Smells nice but...
4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde is typically created by refining petroleum though originally it was distilled from coniferin (the crystals you occasionally see on pine trees) in Germany around 1875. That awful sounding chemical compound is vanillin, the major ingredient in vanilla.
While some vanilla is still harvested from Vanilla beans, mostly in Madagascar which supplies 60% of the worlds crop of Vanilla, it's such a labor intensive and lengthy process most vanilla is chemically synthesized. The complication is that there's 216 different chemicals in vanilla.
Why am I telling you all this? It so happens that this is the focus in a chapter of a book that I'm currently reading. Twinkie, Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger. The book details just exactly what goes into making a Hostess Twinkie and where those ingredients come from and how they're made. It's a very interesting book--particularly if you're curious about how much chemistry is being used in the food business these days. I assure you, it's scary at times.
In case you were curious, vanillin is an oxidized alcohol. The artificial version never quite tastes as good as the natural version but it only costs about a half percent as much as the real stuff. It's no wonder most commercial bakeries use artificial vanilla.
While some vanilla is still harvested from Vanilla beans, mostly in Madagascar which supplies 60% of the worlds crop of Vanilla, it's such a labor intensive and lengthy process most vanilla is chemically synthesized. The complication is that there's 216 different chemicals in vanilla.Why am I telling you all this? It so happens that this is the focus in a chapter of a book that I'm currently reading. Twinkie, Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger. The book details just exactly what goes into making a Hostess Twinkie and where those ingredients come from and how they're made. It's a very interesting book--particularly if you're curious about how much chemistry is being used in the food business these days. I assure you, it's scary at times.
In case you were curious, vanillin is an oxidized alcohol. The artificial version never quite tastes as good as the natural version but it only costs about a half percent as much as the real stuff. It's no wonder most commercial bakeries use artificial vanilla.
Comments
I make my own vanilla. Though it's always good, there's always a variation because of the difference in beans and how long it's been "brewing".
Sounds like a really interesting book! How geekly!