Vanilla Cognac Extract

Flavor Profile

Artisanal, opulent, beautiful, rich, complex, indulgent, elegant, round, refined, and exotic, yet classic.  We personally select fully ripened, sun-cured Madagascar and Tahitian vanilla beans, extracted slowly by cold shaking to elicit the magic of vanilla's over three hundred aromatic compounds.  

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice, after saffron, due to the extensive labor required to hand-pollinate and grow the vanilla seed pods.  The vanilla orchid only blooms for a single day, requiring exact manual, hand-pollination. The beans then undergo a months-long curing and drying process.

This Vanilla Extract is our in-house proprietary blend of select Bourbon and Tahitian vanillas used to create an equal balance of flavor and aroma. The floral, fruity, cherry like notes of the Tahitian variety blend wonderfully with the nutty-chocolate character of the Bourbon types. The end result is unique and balanced vanilla extract unmatched in our industry, making it our most versatile extract for any application.

The vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia Andrews) originated in Mexico and for centuries was the exclusive secret of the native Totonac Indians who were later conquered by the Aztecs. When the Aztec empire fell to Hernán Cortés, vanilla pods were brought back to Spain, thus introducing the flavorful beans to the rest of the world. Mexico remained the sole growing region for vanilla beans for another 300 years. That’s because of the symbiotic relationship between the vanilla orchid and an indigenous tiny bee called the Melipona. This Mexican bee is the only insect evolved to pollinate the vanilla orchid flower. Vanilla beans grow green on the vine and are harvested when the tip begins to turn yellow. The curing process is what gives the beans their characteristic brown color as well as their flavor and aroma. In Mexico, the curing process involves wrapping beans in blankets and straw mats and then placing them in ovens for 24 to 48 hours. From this point on, the beans are spread in the sun each day to absorb heat and then placed in large wooden boxes overnight to sweat. Once properly cured, the beans are stored on racks and in conditioning boxes to further develop and mellow the flavor. The entire curing process takes three to six months, making it a very labor-intensive endeavor.

Located just east of the southern portion of Africa, the area known as the Bourbon Islands includes the islands of Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoro and Seychelles. Hence, when we refer to Madagascar Bourbon, we’re referring to the region and not to the liquor.

Around 1793, a vanilla vine was smuggled from Mexico to the Bourbon Island of Réunion. For almost 50 years after its arrival at Réunion, the growth and production of vanilla was difficult. The vines grew successfully with beautiful blossoms but seldom resulted in vanilla pods. Without the Melipona bee, vanilla’s indigenous pollinator in Mexico, the flowers were only occasionally pollinated by local insects.

It wasn’t until 1836 that Charles Morren, a Belgian botanist, discovered the link between the bee and the plant’s pollination. In 1841, Edmond Albius of Réunion developed an efficient method for fertilizing vanilla flowers by hand.

Eventually, hand pollination was perfected on a commercial scale. Growers could choose the best flowers and properly space them out on the vine, resulting in a healthier and higher quality vanilla pod. Combined with the hot, humid climate and rich soil, hand pollination by the country’s skilled and patient farmers has enabled Madagascar to become the world’s top vanilla producer in both quantity and quality.

In Madagascar, the curing process is similar to that of Mexico with one slight difference; the farmers initiate the curing process by immersing the green vanilla beans in hot water for a short time. The farmers then store the beans in sweat boxes before beginning the routine of spreading beans in the sun and packing them away at night. This unique curing process, along with the rich soil and growing conditions, helps create the unique, rich, and highly complex flavor profile Madagascar vanilla is known for.

The renowned Bourbon appellation of Madagascar is a sure ticket to the deep creamy and sweet notes that made this origin famous for vanilla. The quality of the vanilla beans used in this extract are known as "splits", which are achieved when the farmers leave the pods to mature on the vines a few weeks after conventional harvest time. This gives the finished product a full body impact and a remarkable after taste.

In a far-away world of rainforested mountains and untamed rivers where few tourists tread, small farmers in roadless villages grow a long, moist, floral Madagascar vanilla bean from orchids they hand-pollinate.  They are sun-cured by artisans the old way, the best way.

Tahiti, the jewel of the South Pacific, whose storied vanilla history began with a French admiral’s cuttings in 1848. The island’s unique variety imparts a signature floral bouquet. Taha’a, the “Vanilla Island” produces the world’s finest, rarest, Tahitian vanilla. 

