Help with Vanilla??--The Holy Grail Has Finally been Found with HappyVaper

[GabbyD]

All I can tell you is that I make my own vanilla, and have for years, for baking and I have put that in my cartridge and it tastes good to me. It is indeed vanilla beans soaking in vodka, but I don't taste alcohol at all. Just vanilla - same when I cook with it. Problem is, it's not a quick solution if somebody wants to try it. I think those beans are supposed to soak in there for about three months, if I remember correctly, to get a good, strong vanilla flavor. Since I already had this on hand, I haven't tried any commercial vanilla products.

[Sun Vaporer]

All I can tell you is that I make my own vanilla, and have for years, for baking and I have put that in my cartridge and it tastes good to me. It is indeed vanilla beans soaking in vodka, but I don't taste alcohol at all. Just vanilla - same when I cook with it. Problem is, it's not a quick solution if somebody wants to try it. I think those beans are supposed to soak in there for about three months, if I remember correctly, to get a good, strong vanilla flavor. Since I already had this on hand, I haven't tried any commercial vanilla products.

Well it looks like it is going to be a long wait for that vanilla Gabby!!! 3 months--ohh boy--what a long winter it is going to be.. But if its going to work, it's worth the wait. Would you mind sharing your percentage of vodka to amount of vanilla beans--that would be great. Thanks for the feedback.--Sun

[GabbyD]

Hi Sun. I did a little google work and I see people using their vanilla in a matter of weeks, but I guess the first recipe I ever followed said months so who knows. I can tell you that it starts getting darker and darker and you shake the bottle occsionally so you can monitor it and open the lid and sniff to see when you think it's smelling like a strong vanilla flavor.

It's very easy to do. I just bought the cheapest pint of vodka I could find, took 6 vanilla beans and slit them down one side. Drop them in the bottle and shake. Go back and shake the bottle every once in a while when you think about it. I shake mine whenever I come across it while digging for something else in the pantry - maybe once a week. That's all there is to it. If I open my bottle I totally smell vanilla and not liquor.

Now, as I hit google this morning I see people saying the stronger the proof of the liquor, the stronger your vanilla will be. I can't personally attest to that and I am not sure how it would balance out in terms of not tasting the liquor either.

I can tell you my first mistake was walking into a liquor store and asking the guy for the cheapest pint of vodka they sell and then walking out and thinking....oh no, the guy must think I'm some sort of lush! LOL!

Have fun!

[jbbishop]

Just reading about the problems with vanilla on here and thought this was a little something I would enjoy mixed with Marlboro flavor. Although it is EXTREMELY expensive, of any solutions available it appears to me that Vanilla Absolute may be a productive way to go, where it appears that other flavoring choices are not reported to work well here.

"Vanilla absolute is the most concentrated form of vanilla. It is often used in perfumes and other aroma-based products. Because it's so expensive, most candles, soaps, and other scented specialty merchandise, are made from synthetic vanillin. Vanilla Absolute is used in very high-end products in small quantities, often mixed with other fragrances in perfumes, for instance."

Organic Essential Oils Q-Z

Vanilla absolute soluble 1/8 oz

Amber to dark brown liquid
Odor: Vanilla powerful
USE: Perfume, cosmetic, food flavors
Price: 17.00 US $

Oh, and then two seconds later I see a post from TB saying: "Cook's Vanilla makes outstanding e-liquid when mixed with glycerine. Cook's flavorings, BTW, use alcohol instead of PG."

Some background on Absolutes (Wiki):

"Similar to essential oils, absolutes are concentrated, highly-aromatic, oily mixtures extracted from plants. Whereas essential oils can typically be produced through steam distillation, absolutes require the use of solvent extraction techniques or more traditionally, through enfleurage. Absolutes are usually more concentrated than essential oils. Also, the efficiency and low temperature of the extraction process helps prevent damage to the fragrant compounds. With a good understanding of the solvent they are using, extractors can produce absolutes with aromas closer to the original plant product than is possible with essential oils produced through distillation. This production method leaves trace amounts of solvents in the absolutes. Therefore, absolutes are considered undesirable for aromatherapy, since it is believed that they could cause allergies and affect the immune system."

