This is almost an SNL skit, she doesn’t stop eating the pudding hahah

Julia was in no hurry for Jack to finish speaking. She was enjoying the puddings.

It would be interesting to see the winner between pure vanilla extract from Madagascar, Mexico, and Tahiti.

I think when they did this taste test years ago, they found that imitation was good for items that were baked or cooked in high heat, but for things like whipping cream, pure was best. So I use pure for items not cooked, but I use a blend of both pure/imitation for cakes, cookies, etc.

I used to live kitty corner from the watkins factory in Winona, Minnesota, and vanilla day was the absolute best. It smelled like cookies when you woke up in the morning.

I am willing to pay for the real stuff, but it's nice to know the options.

I use homemade vanilla extract. I have a batch that I've kept going for about 12 years. When the bottle gets low, I add more vodka along with one or two extra beans that I've split and scrapped. Keep repeating forever. 😀

I mainly used your run of the mill Mccormick's vanilla extract until one day I bought the Simply Organic when they were out of the cheap stuff at the store. Have not gone back to the imitation since. It's about $10-15 a bottle but it is a definite game changer. It'll boost up any standard cookie, cake or brownie recipe into something that tastes like something fresh from a bakery. Worth the money!

Decades ago, a relative had a job at a school. Part of the time she cooked. When a recipe called for vanilla, she had to go get it from the office where it was under lock and key as it was a vanilla bean in a bottle of rum! She would put some in a Tupperware midget and put the rest back.

I use Molina Mexican vanilla blend. It's really quite good and you can find it in any supermarket in the Hispanic section. It is made with Mexico's finest pure vanilla.

Thanks for *extracting* this information for us!

Vanilla originated in Mexico and first grown by Totonacs of Mexico's east coast.

I must admit that I like Baker's vanilla extract. I didn't think I would when I first bought it, but the reason I did is because I could not bring myself to pay $20 for a small bottle of the real stuff. I mainly use it for cookies and cake frosting, so I am not looking for "floral notes". I just want to taste that delightful vanilla flavor and, yes, Baker's tastes great. Of course, I am turned off by the thought of it being a petroleum product, but then I remember that I like it and that ends that.

Simply Organic is my choice for vanilla. Worth the price .

Trader Joe’s makes an excellent vanilla extract too- it’s labeled as Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract. It’s got a smooth flavor with an intense vanilla flavor and aroma at around $4.99 for 4 oz. plastic bottle. Their vanilla bean paste is excellent as well at around $4.99 for 2 oz.

I started making my own during the vanilla crash. I have 4 batches going right now. A spicy rum, 2 different bonbons and a vodka. All are delicious.

Julia, your dedication and hard work was evident in this segment. Thanks for going the extra, extra, and extra serving for us. 🤣 I was for decades a Nielsen Massey die hard junkie all the way. Their paste, the whole bean, the whole line. Then went to Simply Organic in haste of an empty bottle, and then one day I read the reviews from Watkins how people preferred their Imitation double double over real. I have never gone back. I find ANY in Watkins to fulfill my Vanilla needs. I can pick it up at the grocery store and very economical. I will say, I DO NOT like the plastic bottle nor the word propylene glycol printed on the label. PS. One benefit to plastic is you can make it a squeeze bottle. I take a sharp knife, insert it into the foil seal and make a slot shape. More precise measure always and I feel it lessens the aroma's escape. Better sealed.

I grew up with Watkins. In the days when the "Watkins man" made door-to-door sales stops. I still buy it at Menard's. Nice to see it's a blend and well-rated. Perhaps when it runs out I'll try another of the top 4.

Was excited to hear what they were going to say about the Nielsen Massey vanilla, that was pictured at the beginning. They said nothing about it! It’s, by far, the best vanilla I’ve used in the kitchen.

Best vanilla I’ve ever had the pleasure of using was Los Cinco Soles Mexican Vanilla. I love Mexican vanilla. Hard to find, so I use Costco brand. And I put it in my Nielsen Massey bottle so as to not have a huge bottle of vanilla in the spice cabinet.

I have used McCormicks for years, then I went to a specialty brand, then Neilson-Massey to making my own. I keep a bottle of NM in my cupboard as backup when I had started my own. I keep using until I can finish the jar. I gave my sister a jar of It before and she loves it. Now she’s waiting on me to get to the homemade.

She is certainly giving it a go with a gusto.

This channnnel has so much value. Thanks for producing all these videos.

