When the holidays are approaching, housewives storm the shelves of spices for desserts, the most sought-after product being vanilla sugar. It is used in many sweet recipes, especially in cozonac, Easter, sweet cheese pie or vanilla creams for eclairs or cakes.
But did you know that there is a major difference between vanilla sugar and vanilla sugar?
Even if both variants lend themselves to baking or cooking at high temperatures, there is a difference in taste, color and especially price between vanilla and vanillin sugar. And that’s because they are obtained by different methods.
Vanilla Sugar vs Vanillin Sugar – Differences
In the case of vanilla sugar, vanillin in the composition – i.e. the main aromatic compound in vanilla pods – is of natural origin.
On the other hand, in vanillin sugar is used synthetic vanilla flavor. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, especially considering the high price of natural vanilla that can be unaffordable for many people, but also the growing and production conditions of the vanilla plant that cannot meet the increased demand from consumers.
However, a clarification must be made regarding the vanilla flavor. There are several varieties of vanillin sugar in the market. If you want to use a quality product, it must contain natural vanilla flavorwhich comes 95% from the vanilla pod.
Price difference between vanilla and vanillin sugar is also large.
For example, a packet of vanilla sugar (12 grams) costs approximately 4.5 lei, while a 16 gram packet of vanilla sugar costs only 1.7 lei, so the former costs 3 times more.
In terms of calories, however, things are identical, because the basic ingredient – white sugar – is the same. Both vanilla and vanillinate sugar have approx 385 calories per hundred grams.
Also read: Difference between vanilla extract and vanilla essence
There are other differences between vanilla and vanilla sugar. E.g, vanilla sugar has a darker, golden brown colorgiven by the vanilla pods, while vanillin sugar is white.
Then, vanilla sugar can have a stronger tastebut the smell is not as strong as in the case of vanillin.
Important! Both vanilla and vanillin sugar have as their main ingredient… sugar, which borrows from the olfactory and gustatory properties of vanilla, whether natural or synthetic. It’s basically vanilla “infused” sugar. So pay attention to the quantity, especially if you care about the figure!
Vanilla sugar generally has 3% vanilla, the rest being sugar, and vanillin sugar contains sugar and ethylvanillin (synthetic vanilla flavor with 3 times more flavoring power than natural vanilla).
In general, the content of an 8-gram sachet is used for 500 grams of flour or for a dessert of 0.5-1 liter of milk, regardless of whether it is vanilla or vanillinated sugar.
How to make vanilla sugar at home – the simple recipe
If you want to make vanilla sugar at home, the recipe is very simple. You only need a cup of white sugar and a vanilla pod (1.5 grams).
The price of a vanilla pod varies depending on the manufacturer. It starts from 10 lei and can even reach 35 lei. On the website of a specialized retailer, 100 grams of vanilla pods costs 280 lei.
To make vanilla sugar, just scoop out the seeds from the vanilla pod and add them to the white sugar. Mix in the blender for a few seconds to completely crush the seeds, then store the vanilla sugar in several hermetically sealed jars, kept in a dry, cool place, away from the sun’s rays.
The vanilla sugar prepared in this way has a shelf life of up to 2 years. But keep in mind that the aroma can diminish every time you open the jar or if you keep it in improper conditions.
That is why it is not recommended to put all the sugar in a big jar to keep in the kitchen, for example, where the temperatures are higher and the humidity is not optimal.
