Nope, not all vanilla is the same. Here’s what you need to know about where vanilla flavoring actually comes from.
Where Does Real Vanilla Flavoring Come From?
Updated on Apr. 30, 2025
In a world of endless flavor possibilities, there’s something comforting about vanilla. No, it may not be as exciting as umami, and it doesn’t tantalize your taste buds like a Sichuan peppercorn. But it adds just the right type of flavor to cookies, cakes and ice cream, it’s absolutely delicious and it’s hard not to smile the second you smell it. But you’ve probably heard that not all vanilla is real vanilla. So how can you know what you’re actually getting, and where does vanilla flavoring come from?
To get to the bottom of this food fact, Reader’s Digest dove into the history of the tiny but mighty vanilla bean and spoke with Ethan Frisch, co-founder of the spice purveyor Burlap and Barrel. Keep reading to get the scoop on everyone’s favorite flavor—and even learn how to make it at home.
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Is there a difference between imitation vanilla and vanilla extract?
Yes, and it’s important to know whether the vanilla you just bought from the store is the real deal or a lab-grown variant. In most countries, vanilla flavoring is available as an extract, essence and flavoring. And they’re not the same.
If you’re from the U.S., it’s likely that you haven’t heard of the word essence in relation to vanilla. That’s because the FDA doesn’t recognize this name for the ingredient. However, in other countries, including the U.K., Australia and India, vanilla essence is just another name given to artificial vanilla flavoring. Here are the differences between the two.
The source
The difference between vanilla extract and flavoring (or essence) lies in how they’re sourced. Pure vanilla extract is, as the name implies, extracted directly from real vanilla pods that come from the vanilla orchid.
Imitation vanilla (commonly sold as vanilla flavoring), on the other hand, doesn’t come from the vanilla plant. Instead, it is synthesized using other natural and chemical products … which sometimes—and thankfully only very rarely—includes a by-product of beavers’ butts. Yes, you read that right, and we’ll get into that more below.
Labor and time
While the growing, harvesting and curing of real vanilla extract is a long process that can take anywhere from four to six years, producing artificial vanilla flavoring in labs is a much quicker process. It takes a maximum of just a few hours or days.
Flavor profile
Despite their labor-intensive processing (and higher price tag), whole vanilla bean pods and the pure extract made from them are increasingly preferred over imitation vanilla due to their much richer flavor.
So if you’re at the grocery store, spot a bottle of vanilla and see vanilla-bean extracts, water and alcohol on the ingredient list, you’ve picked up real vanilla extract. However, if the list also features propylene glycol, corn syrup, vanillin (synthetic) or even “natural flavors,” it’s likely to be an imitation or artificial vanilla flavoring.
With so many nuanced variations in how vanilla is sourced and used, it’s no wonder that even something as simple as vanilla ice cream tastes different based not only on the brand you’re eating but also the country you’re in.
Where does vanilla flavoring come from?
Real vanilla flavoring, which is sold as vanilla extract, comes from the seeds of a specific orchid belonging to the Vanilla genus. Although there are more than 100 kinds of vanilla orchids, according to Britannica, three yield the seed pods that are used in vanilla extract: Vanilla planifolia, Vanilla tahitensis and, very rarely, Vanilla pompona. The seed of this orchid (aka the pod) is known commercially as the vanilla bean. But, just so you know, it’s not actually a bean—it’s just shaped like a green bean. The plant, however, doesn’t belong to the legume family.
To grow vanilla, you need a tropical climate—warm, sunny and humid. When these conditions are met, the vanilla orchid will attach itself to trees in order to grow. But it’s not a parasitic plant like mistletoe, and it doesn’t damage the host tree. Instead, its white, spongy roots wrap themselves around the tree bark and, along with the flower’s fleshy leaves, absorb moisture from the humid air, helping the orchid grow.
According to the American Orchid Society, vanilla orchids bloom for a shorter time than the orchids commonly seen in flower arrangements, which can last several weeks. Flowers on the vanilla orchid plant bloom one at a time, each staying open for only one day.
