Vanilla Beans, Extract, and Paste—What's the Difference?

Fun fact: did you know the vanilla bean isn’t actually a bean, but fruit from a species of orchid plant? The seed pods of V.planifolia have been used for thousands of years, since the Mesoamerican-era Maya and Totonac peoples would collect and grow the flower as a flavouring agent and a key ingredient in cacao-based drinks. Historically, the naturally pollinated flowers that produced vanilla pods needed to be collected, until Edmond Albius, an enslaved 12-year-old boy working in the gardens of an island off Madagascar, invented a simple way to artificially pollinate the flower with a needle or toothpick in 1841. This discovery transformed the production and sale of vanilla worldwide, but production costs and recent climate-change disruptions in Madagascar, where 80 percent of the world’s supply is grown, has kept the real stuff quite pricey. 

So, what’s the best type of vanilla to use for your baking—and how do you tell the difference between the types of vanilla out there? Here’s a breakdown of vanilla ingredient options, plus how to save a little cash while shopping for it.

Vanilla Beans

Sold in singles or bunches, vanilla beans are the dried and cured seed pods from the vanilla orchid plant. They’re ideal to use in fresh, lightly cooked desserts that make this flavour the star of the show: think panna cotta, ice cream, custards, even drink syrups. 

To cook with them, split the bean in half down the centre and scrape the seeds out with the back of the knife; if the pod skin isn’t needed for your recipe, store it in a jar of white granulated sugar to make vanilla sugar, or save it for another use. When shopping, look for pods that are shiny, slightly soft, and smell strongly of vanilla—if they’re hard and dry, don’t waste your money. Make sure they’re stored in a small, airtight container or sealable bag at room temperature and use them within a year. Do not freeze them.

Vanilla Extract

Most commonly used in baking, pure vanilla extract is made by steeping whole vanilla beans in a high-percentage alcohol, such as vodka, for an extended period of time until it takes on the flavour and colour of the pods. While less expensive than beans, it’s still a much pricier option than the imitation stuff. With a little less cash and a little more time, though, you can make your own by splitting 3 vanilla beans in half and steeping them in ½ cup of vodka in a clean, glass container for at least two months, and up to a year. (You can scale the recipe up as needed.)

Vanilla Bean Paste

Think of this thicker, gel-like ingredient as a compromise between the pods and pure extract: it’s made from the latter, but uses the pod’s seeds to change the texture and add a bit of the visual dazzle that comes from those little black specks. While you can use vanilla paste the same way you would extract, it’s best saved as a less-expensive alternative to vanilla pods. 

Artificial Vanilla

Artificial vanilla extract is the most commonly used flavouring agent of the bunch, made from a synthetic version of vanillin, the compound that gives vanilla its marquee creamy, smokey flavour. Given that it’s a fraction of the price of any other pure vanilla alternative, it comprises the grand majority of vanilla use globally—and in a lot of baking applications, you may not be able to tell the difference. Use with abandon for baked cakes and cookies that don’t feature vanilla as the primary flavour.