Kosher Cuisine with Marcy Goldman

Plain, old vanilla? I think not!
Wonderful Vanilla is Just the Tonic for Winter Baking

Vanilla! Just the word evokes a feeling of warmth and comfort. Doesn’t the word vanilla instantly conjure up an image of all things sweet and inviting? No wonder there’s a plethora of all things vanilla perfume and soaps to car deodorizers. It just sounds great.

We’ve had vanilla around for centuries and still rely on it today as ever before.  It’s the flavor that connects everything: flour, butter, eggs all come together in a baking recipe courtesy of this incomparable extract. I think of vanilla as the leader who conducts the baking choir. And yet we tend to take vanilla for granted as in ‘plain old vanilla’ or fail to choose quality vanilla, thinking any vanilla will do. The truth is the more we know the more respect and reverence we have for vanilla and its impressive history and manufacture.

Vanilla goes back a few centuries, to the ancient Aztecs, who before the arrival of the Spaniards, used vanilla to flavor their chocolate and hot cocoa drinks. But pretty soon, news of the attributes of vanilla spread and over time, it became an integral part of baking. Vanilla extract starts with the carefully cultivated, harvested and cured vanilla beans which come from pollinated vanilla orchids. There are tons of beautiful orchids but only three produce vanilla pods and only if those flowers are pollinated. This used to be a bee-driven task but nowadays, vanilla orchids are pollinated with bamboo sticks, handled by trained agricultural workers. Then the pods must be dried and cured (and this can take two years) before resulting in vanilla beans destined for vanilla extract manufacture. The best, high quality, pure vanilla extract starts with premium quality, perfectly cured vanilla bean extractives with water, alcohol and a sometimes, a touch of sugar.  This is where the difference between great vanilla and weak or less quality vanillas, however ‘pure’ (by definition: pure meaning it uses pure vanilla bean extractives versus lab made vanilla), begin to emerge.

Always look for a reputable brand because weak vanilla will simply bake out of your baked goods and not shine through. How to know good from inferior vanilla? Price is an indication – but smell and taste it. Pure vanilla is subtle of fragrance and slightly sweet. It is never overpowering or heavy with dense caramel or artificial vanilla overtones. You can also trust brands you know that have a heritage of superb vanilla manufacture.  But even with quality vanilla, I tend to double the vanilla in my recipes – because I am such a fan but also have found other bakers (and eaters!) similarly enjoy a warm, emphatic vanilla taste as much as I do. In the kosher kitchen, vanilla does much to upgrade flavor in pareve, or dairy free baking. But in the full gamut of kosher baking, vanilla is there to provide exceptional nuance from mandelbrot to strudel to coffeecakes. Happily, most vanilla extract, like most baking ingredients, are available kosher so they can be used in all your baking.  I add vanilla to blintzes, apple strudel, my sugar bowl (I put a few pieces of vanilla bean in the sugar dish) and even add a touch to my Friday night challah. In this month’s column, I share some totally awesome vanilla-based recipes from coffeecake to a mandelbrot that would knock bubbie’s socks off.

In January, when the snow urges you to bake a bit more, upping the vanilla factor in your favorite Jewish recipes, is a wise thing to do. It’s adding that homey comfort by the teaspoonful – showing that ‘plain old vanilla’ is anything but and a little, can indeed, go a long way.

Recipes
Vanilla Chocolate Almond Strudel
Flaky pastry wrapped around barely-melted chocolate and toasted almonds, all braced with a sweet lashing of pure vanilla extract.

Vanilla Mandarin Mandelbrot
These are crisp mandelbrot that are infused with pure vanilla, graced with fresh orange zest, a sunny touch in mid winter.

Double Vanilla Sour Cream Coffeecake
Mellow tones of vanilla resonate in this homey classic. The scrapings of a vanilla pod ensure this is the best streusel you will have. To obtain the scrapings, slit the vanilla bean lengthwise, and using a paring knife or grapefruit spoon, scoop out the inner vanilla pulp – it is the consistency of soft licorice.