coconut flavor to your baked goods, flakes of coconut are also fine. But replacing coconut milk, for example, in national Thai soups, is perhaps not worth it.

Tomato trade wind

The universal Italian passata sauce has a thick consistency, is made on the basis of mashed peeled and pitted tomatoes and is used to make tomato puree soup, meat and various sauces. It is possible to buy it ready-made, but it is not difficult to prepare it yourself.

To prepare the sauce, you will need 1 kg of tomatoes, 1 medium-sized onion, 1-2 tsp. salt, 1 bunch of basil. Scald the tomatoes, peel and chop finely. Chop the onion finely and fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. When the onion is browned, add the tomatoes to it. Simmer the resulting mixture for 25 minutes, during which time the excess moisture should evaporate. Season with salt and chopped basil 10 minutes before cooking.

What else can be replaced without losing taste

• Baking powder (baking powder) - for 20 g you need to mix 5 g of baking soda, 3 g of citric acid and 12 g of flour. This amount of powder is calculated for 500 g of flour.
• Unrefined sugar is being replaced with regular sugar.
• The fudge is replaced with icing or melted chocolate.
• Corn starch is replaced by any other starch.
• Cream fresh is replaced with thick non-acidic sour cream.
• Fromage fre - thick yogurt or sour cream.
• Garam masala (spicy mixture) - 1 tsp each turmeric, coriander and cumin.
• The molasses are simply replaced with sugar syrup or honey.
• Maple syrup can be substituted with honey.
• Pancake flour - regular flour and baking powder.
• Artichoke: Fresh artichokes can be substituted for canned ones. And canned artichokes, in turn, are replaced by canned bell peppers.
• Polenta (wholemeal corn porridge) - corn grits. By grinding it in a coffee grinder, you get real polenta flour!
• Feta cheese is replaced by feta cheese and vice versa.
• Mozzarella cheese replaces suluguni.
• Shallots - ordinary small onions.
• Leeks can also be substituted with onions, and vice versa, for a milder taste, you can substitute leeks for onions.

Are you looking for where you can buy vanilla extract for cooking in Minsk? Can't find it? You can make it yourself quickly and easily! In addition, vanilla pods are stored for a very long time, and if you once bought vanilla, but have not figured out what to do with it, then homemade vanilla extract is a great idea for you!

- this is an alcoholic tincture of vanilla pods with an alcohol content of 35%, which is used, as a rule, for adding to creams, puddings, desserts, does not tolerate heat treatment. Therefore, it is better not to use it for baking..

On baking sites, there are often articles on the topic "How to replace vanilla extract?" But why replace if you can do it yourself?

In this article, you will learn how you can make a real vanilla extract at home, no different from the purchased one. Usually, lovers of extracts bring them to Minsk from their travels. sometimes it is not easy to find them here. However, do not despair, because vanilla extract is quite easy to make at home with your own hands! Homemade extract will not be as thick as purchased, but otherwise, they are indistinguishable from each other! This extract is very useful, and you can safely add it absolutely everywhere. Also, vanilla extract from, like any unprocessed product, is healthier. Since the extract contains alcohol, it is not used in dishes for children.

So, how to make real vanilla extract yourself.

• Sterilize the container in which you will infuse the extract with boiling water.
• Cut off the ends, cut them in half, and scrape off the vanilla seeds with the tip of a knife.
• Any extract is an alcoholic tincture. For vanilla extract, take about 0.5 liters of high-quality vodka and 4-6 real pods. For one vanilla pod, take about 30 ml of alcohol.
• First cut the vanilla pods in half lengthwise, and then each half into 4 to 6 pieces.
• Put the chopped vanilla pods in a container with a lid, fill with vodka.
• Leave the container in a dark place for at least a month. Remember to shake the container constantly during this time. Within 2-3 weeks, the pods can be removed and new ones can be put in for an even more concentrated extract.
• On the first day, the liquid will be completely light. Gradually, it will darken and acquire a richer color.
• When the extract is infused, strain it into a clean bottle.
• Your vanilla extract is ready!

For beauty, you can put a couple of whole vanilla pods in a bottle. And if you add more vanilla seeds there (scrape off the pods), then your pastries will be in a cheerful black speck.

Indian chefs prepare the extract differently and faster - they boil the pods in milk, and then add aromatic milk to the dishes.