Where is vanilla grown?
Present-day vanilla is sourced from commercial orchids in Mexico, Madagascar and Tahiti. But you may also find vanilla from India, Indonesia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea and parts of South America. Depending on the area, these vanilla extracts have slightly different aromas—and price tags. Single pods of Tahitian vanilla beans can sell for up to $9, while you can grab up to three Madagascan vanilla beans for the same amount.
However, the history of vanilla began with vanilla orchids native to Mexico, where they were originally enjoyed by the Maya and later grown by the Totonac people of present-day Veracruz. As far back as pre-Columbian times, vanilla was used alongside cacao beans to flavor chocolate.
According to the BBC, although European conquerors tried to grow this fragrant orchid, they didn’t succeed until the 19th century. That’s because it grew in a narrow geographic belt (between the 10th and 20th parallels north and south of the equator, which offered a tropical climate) and was pollinated by bees native to Mexico. It was only in the 19th century that the Europeans learned how to hand-pollinate the flower—or, more accurately, a 12-year-old enslaved Madagascan boy named Edmond Albius figured this out in 1841, and the Europeans took the idea and ran with it.
How is pure vanilla extract made?
When making pure vanilla extract, you have to wait until the vanilla pods reach their fully matured size. This happens eight to nine months after the flowers are pollinated. (And in case you’re wondering, it takes vanilla orchids about three years to grow flowers in the first place.) When the pods still have a yellow-green tip, they are harvested. Unlike the flowers, which are fragrant before the pods are formed, the pods have no aroma of their own—yet.
Producers then cure the vanilla pods by dipping them in hot water, sun-drying them or allowing them to sweat and mature over the next several weeks. During this time, the pods oxidize and change from green to mahogany. They also get skinny and gain the classic vanilla aroma and flavor—thanks to a compound called vanillin.
Soaking these pods in alcohol extracts the flavor, creating—you guessed it—vanilla extract. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines pure vanilla extract as a mix of vanilla scent and flavor in alcohol. In fact, to be considered vanilla extract by the FDA, a product has to contain at least 35% alcohol by volume.
What is artificial vanilla flavoring made from?
According to a 2024 poll by the International Dairy Foods Association, vanilla is the top ice cream flavor choice for most Americans. So, at one point or another, most of us have enjoyed a scoop of vanilla ice cream—which sounds like a good thing until you consider that vanilla is also used in perfumes, pharmaceuticals and aromatherapy. This means the supply can’t always keep up with the demand for a product that’s so labor-intensive to produce.
To get around that and keep the costs down, researchers developed synthetic versions of vanillin, the compound that gives vanilla its signature sweet flavor. Many assume that it’s a watered-down version of real vanilla extract—after all, how would the ingredient get that natural vanilla flavor without at least a bit of the real extract? But here’s the twist: This stuff doesn’t come from the vanilla orchids at all. Instead, artificial vanilla flavoring is made in labs using guaiacol (a petrochemical by-product) or lignin (a natural compound found in wood or left over from paper production).
This imitation vanilla is widely used as a fragrance in products like perfumes, candles and potpourri, and as a flavoring in cookies, cakes, candy, cereal and more. While most artificial vanilla is derived from guaiacol and lignin, a more unusual source of vanillin is castoreum, which is essentially excreted from beavers. If you feel sick thinking that you’ve been consuming beaver poop all these years, don’t freak out just yet—that’s not quite accurate.
Does artificial vanilla flavoring come from beaver butts?
When you Google “where does vanilla flavoring come from,” you probably don’t expect beavers to be involved. But multiple viral TikToks and Reddit threads will try to convince you that there’s beaver poop in the vanilla flavoring you just added to your cake. But that’s simply not true—well, at least not entirely.
