My favorite neighbor called the other day to say that she’d left a small gift outside my door. There I found a pint of true Mexican vanilla topped with a tiny red bow. Like so many other things, vanilla has become hellishly expensive in the last year or two, so this indeed looked like a treasure.
The bottle was labeled “pure vanilla,” but I’m not sure I’m comfortable using it. There’s a secret about some Mexican vanillas: Many are stretched with tonka bean extract, which contains coumarin. The U.S.Department of Agriculture, which regulates food ingredients, has outlawed coumarin in the United States since the 1950s because it is toxic, and especially harmful to the liver.
There’s a little bit of a backstory behind Mexican vanilla. Until the late 1800s, Mexico had a virtual monopoly on vanilla, which was mostly grown in the states that border the Gulf of Mexico. It was famous the world over for its ultra-high-quality vanilla. Then the French began to grow vanilla — which are the seed pods of an orchid called vanilla planifolia — in their colonies in Madagascar and elsewhere, challenging Mexico’s dominance of the vanilla market.
Then, when the Mexican Revolution started in the early 20th century, vanilla production was shuttered for many years. After the revolution, oil companies moved into the region, and they stripped the forests. Though vanilla production in Mexico fell dramatically, the country maintained its reputation for excellence.
Meanwhile, the Germans discovered ways to create imitation vanillas from paper pulp and coal tar. That was the start of artificial vanillas. Adding coumarin provided additional vanilla scent and flavor — even though coumarin is toxic.
Even today, imitation vanilla is manufactured using byproducts from petrochemical production. It may also include castoreum, a substance that beavers use to mark their territory. Those aren’t things I typically want to eat, so I stick with true vanilla extract.
The trouble with many Mexican “vanillas” is connected to Mexico’s lax food-labeling laws, which are rarely enforced. Even when labeled “pure vanilla,” the valuable and expensive vanilla may be stretched with coumarin and other substances. Price will often be your guide: The more expensive the bottle, the more likely it is to be unadulterated. An eight-ounce bottle of true Mexican vanilla may cost $25 or more.
It’s easy to make your own vanilla extract, actually. Add two split vanilla beans to a cup of good vodka (or bourbon) in a glass jar with a tight lid (like a canning jar, for example) and store in a dark place for three months. Give it a shake every week or so. At the end of its storage time, decant into another container or store it in the jar until needed. If you want to make double-strength extract, use four beans per cup of booze. You can double or triple this if you want to give some as gifts.
High-quality vanilla loses some of its flavor notes and complex scent in long baking, but I still prefer true vanilla to imitation vanilla. Something like these simple sugar cookies, which bake only a few minutes, are good way to showcase your best vanilla.
Cut-out sugar cookies
Makes about 30 2 1/2-inch round cookies
Sparkling sugar, sometimes called white crystal sugar, gives these basic cookies a professional look. Find it at hobby stores under the Wilton brand, or online where bakers’ specialty ingredients are sold.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sparkling sugar, for finishing
Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside.
Place sugar and butter into bowl of heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until well combined. It doesn’t need to be creamed, as in baking a cake; the mixture will look sandy. Add egg and vanilla extract; beat until well mixed. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until just combined.
Remove the dough from bowl, kneading it to incorporate crumbs and form smooth dough. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface or a piece of parchment paper to 1/4-inch thickness.
Cut into shapes with 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle sparkling sugar atop each cookie. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until barely beginning to brown around edges. Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.