Where to apply vanilla extract?

• Ice cream
• Sherbet
• Pudding
• Cupcakes
• Biscuits
• Cookies
• Cakes
• Sauces
• Milkshake
• Whipped cream
• Some meat dishes and vegetable side dishes
• Tea or coffee

Add the contents of the pod or natural vanilla extract to the liquid portion required by the recipe - egg-butter mixture, cream, milk, melted chocolate, etc.

Also, vanilla extract is used in soap making and for the manufacture of home cosmetics.

Combining vanilla with other spices

Vanilla does not combine with other spices and spices, except for and, as well as coconut flakes.

Calorie content of vanilla essence

There are 288 kcal per 100 grams of the product.

Vanilla essence composition

Vanilla essence in its chemical composition contains many useful substances, namely: vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9 and PP, as well as: potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, iron, phosphorus, sodium.

Remember that the pods cannot be frozen or left unpacked in the air. They keep well in vacuum packing.

If you find out late that you can extract an extract from vanilla and your vanilla pods are dry, try to infuse them longer. Dried pods can also be reanimated by grinding in a coffee grinder and mixing with sugar. You can just break it and put it in a jar of sugar.

When you try not packaged "a la" powder, but real vanilla, you understand why in ancient times spices and seasonings were highly valued. Some tribes even used vanilla pods as the equivalent of money. Can you imagine this?
Vanilla is now one of the most famous spices. You know, there is such a "tradition" that the products that are most popular are most often counterfeited. But with vanilla, things are a little different. Counterfeits exist "legally"! And everyone knows this, and everyone uses them, believing that this chemical product can replace your favorite spice.
To dot the i's, let's briefly find out what it is:

• vanilla extract,
• batch vanillin.

What is Vanilla Extract?

This is an alcoholic infusion, in which the alcohol is 35%.
There are several manufacturing standards for this product. The most famous is the requirements of the FDA (American Food Supervision Agency). According to this standard, there should be 100 g of pods in a liter of extract. This is a single infusion. Two- and three-fold contains 200 and 300 g of pods in 1 liter.
Questions about the product:

• What, besides vanilla, does the extract contain? - Manufactured products may contain caramel, syrups, sugar, flavorings and dyes.
• Can the extract be based on artificial raw materials? - Yes. It is worth carefully examining the packaging. If you find that there are vanillin flavors in the composition, then this product is unnatural. Do not be fooled by the high price for it. It is better to spend money on making the extract yourself than to buy an outright fake. Moreover, such a tincture will not have such a taste and aroma as a real product. Worse, a bitter aftertaste awaits you.

And one more important point! Often the taste and even aroma of an extract on a natural product has different notes and sound strength in a dish. The difference directly depends on the type of vanilla. Some varieties give floral notes, while others are more spicy.

What is Vanilla Essence?

In fact, it is a "substitute" for the extract. In essence, synthetic analogs are used instead of natural pods.
Hence the weaker, almost indistinct aroma, unpleasant synthetic taste.
To enhance the taste, many housewives are forced to use more essences.
The essence is bought to save money, since a natural product is more expensive. But the essence is a more costly product, since it needs to be added in larger quantities to dishes.

Output! In fact, the savings are questionable here. And if we also remember that we are content with a synthetic fake, then there can be no question of economy. After all, there is no real smell of vanilla; there is no mouth-watering aftertaste. But there is extra chemistry for the body.

Powder in a bag labeled "Vanillin"

Here everything is quite simple. This is a pure fake. And although the manufacturers claim that the formula of an artificial product obtained in chemical laboratories and natural vanilla pods are identical, draw a conclusion.
Its price is several times lower. And this is the only advantage. You will get an analog seasoning, analog flavor and analog flavor. Just imagine how a spice obtained from a natural plant smells!

How to make your own vanilla extract

We have already found out that the extract is an alcohol tincture. Therefore, for cooking, we need only 2 components: alcoholic drink and pods.
In my case, this is:

• Vodka;
• Vanilla pods at the rate: for every 100 ml - 1 pod.
• And 2 more pods for beauty.

What can be used instead of vodka:

• Cognac;
• Alcohol (96%);
• Tequila, etc.

