I think I’ve mentioned a time or ten that I’m not a huge fan of chocolate. Not that I dislike it… can’t really say that… it just doesn’t float my boat like many other flavors. Vanilla, on the other hand, is a different story. For me, vanilla ranks right up there with lemon… though admittedly it’s a distant 2nd place :) Until recently I never really thought much about all the different kinds of vanilla. Oh sure I knew you could buy vanilla extract, vanilla paste and vanilla beans but I wasn’t aware of just how many kinds of vanilla beans there are. I received an order of six different kinds of vanilla beans and thought I’d do a little taste test with a dish that’s among my all time favorites… cremé brulée.
If you’re a fan of vanilla beans and you haven’t checked out the Beanilla Trading Company you really should. The variety and quality of their beans is first rate… as is their customer service. I have all six of the different vanilla beans they sell – Bourbon, Indian, Madagascar, Mexican, Tahitian and Tonga. They arrived vacuum sealed, each variety in a separate bag and I was immediately impressed with how fresh they were. These beans are plump and gorgeous… a far cry from beans I’ve received from a few other places that were a bit on the dry side (with not very much inside). Don’t let anyone kid you, good vanilla is not cheap! But if you’re going to invest in the good stuff make sure you really are getting the good stuff and not just the expensive stuff.
It’s easy to appreciate that my taste test was anything but scientific… just me, DH and 6 4-oz ramekins of cremé brulée. Oh, and some big smiles on our faces! LOL! The bottom of each ramekin was marked with a number (1-6) and the number corresponded to a specific kind of vanilla bean…
1 = Bourbon
2 = Tahitian
3 = Indian
4 = Tonga
5 = Madagascar
6 = Mexican
I made one full recipe, omitting the vanilla, and distributed it among the ramekins adding the innards of half of a different vanilla bean in each. They were whisked and baked in a water bath according to the recipe. After chilling overnight, I tried a spoonful of each before adding the sugar and torching it. I thought this would give the truest flavor as there’d be no burnt sugar topping to complicate things. DH tried them after the sugar topping was done… and of course I had to try them all again. Some we tasted several times to be sure our feelings didn’t change. And gee darn, I guess at some point we’ll have to finish all the creme brulee… I mean, don’t wanna waste the cream and eggs yanno ;) To be honest, there wasn’t a “bad” one in the bunch!
Completely unscientific but here’s our thoughts of each:
Bourbon Vanilla… the beans were gorgeous and full however the taste was rather ordinary. DH said the flavor was like vanilla ice cream.
Tahitian Vanilla… the beans were not exceptionally oily although they were absolutely plump and full… the taste was definitely a standout as both DH and I found it to be our favorite as it had a distinct flavor and was definitely sweeter than the others
Indian Vanilla… the beans were not oily but rather average in terms of the amount of scrapings they yield… the taste was sweet, like the Tahitian beans. DH commented the creme brulee tasted pretty much the same as the Madagascar vanilla.
Tonga Vanilla… the beans were oily, plump and very full… but the taste was rather ordinary. DH felt the creme brulee flavor to be “different… like whipped cream flavor”.
Madagascar Vanilla… the beans were oily but only average in the yield… I found the flavor to be very distinct among the six. DH said the creme brulee was fine but nothing noteworthy.
Mexican Vanilla… the beans were oily without a lot inside… the taste was simply average. DH found the creme brulee to have less vanilla flavor than the others.
So yeah, totally unscientific… but it was fun… and we learned that we like Tahitian Vanilla. Who knew! While I knew better than to buy Mexican vanilla extract because of the carcinogens it contains (thank you Alton Brown!) I’d always heard that Mexican Vanilla was the best but obviously this is a matter of personal preference. Do you have a favorite? Leave a comment and let me know… and let me know why too. I’m totally curious now after doing this little unscientific taste test. If you’re interested in the recipe I used, it’s after the picture…
Creme Brulee
from Joy of Cooking
Creme brulee is famous for its hard, caramelized sugar glaze. The caramel crust can be achieved many ways. You can cover the custards with liquid caramel, which quickly hardens into a glaze, or sprinkle the custards with sugar and melt the sugar under the broiler or with a propane torch.
