Just a quick little rant

[fitzw]

Why do they include corn syrup in vanilla extract?

And why do they label it as pure vanilla extract when it has corn syrup in it (not to mention that it's 70 proof)?

Comments

[herveus.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd expect an extract to be alcohol based, so I'll give it a pass on that part...but corn syrup?

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

At a regular grocery store (haven't checked at an alternative store), every brand of pure vanilla extract included corn syrup.

[herveus.livejournal.com]

I checked my bottle of Kirkland vanilla extract. It listed water, alcohol (35%), and sugar. There was no nutrition statement; it's not clear just how much sugar there is. Hmmm...

A bit of reading suggests that the added sugar is to smooth out the flavor (as seems to be the norm in cordial making). The amount of sugar does not have to be specified, it seems.

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

Now, that idea of smoothing out the flavor actually makes sense. You've given me something to go on, there.

[druidharper.livejournal.com]

Mostly because they've gotten so many people addicted to the idea of 'sweet' meaning overwhelmingly cloying.

The alcohol is not surprising, although the amount is rather interesting...look at the teens who've been stealing it to get drunk off of.

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

Checked online for how to make vanilla extract at home -- as Oakmouse notes below, the alcohol is part of the process of extracting the essence from the vanilla beans.

Two words: Corn lobby...

[oakmouse]

Ah, unless Federal regs have changed since I researched them as part of a check about grain alcohol and gluten, they can't legally include anything in "pure vanilla extract" except vanilla, alcohol, and water. The alcohol can be any form of alcohol, including potato vodka, but corn syrup is right out.

I would consider writing to the manufacturer, ccing the letter to the FDA, and complaining about the corn syrup as an adulterant.

The proof means nothing; all alcohol tinctures are technically extracts, so you could soak a vanilla bean in Everclear and legally call it vanilla extract.

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

I didn't find any vanilla extract in the store without corn syrup. At least not all of them said pure.

[oakmouse]

Wow. Not one of the brands at the Co-op had any sweetening agent at all. I wasn't able to do a lot of looking at mainstream stores, but I found several brands that contained sugar, and none of them were labeled "pure vanilla extract" --- they were labeled merely "vanilla extract". None with corn syrup except the Safeway house brand, which (if past experience is anything to go by) is of appalling quality. I'm guessing there may be significant regional differences at work here, since we're on opposite ends of the country.

I'm also guessing the FDA may have changed the regs. It's been three? four? years since I did the research.

[harpnfiddle.livejournal.com]

You piqued my interest, so I checked my Big Y brand Vanilla. Yup, it has corn syrup and 35% alcohol. My guess is as above: so it will taste sweet out of the bottle. Most of the time, vanilla is used in sweet concoctions (baked goods, drinks, desserts) so will have a high calorie sweetener in the mix. There is no reason I can see to have the sweetener in the extract.

[rtropeano.livejournal.com]

that stuff is in everything. I will check the vanilla extract at whole foods and trader joes when I go there next.
Mine did not give a proof, but smelling it says high alchohol content.