Battle of the Vanillas

[kerravonsen]

Trying two different kinds of vanilla flavouring, to see which one works better.

Tub 35:

• 100ml boiling water
• 1 tablespoon gelatin
• 400ml full cream milk
• 5 T Natvia
• 4 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

Tub 36:

• 100ml boiling water
• 1 tablespoon gelatin
• 400ml full cream milk
• 5 T Natvia
• 1/2 teaspoon concentrated imitation vanilla extract

Processed both of them on the "Lite Ice Cream" setting of my Ninja Creami machine. The imitation vanilla was strongly vanilla-y, but you could tell that it was imitation vanilla. However, once the tastebuds get numbed by the cold, you don't notice it as much. The natural vanilla wasn't as strongly vanilla as the imitation, but you could taste the undertones and the more full-bodied subtle flavour of the real vanilla, but again, once the tastebuds are numbed, you can't detect the subtleties as much (though they are still there). Both of them were nice and creamy.

I don't dare compare these to high-end vanilla ice cream though, because they will both die of embarrassment, going up against cream and sugar, versus milk and Natvia. But the natural vanilla milk ice is really rather nice.

I am pleased, because vanilla is the most difficult to get right. With other flavours, one can cover up their inadequacies with strong flavour, but with vanilla, the flavour is so light, that you notice all the other problems, like the "cream" not tasting right (because, for example, one used powdered milk), or the sweetener having an odd aftertaste (xylitol can do this), and so on.

So, hooray, I have vanilla! And once you have vanilla, there are so many other flavours you can make starting off with the same base.

Comments

[thewayne]

If you ever get ahold of some fresh vanilla bean pods, you might have some fun with that. But with you making such small quantities, you wouldn't want to put an entire bean's pods into one batch.

[kerravonsen]

I've actually experimented with vanilla bean caviar and ground dried vanilla beans in previous experiments, and it is better using vanilla extract, because that dissolves in the milk, whereas any kind of powder just sinks to the bottom. Powder is better with things that are thick enough to hold it in suspension, such as cream, coconut cream, and yoghurt. And, no, adding gelatin doesn't help, because the powder sinks before the gelatin sets.