I LOVE watching you all and would love to work in the test kitchen. Since that probably won't happen, I just watch and learn. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being an excellent source for all things involving food!!!

My favorite is Neilson & Massey vanilla bean paste. Too bad it didn’t make the cut.

Ok I prefer vanilla paste. You should do a comparison on that

Such a great channel. I love all this stuff. THANKS!

I buy the Wilton clear vanilla imitation extract. First I got this so it wouldn't discolor frosting but now its my go to vanilla. I have won multiple ribbons at our local fairs and no one has guessed my cheap secret...shhhh!

I love Jack, and both our wonderful ladies Julia and Bridget and I wish they would do a longer series all together. Perhaps ranking types and brands of foods for specific uses, or more of Jacks amazing information on why certain foods suck or taste amazing. Definitely MORE please! I blew through all my Lisa videos and I’ve got all the gadgets and gear I need.. now I need to know what to cook with it all!

I've been nursing a 16oz bottle of McCormick's for months because the last time I looked, it was going for $28. I think I'll make do with imitation when it runs out.

Oh my god I couldn’t pay attention to anything he was saying I was so distracted by the pudding eating hahaha

Thanks guys! Much appreciated!!! ❤

I've used all but the far right. I'd use the simply organic for special occasions and the bakers for everyday use.

Julia: I'm not sure. I'd better try some more. Jack: Have some more pudding. Julia: Gimme the *?!$@# bottle Jack!

Kirkland Costco is excellent! No imitation stuff for me.

I appreciate this information! Thank you ! 😊🙌💕

I always favor all natural Vanilla Paste. Love the taste ❤️

She could taste the imitation vanilla. And so can I. Vanilla icing is not the same with imitation, as I once learned. She says it's "fine", but she didn't pick it as her favorite.

We bought vanilla extract in Mexico when we were On a cruise. It was the best we have ever had. Nothing else since has compared

I got a hold of some vanilla from Mexico. It's amazing so much better than anything I've ever gotten in a grocery store

I like making my own vanilla extract. Just stick 4-5 split vanilla beans into a bottle of vodka, rum, or my favorite, cream sherry. Let sit for a few months in a dark area. Shake every couple of days, until it's the strength you like. Bonus! You can take the beans, dry them, and stick in either regular sugar or powdered sugar, let sit for couple of weeks, and you have vanilla sugar!

Yay! the Watkins vanilla is the one my mom uses. Would also recommend their lemon extract as well

I absolutely love this show.I speeded through because I needed to buy some vanilla flavor and the inexpensive one was what I was curious about and shocked it was even considered on test kitchen because I highly respect the opinions of the great people on this show.

I like how she just keeps eating the pudding as he talks

Finally! An opinion on imitation vanilla, I still would like to see the rankings on your imitation vanillas.

I ride the price:quality tradeoff by doing Kirkland brand from Costco because it's WAY cheaper per ounce and is still totally fine for almost all applications. I'm fairly sure you guys don't do the generic brands for big box stores for a variety of reasons, but it might be worth considering for the ones that most of your audience has access to given that you do include local/regional brands sometimes.

Good information. Thanks for doing this video.

Every cake decorator who wants pure white frosting uses clear imitation vanilla.

She can’t stop eating the pudding ! 😂 That would be me 👍🏼

In my family we grew up using imitation vanilla, and everything that my mom made with it tasted good. Plus it was the Baker brand that we used. So don't knock it until you try it.

I love this show

Thanks for the taste test information!

I made my own for the first time last December 2020, it’ll be ready to use this year December 2021 😂

Had to rewind because I thought Jack said "boujieness", not "booziness". hah

Useful info as always.

The vanilla video by MinuteFood does a great job explaining the chemical differences between extract and imitation vanilla.

The one made from petroleum sounded appealing.

How about vanilla bean paste?

Thank you lovely Team - really helpful 💜💜💜

I bought some of that Simply Organic, when it was on sale, that stuff is amazing.

Great to know. I had the hardest time justifying the cost of the pure vanilla extract on a tight budfet. I started using powdered vanilla instead. It only uses a 1/4 as much and actually tastes real good with out mixing it with anything which the extracts do not. I'm also happy to use alcohol free, seems to be a win win-better and less expensive.

I always get Mexican Vainilla is excellent!! So good! Is The best One for my.

The ATK is a genuine source of good information for all things food.

The fresh market has a Madagascar bourbon vanilla paste that is awesome! So yummy! It makes a clear difference in all my recipes now.