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
8 large egg yolks or 4 large eggs (note, I used the 8 yolks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
Method
Tags: creme brulee, vanilla
Thank you!!! This is quite a valuable experiment you’ve shared with us. I am most impressed. GREAT idea.
I just found your blog and I LOVE the way you write!
I’m a follower! *subscribes* :D
Oops and I said completely nothing about this post. Haha! I just bought vanilla beans for the first time myself, Indonesian ones. Rather the lower end of the vanilla bean kingdom but STILL! It’s a big leap from Vanilla *shudder* Flavouring.
I wish I could get my hands on some of those Tahitian Vanillabeans! I’m in Malaysia. So. That does pose a problem :(
And I’m not too much of a chocolate person but I LOVE Vanilla! Lemon isn’t natural for me, but my mom is converting me into a rather zesty person ;)
How fascinating! Thank you for forcing yourself through that rigorous tasting in the name of food science. :) I have to admit that I buy my vanilla beans from Costco because they are dirt cheap and the quality seems excellent to me. The beans are plump and supple, not dried out as they often are. I’m not sure my chocolate loving palate could taste the subtleties you describe above, but I’m willing to try!
I’m SOOO with you on the chocolate front. I feel like it’s an overused flavour! That said, we do put vanilla in everything, so maybe the same could be said of that.
I bought a bottle of "make your own vanilla extract" and though the bean type wasn’t identified (and was presumably cheap, as this was a Marshall’s find) just making my own is absolutely 1000% better than any real or imitation extract I’ve ever tried. It seriously makes everything taste extra rich and decadent . . . unreal.
Thanks for sharing your experiment! The multitude of types has always scared me away from buying vanilla beans!
Mexican vanilla is my favorite because it’s all I’ve ever baked with since I was a kid. My grandparents would cross the border to Mexico (we’re from Texas) and bring me back huge bottles of the stuff. I don’t think any other flavor really compares.
Thanks so much for the informative post! I’ve always wondered about the different types of vanilla beans, maybe I’ll have to do my own "science experiment"! I’ve never tried making creme brulee because I’ve always been worried it would be too difficult, but according to your recipe it actually looks quite easy. I’ll definitely give it a try!
That’s an awesome idea for an experiment! I have a couple different kinds of vanilla beans (Madagascar & Tahitian) and usually just use them based on the size of the recipe, as the Madagascar beans are much bigger than the Tahitian ones.
Cool, thanks for sharing. I totally have to buy some of those beans – probably the tahitian ones – as I have never baked with vanilla beans before.
What a cool (and tasty!) experiment! Thanks for the Beanilla recommendation too.
i love breaking the crispy top of the creme brulee!:P
Wow – that must have been some experiment. I wish I could have participated. I had heard that Magadascar beans were the best, but I never tried them. I usually get mine from Costco as they are fine to me, and the price is affordable compared to other places. I will look out for Tahitian ones now. Do you know the best place (price wise) to buy vanilla beans?
I love chilling the creme brulee before baking it and sipping it! I make sure the cream is really hot and the eggs are in temperature though!
If you’re ever going to try a vanilla bean tasting again, try getting some beans from Hawaii and New Guinea. I get Hawaiian vanilla beans from a friend whose in-laws grow them in their backyard. He gives me the "off-grade" beans that are too short, too plump, or otherwise misshapen. Still very delicious.
Very interesting. Your results make me want to try Tahitian beans. I understood Tahitian beans to be noted for being more fragrant than flavorful and often used in perfume as a result. I have always gone for the Madagascar beans, but I will check out Tahitian now. Hawaii is the only place in the U.S. that is at a low enough latitude to grow vanilla beans and there is one producer on the big island. As of last year they were only distributing within the islands, so in the name of research it looks like you need to book a trip to Hawaii!
Haaaaaaaaa! How come you didn’t tell me before I went out of my way to buy Mexican vanilla extract that your boyfriend said that I shouldn’t. Oh, boy! Should I be panicking? :( Need more info!
Awesome concept doing a taste tasting! If you need any help finishing up the brulee…..you guys don’t have cooties, right?! :)
~ingrid