I’ve long had a chip on my shoulder about the way pop culture talks about vanilla as bland and boring, a put-down on taste or personality. Real vanilla bean as a spice is truly complex: highly floral, sometimes smokey, a warm hum that’s usually mistaken for creaminess but can actually taste spicy if you try it straight from the pod. I think there’s a reason perfumers have returned to Y2K-style vanilla fragrances in a big way in the past few years, complicating their nostalgic nature with more interesting interpretations of vanilla planifolla, the original Mesoamerican orchid plant that gave rise to the fragrance and flavour we know today.
I’m also convinced that a lot of what people read as a lack of character in vanilla as a flavour is actually a lack having tried much real vanilla. Most vanilla-flavoured food products you’ll find in grocery store aisles are flavoured with vanillin, a synthetic compound that mimics the real thing. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing—some types of treats don’t display a discernible flavour difference when made with pure vanilla over vanillin—but I do think it matters when we’re talking about the dessert most responsible for the bean’s bad rap: ice cream. There is so much bad vanilla ice cream out there, but you don’t have to spend the rest of your life eating it!
The Chatelaine team taste-tested every version of vanilla ice cream we could get our hands on, with the exception of a few regionally specific brands unavailable outside of Ontario—which would be pretty difficult to ship here intact. Note: You’ll notice some product titles indicate “French vanilla” or “vanilla bean.” In the case of the former, this means the ice cream has been made with an egg-yolk custard base. The latter is pretty straightforward: They’re advertising that they’re using real vanilla bean in addition to the extract.
Here’s what we learned, and what we loved.
No one was a fan of this ice cream: too much water, too much sugar and a cloying, almost plastic-like vanilla flavour.
Nestlé was another miss for our tasters: too sweet and a texture that was more gummy (one taster wrote “gelatinous”) than thick.
Tasters liked this option, but noted that compared to its Cream First counterpart, it had more of a crystalized texture and watery flavour.
Much like a couple of other options in this list, Nestlé’s French Vanilla had a whipped cream quality to it—which means it melts very quickly. Tasters also noted the vanilla flavour was very muted.
Multiple tasters described this ice cream as “fluffy”—a lot of whipped air, but its rich creamy taste made up for it. The vanilla flavour was fainter than some would have liked.
We liked the rich-cream flavour in this vanilla standard, but like its French Vanilla counterpart, there is a lot of air whipped into the ice cream, which leaves it prone to developing ice crystals.
This Metro house brand was described by more than one taster as too much like soft-serve: a bit watery and very fast to melt.
We really liked this pick for its rich, creamy texture and not-too-sweet take on vanilla.
From “smooth” to “pleasing” to “not too sweet,” tasters liked—but didn’t love—this French vanilla option.
We were surprised at the mixed reaction to Kawartha’s vanilla offering; we're far more passionate about its Moose Tracks flavour, as well as its eggnog.
This beloved Canadian ice cream maker turned out a very creamy option, light in texture and with a strong eggy flavour. It's the ideal accompaniment to cakes, pies, crumbles and more.
We loved this entry’s extra creamy, rich texture and true vanilla bean flavour (notes of egg yolk and bourbon come through nicely as well). It’s a great option for affogato or a single standalone scoop, but it’s not our first pick to accompany a slice of cake or pie.
This was an across-the-board favourite for true vanilla bean flavour. “Almost smokey,” noted one tester, while another mentioned the cream had a bit of a tang to it. Excellent for accompanying desserts, making ice cream treats or standalone snacking.
While tasters generally liked the simple vanilla flavour and dense texture of this supermarket splurge, reactions paled in comparison to its sister...
Creamy, but not heavy; rich without an overpowering eggy taste; a complex floral and smokey flavour that reminds you vanilla beans are the dried and cured product of a notoriously labour-intensive orchid plant. Easily the staff favourite, and if you aren’t already a fan, we think you’ll love it, too. We’d recommend saving a tub of this for something where vanilla ice cream is the point of the dessert: a milkshake, an affogato, a perfect single scoop—with a cherry or sprinkle of salt overtop.
How we select our products. We’re committed to finding the best and most accessible pantry ingredients, and that means being able to test and judge them fairly: in the same place, at the same time, under the same conditions. This means not every single brand available on the national market is going to make it to our Toronto-based kitchen. Some items are only regionally available in a specific province, while others are priced well out of the average grocery budget. Here’s what we guarantee: at least half of our picks will always be available nationally, we will always include selections from major grocery store chains. And if there’s a pick you really think we missed, we’d love to hear about it: letters@chatelaine.com.
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