But really, could they really be any worse than all the other flavorings that have more than trace amounts of alcohol in them? This is probably the source of the acetaldehyde concerns which may be due to the use of tobacco absolutes which could result from the use of ethanol, or possibly due to dilution with ethanol when mixing with glycerin. IMO the "traces" are so small they shouldn't be considered a reasonable threat, particularly here where use in food flavoring is indicated. Probably, manufacturers would be less likely to use solvents more toxic than ethanol if there is a likelihood of the product being used in foods. I doubt most of us are going to be too concerned over vaping "trace" amounts of ethanol.

[Sunshyn]

Bickford's only vanilla without artificial coloring is the light vanilla. I didn't order it, mostly because the name makes me wonder how much flavor it would have.

I'm considering placing an order for flavors from Faerie's Finest (faeriesfinest.com) though I'm not sure yet. 2oz is an awful lot to have around if I don't care for a flavor or if they turned out to be weak flavors. However, a vapable root beer is very tempting...

I did notice that they have quite a number of vanilla offerings. Out of curiosity do any of the below sound like they might work?

vanilla extract - all natural vanilla bean extractives with water and alcohol
2x vanilla concentrate - all natural vanilla bean extractives with water and alcohol
4x vanilla concentrate - all natural vanilla bean extractives with water and alcohol
double strength vanilla flavor - artificial vanilla flavors with water, propylene glycol and caramel flavor
double strength clear vanilla flavor - artificial vanilla flavors with propylene glycol and water

[Smo]

. . .
double strength vanilla flavor - artificial vanilla flavors with water, propylene glycol and caramel flavor
. . .

Got me drooling

I love vanilla too! I'm still a newb when it comes to amount of juice/hw owned, but i have 4 TW bottles here and Vanilla is my fave. I don't think I will be getting any flavoring soon, but I'll let you guys know if I find anything =)

Sunshyn, if u don't mind I'll quote your post in the riskee juice thread, i think it can be useful to the guys searching for the right mixture over there.

[Kate]

I've bought some vanilla beans and I'm going to put some in a bottle with 36mg flavourless glycerine eliquid for a few weeks or months to see if the flavour will transfer to the liquid.

[Sun Vaporer]

Bickford's only vanilla without artificial coloring is the light vanilla. I didn't order it, mostly because the name makes me wonder how much flavor it would have.

I'm considering placing an order for flavors from Faerie's Finest (faeriesfinest.com) though I'm not sure yet. 2oz is an awful lot to have around if I don't care for a flavor or if they turned out to be weak flavors. However, a vapable root beer is very tempting...

I did notice that they have quite a number of vanilla offerings. Out of curiosity do any of the below sound like they might work?

vanilla extract - all natural vanilla bean extractives with water and alcohol
2x vanilla concentrate - all natural vanilla bean extractives with water and alcohol
4x vanilla concentrate - all natural vanilla bean extractives with water and alcohol
double strength vanilla flavor - artificial vanilla flavors with water, propylene glycol and caramel flavor
double strength clear vanilla flavor - artificial vanilla flavors with propylene glycol and water

Sunshyn--I have tried everone of these that you post and they all are a no go. Vanilla DYI is by far the most difficult flavor to capture. I have been soaking Vanilla beans in VG for about a six weeks now as Kate says she makes her own Vanilla Abstact to give a gifts for the holidays and this was a recomendation by Kate to try. Kate states that it takes at least 3 months of letting it soak to make her extract with vodka--so I am waiting out the 3 months before I give it a try. I hope it works. One of the bottles I used straight VG and the other I used a mix of the beans with VG and Vodka--I do hope this works and will report when the 3 months are up--Sun

[Sunshyn]

Smo, you're welcome to quote me, but from what Sun Vapor says, it won't be much help. That's a bummer. I figured with all those to choose from, something would work.

Kate seems to be one of the most knowledgable people on this forum. If anything works, it'll probably be something she suggests. Keep us updated.

[Kate]

Thanks, I'll let you know how my vanilla in eliquid goes.

There's a bit of a misunderstanding here though Sun, it wasn't me who was talking about soaking vanilla before, I can't remember who that was. I'm only getting started with vanilla experiments.

The beans I've got smell lovely, I keep sniffing them. It's great to have quit smoking so I can smell things now