It’s so awkward for her to pretend to listen while she eats hahah

I usually use Watkins because it's always been one of my favorite vanillas, but maybe I need to do a taste test between that and Baker's

Thank you

Just put vodka or bourbon in a jar with vanilla beans and its cheaper in the long run. My quart jar is almost 3 years old with about 30 beans packed in it and cannot beat it.

I recall an issue of Cook's Illustrated that had blind tests on different vanilla extracts. I thought some were imitation and some of those imitation vannillas came out ahead. Now I'll have to find the article.

I’m a baker so I make my own vanilla extract by using a vanilla bean “stalk” and vodka. If I have to use store bought vanilla, I get it from William Sonoma.

I’m always learning

Making your own is best!

I wish when they did taste testings they used different spoons for each bowl of whatever they are testing.

I make my own, one batch on the shelf until the end of the year, one batch made in the instant pot and is usable right away.

Thank you.

What about Nielsen Massey vanilla? I’ve used this sparingly since the price has exploded.

Is there any advantage to just ordering the beans and putting it in a jar with vodka like the cook's country recipe to the price point??

I am making my own extract right now with some Tahitian beans. It has only been a few days and it already smells amazing.

I had heard about the plight of vanilla in the last few years, but hadn't researched any current products. I have been wondering if the one I have in my pantry and use every night was a reasonable one. I'm pleasantly surprised that I don't need to go out and try others now! Thank you!

I wonder if Costco's Kirkland Vanilla was included in their tests.

Kirkland brand is great too

I admit that I’m a bit of a vanilla extract snob. My absolute favorite is Nielsen -Massey vanilla extract and their vanilla bean paste. Much of the time, I use the vanilla bean paste over the liquid extract only because I prefer the taste. That being said, I do keep a big bottle of Watkins vanilla extract in the cabinet for when our (adult) daughters want to make cookies, from scratch vanilla Dutch babies or pancakes. My niece has been living with us as she finished high school. She uses the Watkins, like our girls do, when she makes things like French toast. Our oldest daughter just came back from a cruise trip to Cozumel, among other stops including Honduras. She was able to pick up some Mexican chocolate for me. I’m hoping next trip she or her close friends who make frequent cruise trips to Mexico, that I can get local sourced Mexican vanilla. 😋 I’m a bit of a chocolate snob too. 😳☺️🫣

Very interesting.

My absolute favourite vanilla extract is the Simply Organic non-alcoholic! It has all the amazing flavours of vanilla but not the boozy undertones, since I am not a huge fan of alcohol taste!

I've heard its harder to tell the difference (or care about the difference) in baked goods. Things like pudding or ice cream - definitely the real deal is best.

I have been buying the organic vanilla for decades now, but I recently started making my own.

I like Pensey’s vanilla because it has a piece of vanilla bean in the bottle. I fish it out and put it in my sugar when the bottle is done.

I've used Baker's Imitation Vanilla for decades. It works just fine.

I’ll stick with McCormick’s Pure Vanilla extract; it’s plenty expensive enough for me.

Simply Organic!

Vanilla bean paste is another option i like over extract. It gives the black specks visual which make it looks like you using vanilla bean which is ungodly expensive.

We’ve come a long way since great great grandma used rose water and orange water for flavorings.

I get cold pressed Mexican vanilla $58 a gallon. It doesn't have that nasty alcohol taste... just pure vanilla. It's fabulous.

I stopped buying Vanilla when it went through the roof. I was paying $13 at Costco for their brand before the crazy prices. Last year it hit $42, then slowly came down. I bought some last week finally, for $20.

You should include vanilla pastes as well. I'm a huge fan of those.

(Real) vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world, after saffron. So if someone calls you 'vanilla' to mean boring, remember they're also calling you a luxury item!

I make my own vanilla extract because I want to be like Ina.😆

My hands down favorite , the best vanilla I have ever tasted and used was Sonama Syrup vanilla bean crush , it has the most amazing taste but it’s expensive.

Couple of years back, we made our own. Used nice bottles, printed labels and gave them for Christmas presents. We were able then to choose our own beans and the alcohol used. As a benefit, you can add more alcohol to the beans and it last for a very long time.

When I was a kid, my great grandad also preferred pure vanilla extract.... he was also an alcoholic and my mum had to hide it from him for my great gran. I think the McCormick was his least favourite for the flavour to booze ratio.