There’s no palatable way to put it: Castoreum, which has been used for centuries as a food additive, is a substance secreted by a gland close to a beaver’s butt. Hence, the nickname beaver vanilla. But while the FDA says castoreum in food is generally safe and permits its use in products under the label of imitation vanilla or artificial vanilla flavor, the actual use of the ingredient in foods and beverages is close to zero.
According to a National Geographic report, the reason why food companies don’t use castoreum is that it is incredibly expensive to procure vanillin from a beaver—so expensive, in fact, that its modern-day use is limited to a select few high-end perfumes. Thankfully, most manufacturers of vanilla flavoring opt for the more sustainable choices, guaiacol and lignin.
How do I choose a good vanilla flavoring?
The choice can get pretty confusing when you’re standing in the grocery store. But if you want to buy a good vanilla extract, ask yourself this: How does this vanilla smell? (Granted, you can’t open a bottle in the store, but you can try it out at home and then compare it with others down the road.)
Frisch, who specializes in global sourcing and the science behind growing and using spices, says the quality of vanilla depends on the care applied to the pods during the curing process. “Good vanilla pods should smell rich and sweet, with notes of chocolate, dried fruit and cream,” he explains.
The plant your vanilla came from matters too. Both Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla tahitensis differ slightly in their aromas. “While planifolia has a deeper, more chocolatey aroma and flavor, tahitensis is lighter, more floral and more woodsy,” he says.
And if you’re on a budget, it’s totally OK to pick up an artificial vanilla flavoring. While pure extract will yield a richer flavor even in small quantities, both culinary experts and home cooks agree that artificial vanilla flavoring comes pretty close to the real deal. Just make sure to increase or decrease the amount of flavoring you add, since pure vanilla extract can be too overpowering if used in excess, while an artificial flavoring might not give you the desired result until you double the instructed quantity (if the recipe calls for an extract).
FAQs
Can I make my own vanilla flavoring?
There are many easy ways to make vanilla extract at home. For a quick infusion, slice open a vanilla bean and immerse it in water or milk to extract the flavor. For a richer vanilla extract, immerse the cut beans in a good-quality vodka or rum, and allow the flavors to develop over a few weeks; this yields a better-quality pure vanilla extract.
And if you buy vanilla beans, you can also use the seeds themselves while cooking. Simply cut open the pod, and scrape the tiny seeds out. Then add them to a dish.
Why is vanilla so expensive?
Like all orchids, wild vanilla relies on specific insects for pollination: Melipona bees and Euglema bees. Both are native to Mexico, which is why all commercial vanilla is laboriously hand-pollinated during a small window of time. As you’ve probably guessed, the limited growing regions and labor-intensive processes of growing, harvesting and processing vanilla pods mean good-quality pure vanilla extract can be expensive. Saffron may be the most expensive spice, but vanilla is close behind.
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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece answering “Where does vanilla flavoring come from?” Indian American writer and cookbook author Nandita Godbole tapped her experience covering food. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Ethan Frisch, co-founder of Burlap and Barrel
- Agronomie: “Vanilla Planifolia: History, Botany and Culture in Reunion Island”
- Hispanic American Historical Review: “The culture history of Mexican vanilla”
- American Orchid Society: “Pollinating the Vanilla Flower”
- Britannica: “Vanilla”
- MDPI: “Vanilla Pompona Schiede”
- Purdue University: “The Vanilla Orchid”
- Essentials of Medicinal and Aromatic Crops: “Vanilla”
- BBC: “How a 12-Year-Old Boy Made Vanilla a Global Spice”
- Food Republic: “What’s the Most Expensive Type of Vanilla in the World?”
- International Dairy Foods Association: “Ice Cream & Frozen Novelty Trends Survey – May 2024”
- Molecules: “From Waste to Value: Recent Insights into Producing Vanillin from Lignin”
- International Journal of Food Microbiology: “Guaiacol production from ferulic acid, vanillin and vanillic acid by Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris”
- Sage Journals: “Safety Assessment of Castoreum Extract as a Food Ingredient”
- National Geographic: “Does Your Vanilla Ice Cream Have Beaver Goo in It?”
