SOS: need real vanilla

[CoachGayle]

Help!

I need real vanilla extract or essence for making my fantastic chocolate chip cookies and brownies. I'd love 12 to 16 ounces...where can I find it BA or even Rosario? I'm willing to make the 3 hour bus ride to BA to get it! (Of course if they ship, even better.) I remembered to bring back 8 bags of Ghiradelli chips from San Francisco and then forgot the vanilla!

Thanks for any tips.

Gayle the Chocoholic in San Nicolas de los Arroyos

 

[Delfina]

Real Vainilla is "Vainilla en Rama"? I think I saw it in Natural Deli, Laprida between Juncal and Beruti... Tomorrow I can check so that you don´t make the 3 hs ride in vain - and kill me!

 

[French jurist]

The only vanilla extracts I have seen here are artificial.

If you want a true vanilla (in its natural form), you can buy it from a shop at the angle
of cabrera and bonpland (it's an old shop selling spices, seeds, etc..).
It comes directly from the french island of La Réunion, sealed in a tiny glass container.

 

[rihornos]

Hi
There is real vainilla extract at the health stores or dietèticas sure you must have one nearby and if they don`t have they will tell you where to get some, you don`t need to go to Rosario, I saw real vainilla extract at a healtstore on Entre Rìos and Independencia but I don`t know the name of the place anyway is the only one there.
Reina

 

[MizzMarr]

There is most definitely real vanilla extract here. Look for a bottle with a yellow lid (mostly) in dieteticas or in Barrio Chino. It's "extracto de vainilla" natural and the brand is El Castillo. Google it to see what the label looks like. I also saw it on mercado libre for $40 pesos for a liter. I bought a 500ml jar of it for around $15 pesos. Enjoy your cookies!

 

[French jurist]

Well a vanilla extract has to be natural.
Good to know natural vanilla extracts can be found, I found the 40 pesos bottle on mercadolibre
http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-77378736-extracto-de-vainilla-el-castillo-x-1lt-_JM

I wonder though how they manage to reach such low prices, how many vainas a liter contains. By European standards, a liter of a good quality vanilla extract should be made of 200/300 vainas. And a liter costs easily around 70/80 Euros (350/400 pesos).

How do they make an extract for 10% of the usual price is a mystery ...

I'll stick to my 8 pesos per veina for crèmes brûlées.

 

[MizzMarr]

Well a vanilla extract has to be natural.
Good to know natural vanilla extracts can be found, I found the 40 pesos bottle on mercadolibre
http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-77378736-extracto-de-vainilla-el-castillo-x-1lt-_JM

I wonder though how they manage to reach such low prices, how many vainas a liter contains. By European standards, a liter of a good quality vanilla extract should be made of 200/300 vainas. And a liter costs easily around 70/80 Euros (350/400 pesos).

How do they make an extract for 10% of the usual price is a mystery ...

I'll stick to my 8 pesos per veina for crèmes brûlées.

I'd also wonder about how pure the vanilla is, it is industria Argentina after all; however, I've been using it for some time (ever since I first found it) and it's quite good! It might not be the best in the world, but does the trick for me (and I am not afraid to complain about industria argentina)!

 

[French jurist]

I'd also wonder about how pure the vanilla is, it is industria Argentina after all; however, I've been using it for some time (ever since I first found it) and it's quite good! It might not be the best in the world, but does the trick for me (and I am not afraid to complain about industria argentina)!

Well, I'll try it some day then !
Fact is that everytime I bought those kind of products, I open the bottle once not to reopen it never again,

 

[rihornos]

and why not to make vainilla extract at home here there is a recipe and very simple
Use kitchen scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, leaving an inch at the end connected.
2 Put vanilla beans in a glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid (mason jars work well). Cover completely with the vodka.
3 Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while. Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.
Lasts for years. You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.
You can also make vanilla sugar by putting a split vanilla bean into a jar of white, granulated sugar. Great way to infuse the sugar with vanilla flavor for baking.

 

[French jurist]

You can also make vanilla sugar by putting a split vanilla bean into a jar of white, granulated sugar. Great way to infuse the sugar with vanilla flavor for baking.

Variant : once you take away the tiny seeds from the bean, you can use the remaining "skin" of the bean the same way to give flavour to the sugar (avoiding to waste it)