Tahiti, an island which is part of a southern Pacific island chain, has a tropical climate that makes it an ideal location for growing vanilla.  In 1848, French Admiral Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin brought Vanilla aromatica plants to Tahiti, and, two years later, French Admiral Louis-Adolphe Bonard imported Vanilla fragrans plants. These two species were skillfully crossbred during the next few decades, resulting in the plump Tahitian vanilla beans we know today, known as Vanilla tahitensis. 

Tahitian vanilla is cured differently than vanilla grown in Madagascar or Mexico.   Mature beans are stacked in a cool place for five to ten days until they are completely brown. They are then rinsed in clear water, a process unique to Tahiti. For the next month, growers expose the beans to the gentle morning sun for three-to-four hours a day. In the afternoon, they wrap the beans in cloth and store them in crates until the next morning, to promote transpiration.

Little by little, the water evaporates, causing the beans to shrink. Throughout this phase, the bean pods are smoothed and flattened by hand between the thumb and index finger. After a month, when the vanilla has received its fill of sunlight, the beans are left for 40 days to dry in a shaded and ventilated spot, which reduces their moisture content.

Located in East Africa, Uganda has rolling hills and low mountains and borders Kenya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. Vanilla is grown in the central, western and eastern regions as an intercrop of bananas, coffee and cocoa. Due to its climate conditions, fertile soil and careful cultivation, Uganda can harvest vanilla beans twice a year, unlike other vanilla-growing regions, where the harvest is once a year. As a result, Uganda is one of the largest exporters of vanilla and is producing some of the world’s highest quality beans.

The Republic of Indonesia, the world’s largest island country, is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The vanilla-growing region stretches the length of the country, 5,000 miles end to end, ensuring a stable supply of vanilla, regardless of severe weather events. This steady supply of vanilla from Indonesia’s large growing region has secured its spot as the second largest producer of vanilla behind Madagascar.

Our Vanilla Extract has an interestingly sweet, smooth, fruity, balanced, and rich taste.  It has an intense, warm, lavish, and creamy aroma with rich floral and woody notes.  Our vanilla extract has a delicate, soft, velvety, long, and lingering finish.

In this pure vanilla extract, we include the vanilla bean and a generous helping of tiny seeds from the vanilla pod for a gourmet extract.  Just shake the bottle and pour for a gorgeous look. 

Exceptional for pastry chefs and our secret ingredient for vanishing cookies.  This vanilla stands out rather than blending in.  Bold enough to match the strong flavors of pineapple, mango, and banana, this extract pairs beautifully with tropical fruits. 

Queen Elizabeth I decreed that vanilla stood best on its own and this rich, deep extract is royal every way.

It’s nothing short of miraculous that vanilla extract sits in so many cupboards around the world today. A member of the orchid family, the Vanilla genus originated in Mexico, where the Totonac people parsed the plant’s considerable quirks centuries ago. They had to wait three years for the vanilla vine to flower. Then they prayed that a unique species of bee happened by to pollinate the flowers within 24 hours of blooming. Next came a 9-month wait for the pollinated flower to produce a bean, which then required curing. The process remains protracted today, and labor-intensive, with hand-pollination substituting for the melipona bees unique to Mexico. After the introduction of hand-pollination in the 19th century, vanilla plantations spread to tropical countries around the globe. Madagascar now leads the world in vanilla cultivation. Today, vanilla orchids are manually hand pollinated, and are only receptive to pollination during and incredibly short time frame. On the other thand, their germination period is quite long, as is window necessary to appropriately dry them out. These factors, joined to the fact that they only grow in a handful of regions, makes vanilla one of the most demanding of all crops in terms of attention and labor. Short supply can be made even shorter when big cyclones strike the growing regions, and demand never seems to wane. This makes Vanilla an exceptionally valuable crop, and makes the idea of ‘plain vanilla’ being used to describe something boring or unsophisticated seem quite ironic.

A dash or two of vanilla is a fat and sodium-free way to add a bit of extra flavor to any dish.  Almost everything that has chocolate or chocolate flavor in it also has vanilla. For best results when using our extracts, add them at the end of the cooking process or cream them with butter for baking.

