Last month I said that vanilla is the world’s second most expensive spice, just after saffron. Several people asked me why vanilla is so expensive, and since it is so expensive, how come there are so many inexpensive vanilla products, like vanilla pudding at dollar stores?
First, about the price….the price of vanilla has skyrocketed in the past few years. Almost 80% of all the world’s vanilla beans come from the island of Madagascar. They have had terrible weather there for several years, causing a collapse in vanilla bean production. As a result, a kilo of vanilla beans currently sells for around $500. Just 3 years ago, the price was under $100. Second, how come there are so many cheap vanilla products? That’s because most vanilla products are made with imitation vanilla. Less than 1% of the world’s vanilla flavor comes from real vanilla beans. Last year, Americans consumed over 2 million pounds of imitation vanilla. There isn’t enough real vanilla in the world to just make just all the vanilla ice cream.

Natural Flavor. Remember, when you see the words ‘natural flavor’ on a vanilla product, that doesn’t mean that there is real vanilla in it. ‘Natural flavor’ means that the flavor was derived from an organic source, which could be any plant or animal. Most ‘natural flavor’ vanilla is made from wood tar creosote, which sounds rather unappetizing; however, some imitation vanilla is still made from castoreum, which is much less appetizing. Castoreum is an anal secretion of beavers. Beavers produce castoreum to scent-mark their territory. (This is one of those tidbits of information that makes people say: ‘I would have been happier not knowing about that.’) There is an easy way to be sure that there is no castoreum in your vanilla ice cream. Look for a kosher seal. Castoreum is not kosher.  As a rabbi once told me at a kosher certifying booth at the Fancy Food Show: “You can’t make kosher food out of something that came out of a beaver’s rear end.” (Between 80% and 90% of all kosher food is purchased by non-Jews. This is why.) My advice is that when in doubt about vanilla ice cream, go with Ben & Jerry’s. Their vanilla ice cream is made with real vanilla. By the way, I use real vanilla in my chocolate.