Bickfords in the UK???

[reganlives]

I've noticed so many people mentioning bickfords flavourings on here but as far as I can tell they're only available in america. Is there anywhere in the UK that they are available or a product which is similar to bickfords? Flavourings from places like asda had crossed my mind but I havent looked into them yet.

Also, when using bickfords, is it just dripped onto the atomizer as is or do you have to mix it with juice?

 

[Mihai]

I use now Dr. Oetker flavourings, some of them are PG-based. It's not ideal (I think it's artificial flavouring) but I was too eager to see how is to drip pure flavouring
From the types I saw only the vanilla and rum are PG based, the rest are using vegetal oil. Until you find a better shop try lurking in the cooking areas of the supermarkets, there should be plenty of flavourings, and some of them might be PG based. If it doesn't say on the label don't buy it. Also be careful some of them, even if PG based, have colouring stuff which you don't want.

 

[Kit]

I use now Dr. Oetker flavourings, some of them are PG-based. It's not ideal (I think it's artificial flavouring) but I was too eager to see how is to drip pure flavouring
From the types I saw only the vanilla and rum are PG based, the rest are using vegetal oil. Until you find a better shop try lurking in the cooking areas of the supermarkets, there should be plenty of flavourings, and some of them might be PG based. If it doesn't say on the label don't buy it. Also be careful some of them, even if PG based, have colouring stuff which you don't want.

So what do we need to look for on the bottle dude ?

 

[reganlives]

Which shop do you get them from as well mate?

 

[Kit]

Which shop do you get them from as well mate?

Food shops !

 

[reganlives]

Any specific food shops though?

 

[Kit]

Any specific food shops though?

who knows there well hidden

 

[reganlives]

I best get down to asda then lol

 

[Kit]

I best get down to asda then lol

yeah a big asda might have them

 

[reganlives]

yeah a big asda might have them

cool. theres one not far from me so I'll check it out when I have a chance and let you know my findings.

 

[Mihai]

It should say on the bottle 'solvent: propylene glycol'
It should have only aroma, propylene glycol, water, alcohol. Maybe some Exxx as antioxidant.
It shouldn't have any kind of oil and colouring.

I buy mine from food section in various supermarkets... dunno, try Tesco , it's been a while since I've been in UK so you should know better.

I am pretty sure there is a section in any supermarket in UK with all kind of cooking stuff - aromas, baking soda, maraschino cherries, this kind of stuff. You should find there at least one flavouring which uses PG, I am ready to bet on this

Sorry if I can't be more specific, I answered only because I have the same problem here - I couldn't find any internet store to deliver here stuff similar to Bickford's.


I have a few bookmarked sites but I haven't tried yet to buy and they sell essential oils - this should be diluted very well in PG. When I buy something I'll report back with my findings, be careful some of those oils are pretty
nasty, even if they smell good. I would stay on commercial food flavorings for now, let others like me to be the lab rats )
here, just as a reference:
Aromatherapy and Essential Oils
Our product catalogue of pure essential oils.
Bulk organic herbs, spices, teas & essential oils - Frontier Natural Products Co-op
Solgar Vitamins, New Chapter Vitamins, Nature's Plus Vitamins, Jarrow Vitamins, Solaray Vitamins
Buy Natural Essential oils from Essentialoils-online.com Pure Wholesale Prices (Powered by CubeCart)
Kalyx.com Natural Marketplace & More
Essential oils
Wholesale,Essential Oils,Aromatherapy oils,Fragrance oil,natural products,bulk

and a store with a warning: Essential Oil Hazards, Warnings and Guidelines

 

[Kit]

Thanks for all your hard work my friend

 

[Kate]

Just to add to this topic, I have just recently been in touch with Bickfords about them sending an order to the UK but the shipping alone would cost $124.30. That's just too much to be practical.

I ordered some vanilla extract here - Ndali Vanilla Extract - Lakeland, the home of creative kitchenware
It contains vanilla beans, alcohol (38%) and water. No sugar or oil. It tastes nice but is not a very strong taste. Not too sweet either.

Supermarkets over here mostly sell Supercook brand flavourings. I contacted Supercook a while back to ask what's in their flavours and unfortunately I've lost their email reply. From what I can remember most of them have oil and I discounted them as an option. At the time I was looking for something without alcohol too so I might be wrong about them, it's possible that their extracts are ok. Maybe someone here can report on the ingredients in Supercook flavours. They're easy to get on the internet too so it would be good for us if any of them are useable. SuperCook Online Shop (Dr Oetker UK Ltd)

 

[reganlives]

After looking at the supercook website, I've noticed they have "flavourings" and "extracts". Whats the difference between the 2 and which would we need though?

