Real vanilla

We are going on Ccl Vista 1. of July and want to but real vanilla. Anyone know where to buy it? Bought some in Costa Maya and have been to two other cruise but have not found it anywhere else.

I always buy my vanilla in Barbados.

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We have bought great vanilla in Cozumel. But the biggest bottle we ever purchased was in Grenada.

Aruba is Dutch.

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Someone told me to use caution in these ports buying vanilla because they make it with the same containers they use for oil (like for the car) and all kinds of scary stuff. Made me wonder what I was buying in Mexico too. But I think I will wait for Cozumel to get more.

There is also the issue of Coumarin which is used, in place of real vanilla, by some unscrupulous folks. Courmain is actually not even legal for use in the USA. One needs to be careful to deal with reputable vendors when buying vanilla extract.

Hank

I am very reluctant to buy so-called "real" vanilla in some of these ports due to the use of Coumarin (Coumadin) in place of real vanilla. That vanilla could be detrimental to someone already taking blood thinners. How can we determine what is authentic versus fake vanilla ?

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You can purchase real vanilla in every market in the US.

The best vanilla I've ever bought in the Caribbean is from Mexico. I have several bottles in my cabinet and it's the "Elixir" brand, and the ingredients list says "5x vanilla beans to 35%." 35% of what, I don't know, it doesn't say. I'm guessing alcohol, since that it what is used to extract the vanilla from the bean.

If you look on an American bottle of Vanilla, for example the McCormick brand, it doesn't have any percentages on it, but does show alcohol and water in the ingredients list. It also says "vanilla extract" rather than "vanilla bean" like the expensive Mexican vanilla has.

I buy the Elixir from the airport in Mexico because the shops there are reputable. There are usually two or three different vanillas for sale and the Elixir is the most expensive (actually if I remember correctly Elixir might make this particular one as well as a cheaper one) and it was explained to me that it was because the cheaper ones had less pure vanilla in them, and wasn't as good. I was skeptical, but bought the expensive one and then went home and researched some of the stuff the woman had told me about how to compare the good vanilla from the cheap vanilla (most of which I don't recall anymore, but I feel like it had something to do with how much alcohol was used to get the vanilla out and the fillers that are put in the cheaper vanilla). Anyway her story checked out so I was happy to have the expensive bottles.

I currently have the Elixir vanilla and the McCormick in my cupboard, and when I'm making something where the vanilla offers a main component of the flavor (like Christmas cut out cookies, frosting, or pancakes) I use the good vanilla, but when I'm making something that has other major flavors in it I use the McCormick (which is also quite good, just not as strong). I'm finding myself using the McCormick more often because I'm afraid of running out of the better stuff before I can get back to Mexico.

My family can always tell the difference, and will ask if I used the Mexican vanilla when I make certain things (like pancakes) because it tastes so strongly of vanilla compared to when I use the McCormick. I would use the Elixir all the time if I could easily replace it at the store, but unfortunately it requires a trip through customs :)

If you're into using actual vanilla beans, you can buy them super cheap in St Lucia. We got 4 for $2. At an American grocery store a bottle with 2 vanilla beans can cost you $10-$15. You can buy pretty much all your tropical spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla) for $2 a bag in the street markets there.

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I just looked more closely at the vanilla label and it is "Elixir by Villa Vainilla." (Yes that's Vain, with an i). I highly recommend buying it if you find it in Mexico. Don't know what you can find in Aruba though, sorry.

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Ok, this got me curious so I did some research. The bottle that I have is a really high quality concentrated vanilla extract. The company who makes it "Villa Vainilla" does also make a cheaper option, which is what you can buy online. The one I have, "Elixir" has a black label, and says "Elixir" in large letters, with the "by Villa Vainilla" part very small next to it. The cheaper one has a yellow label and says "Villa Vainilla" as the main name.

While the cheap yellow label is a safe vanilla, it is not high quality at all, and vanilla is the last ingredient.

You can buy the black label at the airport in Cancun, and probably in other duty free shops around Mexico. Unfortunately it doesn't appear you can buy it outside of Mexico [emoji24] (although I've emailed the company to find out for sure).

You can buy the cheap stuff at the airport too, but you can also buy it online directly from the company, as well as from Amazon. Don't buy that one, it's not the good one.

If you go to their website, click on "duty free only" from the pull down menu, as you will see a photo of the Elixir with the black label in the photo (all the way in the back). It's clearly not the one they're pushing everyone to buy, probably because there's not enough of it to go around, but that's the one you want.

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Just read this thread and just want to thank you for the info on Vainilla...I'm cruising to Cozumel in January and had intended on buying some vanilla there and I now will buy this brand based on your recommendation! Thanks!

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The real Vanilla is in Dried fruits and the best and original is from Veracruz Mexico, try to find it in Costa Maya or Cozumel

Just read this thread and just want to thank you for the info on Vainilla...I'm cruising to Cozumel in January and had intended on buying some vanilla there and I now will buy this brand based on your recommendation! Thanks!

 

 

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Awesome, glad it helped someone [emoji4]

As a follow up to my last post, I did talk to someone at the Villa Vainilla company and they confirmed that you can only buy the black label "Elixir" in Mexico, and wouldn't let me buy it direct and get it mailed to the US :(

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Is it free from alcohol or other chemicals?

You can purchase real vanilla in every market in the US.

Is it free from alcohol or other chemicals?

I'm not sure if you're asking about the US vanilla that the poster you quoted was suggesting you buy, or if you're asking about the Mexican vanilla I suggested.

Either way, vanilla has to be extracted using alcohol. If you see on an ingredient list that a vanilla is extracted using something other than alcohol, don't buy it!! Even if you make your own vanilla extract (or concentrated extract) at home, you're going to need to use alcohol. And it should be a fairly high percentage also (35% at least). See this Wikipedia link, and you can also read a lot about it online from other reputable sources. Here's a picture of the ingredients list for the Elixir...pure vanilla concentrate extracted using 35% alcohol, nothing else. That's why it's so good. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_extract

Sorry the photo came out blurry, it says 5x vanilla beans to 35% alcohol.

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I was asking about US vanilla!

I'm not sure if you're asking about the US vanilla that the poster you quoted was suggesting you buy, or if you're asking about the Mexican vanilla I suggested.

 

Either way, vanilla has to be extracted using alcohol. If you see on an ingredient list that a vanilla is extracted using something other than alcohol, don't buy it!! Even if you make your own vanilla extract (or concentrated extract) at home, you're going to need to use alcohol. And it should be a fairly high percentage also (35% at least). See this Wikipedia link, and you can also read a lot about it online from other reputable sources. Here's a picture of the ingredients list for the Elixir...pure vanilla concentrate extracted using 35% alcohol, nothing else. That's why it's so good. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_extract

Sorry the photo came out blurry, it says 5x vanilla beans to 35% alcohol.

 

 

 

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Is it free from alcohol or other chemicals?

If you want vanilla that is free of chemicals and alcohol...you simply need to purchase real vanilla beans :). They are sold in many gourmet kitchen stores, and other shops in the US and elsewhere. You can then split the beans and scrape out the vanilla particles to use in your cooking. But if you want Vanilla Extract...it will always have alcohol...since it is made by soaking Vanilla beans in the alcohol mixture. In fact, you can make your own by soaking vanilla beans in Vodka :). As we have warned, if you buy Mexican Vanilla south of the border....some of it may not be what it says on the label. Coumarin (which is much cheaper then real vanilla) may be used by unscrupulous companies...and this is not a good thing (and is illegal in the US). We live in Mexico for part of the year, and if we buy vanilla we do it at places we know and trust.

Hank