This is the vanilla extract for the coffee crowd that's counting carbs. Same coffee-shop experience, zero sugar, only 100% pure natural vanilla.  Stir into your morning coffee for a vanilla latte that fits your macros. Add it to cold foam or your morning espresso for the sugar-free version of your favorite drink. Mix it into protein shakes, yogurt, or anywhere else vanilla helps. It's the extract for keto, low-carb, and "trying to behave but still want my latte to taste good" routines.  Tasting notes of clean vanilla, soft sweetness, no sugar bitterness, smooth body, no aftertaste.

1 tablespoon vanilla extract = 1 whole vanilla bean = 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste = 1 tablespoon vanilla powder

Fat-Free, Saturated Fat-Free, Cholesterol-Free, Sodium-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Vegetarian

Suggestions for Uses

• Our pure Vanilla Extract offers a deep, spicy character that complements not only chocolate, but citrus fruits, cinnamon, cloves and other warm spices. It even pairs well with unexpected flavors such as those of chile peppers and tomatoes where it can smooth out the heat and acidity.

• Use in baked goods like cookies, cupcakes, brownies, muffins and scones. Add depth to cheesecake filling, mix into whipped cream or use to flavor ice cream, gelato, custards and puddings. Add to the batter of pancakes and waffles for natural sweetness, stir into oatmeal or blend into smoothies. Add a few drops to coffee, hot chocolate or espresso. Use to boost the flavor of milkshakes or use in cream-based cocktails. Use in fruit compotes, fresh fruit salads, or baked fruit like apples pears, peaches and berries. Add to yogurt or chia puddings, homemade granola, snack bars or add a few drops to nut butters to create a next-level spread. And don't forget about the savory uses such as adding to chilis and stews to balance the heat, or using in sweet-savory glazes for meats and veggies.

• A dash of vanilla extract can gentle the acidity of tomato sauces and balance the richness of meat stews. 

• If you haven’t tried adding vanilla and cinnamon to chili, you’re missing something.

• Add to your cold foam, protein shakes, vanilla cold brew, or stirred into Greek yogurt for a low-carb dessert moment.

• Vanilla almond lattes and iced coffees

• Frosted sugar cookies

• Blueberry sour cream bars

• Classic vanilla layered cake with buttercream frosting

• Strawberry cupcakes

• Spiced honey butter

• Crème brûlée, 

• Buttermilk pancakes with blueberries

• Salted caramel shake

• Homemade vanilla ice cream

• It is perfect for flavoring baked goods, such as cakes, cookies, and pastries, as well as ice creams and custards. 

• It can enhance the flavor of both hot and chilled drinks, including coffee, tea, cocktails, lattes, milkshakes, and smoothies

• Great for savory dishes, adding a subtle sweetness and complexity to sauces and marinades.

• Add vanilla to a wine spritzer

• Vanilla Coffee Cocktail: 120ml strong fresh coffee (espresso), 60mls Vodka, 3 tbsps sugar, 1 tbsp double cream, 1 tbsp vanilla extract. Shake all the ingredients in a shaker over ice and serve in Martini glasses.

• Cakes, cookies, ice cream, puddings, pastries, pastry creams, fruit pies, custards, puddings, French toast, scones, chocolate, ginger snaps, spiced cookies, muffins

• Seafood, sauces, soups, marinades, vegetables, meats, salsas, salad dressings, beurre blanc sauce for seafood, sweet potato salad, tomato sauces, barbecue sauces, chilis,

• Hot chocolate, iced tea, sangria, Manhattans, smoothies, cranberry juice, martinis, margaritas, gin fizzes, chai lattes

• Refrigerator/freezer deodorizer (cotton ball soaked in vanilla)

• Add to DIY lotions, body scrubs or bath oils for a sweet fragrance.

• Great for beer or fruit wines. Making a Vanilla Porter? This will get you that Vanilla Flavor. Making a Vanilla Mead and just missing a little bit of vanilla flavor? This will boost that flavor.  Start with adding 1 oz of extract per 1 gallon of your beer or wine. From there you may add until you are happy with the taste.  If you are bottling, add to the beer when you add the priming sugar.  If you are kegging, add when the beer is poured into the keg.  If you are using with wine, add to bottle-ready wine in the fermenter about 1 week before it is bottled. Make sure to stir gently.