For each product, the number of pods remains the same, but the aging period varies. It all depends on the taste data of the alcohol product. The brighter they are, the longer the saturation of the infusion with the taste and aroma of vanilla will be.

Probably the most ideal of all drinks is the alcohol itself. It has no foreign odors. And its taste is not "spoiled" by anything. Therefore, the tincture will come out exclusively vanilla.

One moment! Stir the alcohol with water. It needs to be brought up to 35%. Only in this case, the percentage of aroma squeeze increases several times in comparison with pure alcohol.

There is only one small requirement for alcohol. Whatever you take, it must be of good quality.

Requirements for vanilla pods:

• Dark in color;
• Oily;
• With a bright scent (you need to push to hear);
• Dense.

How to prepare the extract:

1. Cut the pods lengthwise and remove the seeds.
2. Cut the halves of the pods into 4-5 pieces.
3. Fill the pieces of pods with alcohol and close the bottle tightly with a lid.
4. We put the bottle in a dark room.
5. In such conditions, the tincture will stay for a month.
6. All this time, the bottle must be shaken, mixing the contents. We do this in about a day.
7. When the extract is infused, filter it. Pour into a clean bottle. For beauty, put 2 pods.
   It is believed that it can be stored for several decades.

And during this time, the extract becomes more and more saturated. But I haven’t had time to check it yet. I sell such a product very quickly.

Taste, aroma, and hence love for the dish directly depends on the quality of the ingredients. It's up to you to decide which products to use. I hope, thanks to your choice, you will pleasantly surprise yourself and your loved ones more than once, please them and give a lot of pleasant emotions!
Share your opinion in the comments, which products do you like to use: extracts, essences, or, more dear to your heart, plain vanillin in sachets?

In contact with

Who doesn't know the exquisite taste and aroma of vanilla buns? Vanilla essence gives a special sophistication and subtle sweet smell to baked goods. The pods of this spice are used in the preparation of pastries, ice cream, cocktails, cake creams and puddings. In addition, vanilla essence is used not only in cooking, but also in perfumery, and is also widely used to flavor rooms.

What is vanilla?

Vanilla is a climbing plant of the orchid family. Vanilla sticks (the pods of this plant) usually reach 10-20 cm in length and have a curled shape. It is by the length of the pod that the quality of the spice is determined. There are several varieties of this spice. Among them, the following are considered the best: Mexican vanilla - the length of its pods reaches 25 cm, slightly smaller than the Ceylon and Bourbon varieties.

Vanilla sugar

This is regular granulated sugar or powdered vanilla. To give this aroma, a vanilla pod is placed in a container with sugar for a while, carefully closed and left for at least a week. During this time, the sugar is impregnated with a vanilla smell, after which the pods are removed.

Vanilla extract

It is a vanilla concentrate that is obtained by soaking vanilla sticks in alcohol. An alcoholic tincture of vanilla pods is used mainly for making cold desserts, as it does not tolerate high temperatures.

Vanilla essence

This is a kind of highly concentrated vanilla extract. It, like any other food essence, is used in baking and preparing many desserts. During its production, various synthetic components are added, so it is much cheaper than natural vanilla extract.

Vanilla powder

It is it that can be used for baking, since it is the only natural vanilla product that can tolerate heat treatment without loss. Vanilla powder is added to dough for buns, cookies and cakes. It is made by complete drying and subsequent grinding of vanilla pods.

Homemade vanilla extract

Unfortunately, not all food manufacturers can be trusted these days. The market is overflowing with various types of condiments. If you do not want to purchase a fake made of synthetic substances instead of natural vanilla extract, prepare this spice yourself. To do this, you will need rubbing alcohol and vanilla pods. For 120 ml of alcohol, you need to take 4-5 vanilla sticks. Then put the pods cut along the length in a glass bottle and pour over the alcohol. Close the bottle tightly. Vanilla essence is infused for about a month in a dark place. After that, it can be used for several years, since it can be stored in the refrigerator for a very long time.

Useful Tips

Often vanilla essence is required to prepare a dish. How to replace this seasoning if it is not at hand? You can save your culinary masterpiece, for example, by adding vanilla sugar or powder to baked goods. To replace 25 g of essence, 2 g of vanilla powder or 40 g of vanilla sugar are taken. You can also use liqueur or brandy for this purpose.