Just to add to this topic, I have just recently been in touch with Bickfords about them sending an order to the UK but the shipping alone would cost $124.30. That's just too much to be practical.

I ordered some vanilla extract here - Ndali Vanilla Extract - Lakeland, the home of creative kitchenware
It contains vanilla beans, alcohol (38%) and water. No sugar or oil. It tastes nice but is not a very strong taste. Not too sweet either.

Supermarkets over here mostly sell Supercook brand flavourings. I contacted Supercook a while back to ask what's in their flavours and unfortunately I've lost their email reply. From what I can remember most of them have oil and I discounted them as an option. At the time I was looking for something without alcohol too so I might be wrong about them, it's possible that their extracts are ok. Maybe someone here can report on the ingredients in Supercook flavours. They're easy to get on the internet too so it would be good for us if any of them are useable. SuperCook Online Shop (Dr Oetker UK Ltd)

 

[Kate]

Hi Regan, as far as I know the flavours are artificial and the extracts are natural flavours. When Supercook wrote back to me (I am so stupid for deleting that email!) they listed extracts that didn't have oil but no flavours. - For what it's worth. It's a while ago now and I thought at the time I couldn't vapourise alcohol so I discounted them and can't remember if it was because of oil, sugar, colourings or alcohol.

 

[reganlives]

Hi kate,
Well after some googling, I've come across where someone has stated the ingredients of the supercook vanilla extract. Apparently it has in it apart from vanilla, "water, alcohol, colour, caramel and flavouring". I'm not too sure if this would work or not with an e cig as the caramel bit seems kinda worrying. What do you think? I'll be taking a trip down to asda later today so will be able to see for myself then whats in the supercook stuff.

Hi Regan, as far as I know the flavours are artificial and the extracts are natural flavours. When Supercook wrote back to me (I am so stupid for deleting that email!) they listed extracts that didn't have oil but no flavours. - For what it's worth. It's a while ago now and I thought at the time I couldn't vapourise alcohol so I discounted them and can't remember if it was because of oil, sugar, colourings or alcohol.

 

[Kate]

Personally I wouldn't use something with caramel or colours Regan, there's no knowing what they'll do to your atomiser and lungs. Check it out at Asda because the ingredients of these things change sometimes, I've used Supercook vanilla extract with just pg and flavour, it was a very old bottle though.

 

[reganlives]

Right then, I took the plunge and went to asda and found quite a few different "flavours" of the supercook stuff. Most of them include oils or are artificial but I found the natural vanilla extract which contains, water, alcohol and extract of vanilla. I tried it by dripping a couple of drops directly onto the atomizer and letting a dryish cartridge soak up some of the liquid as well but it all went horribly wrong lol. When I took a drag I got the worst taste ever come through which made me choke and fluid came through as well. Seems like none of the liquid atomized during the process so I then took out the cartridge and inserted an empty cartridge without the sponge stuff in it and tried again but still nothing. No vapour, no vanilla taste, nothing. I then washed out my atomizer under water and dried it by blowing through it and also with a hair dryer.

Can someone tell me where I've gone wrong as kate has used similar with good results?

 

[Mihai]

not sure but I would guess it's because there is no PG in that formula. Kate probably used a flavour that had PG in it

Try to make the mix in a bottle, or in a syringe - try first a few drops of flavor in some liquid you extract from a cart. mix well then try to drip that.

 

[Kate]

You might have overdone it and drowned your atomiser Regan. If you're going to drip neat flavouring onto the atomiser you need to use something like an eye dropper and just drip a couple of drops to start. You won't get much mist with your vanilla extract because it has no glycol in it but you should get some flavour. If you're still getting liquid in your mouth you may need to use a fresh battery and don't draw too hard, remember you won't get much mist. I don't know why you got the bad taste, I used a different brand of vanilla which has a nice but not strong taste. I now mix my vanilla with vegetable glycerine and some liquid from squeezed out cartridges, it dilutes the nicotine and I'm trying to cut down.

I've just had a look at an American site Barry Farm Foods which sells flavourings and the shipping costs aren't too bad. I ordered some candy flavourings but I don't know how they'll be for vapourising. It's the nearest I've got to finding a variety of flavours without oils, sugar, colours etc. at an affordable cost to the UK. I'll report back at some point on how they taste.