My Wife And The Vanilla Extract (Or: 'Female Logic') [Long]

[Howard]

Wiki is wrong on this. Shortening is also used for lard/veggie mixtures.

Is this a homemade or off-the-shelf product?

 

[lxskllr]

Is this a homemade or off-the-shelf product?

"shortening" is a generic term covering all solid fat. It's become more specialized to refer to hydrogenated oil. If I were reading an old recipe book, I wouldn't automatically assume vegetable. In fact, I'd probably assume lard.

 

[Howard]

Yeah, wikipedia is full of shit. Shortening is not vegetable oil.

Hydrogenated vegetable oil, dumbass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenation#In_the_food_industry

There is actually shortening made from non-hydrogenated oil (palm oil) but it's relatively uncommon compared to Crisco. Nowadays, very few people (except Luddites like lxrskllr ) associate shortening with animal products.

 

[NetWareHead]

Yeah, wikipedia is full of shit. Shortening is not vegetable oil.

Shortening is not just normal vegetable oil. It is hydrogenated solidified oil which wikipedia explicitly says so.

It starts out as vegetable oil which is then hydrogenated and crystallized so it remains solid at room temperature and shelf stable to not require refrigeration. It is called vegetable shortening for this reason.

Solid fat from animal origins was at one point in history referred to as shortening, but now retains its usual name. Instead beef fat = suet, milk fat = butter, pork fat = lard, chicken fat = schmaltz etc... But solidified hydrogenated crystallized vegetable fat does not occur in nature and the invented term for it is shortening.

 

[OverVolt]

And banned in most of europe so there you go.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

And banned in most of europe so there you go.

Apparently so is vanilla extract. I could go to any of the 15 grocery stores in town and each of them have around 3-8 options for vanilla extract.

America is great.

 

[Data-Medics]

I must be too "American" myself. I read the whole story, and I agree with the wife. That vanilla "sugar" crap is just artificial vanilla flavoring. You need the real stuff, the flavor is very different. Perhaps our palates is just more refined here.

Though personally I'd soak the beans in rum rather than vodka. Much nicer flavor in baked goods.

 

[Merad]

The fuck do europeans use for making delicious vanilla flavored things if they don't have vanilla extract?

 

[WelshBloke]

I must be too "American" myself. I read the whole story, and I agree with the wife. That vanilla "sugar" crap is just artificial vanilla flavoring. You need the real stuff, the flavor is very different. Perhaps our palates is just more refined here.

Though personally I'd soak the beans in rum rather than vodka. Much nicer flavor in baked goods.

Vanilla sugar is just when you split a vanilla pod and stick it in a container of sugar. There's nothing artificial about it.

 

[Data-Medics]

Then again, I grew up eating fake maple syrup and personally don't really notice the difference between that and the overpriced real maple syrup. However ask any Canadian, and they'll tell you otherwise.

It's all what you're used to.

 

[Data-Medics]

Vanilla sugar is just when you split a vanilla pod and stick it in a container of sugar. There's nothing artificial about it.

And how exactly is the vanilla flavor supposed to travel from the bean to the sugar? Seems you'd need a infusion transport mechanism like say..... alcohol...

 

[runzwithsizorz]

His role is to train his wife and her role is to comply.

UMM, you TEACH a person, --- you train a dog.
<-------nitpicker

 

[WelshBloke]

And how exactly is the vanilla flavor supposed to travel from the bean to the sugar? Seems you'd need a infusion transport mechanism like say..... alcohol...

Lol.

Vanilla sugar.

Its sugar...

... and vanilla.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The fuck do europeans use for making delicious vanilla flavored things if they don't have vanilla extract?

I don't think you want to know the answer to that question.

 

[WelshBloke]

The fuck do europeans use for making delicious vanilla flavored things if they don't have vanilla extract?

Either vanilla pods or vanilla extract.

(or sometimes that horrible vanilla flavouring if we're in a rush and pick up the wrong bottle at our mythical vanilla extract stores)

 

[WelshBloke]

I don't think you want to know the answer to that question.

Shhhhhh! We don't want him to know about the mutant vanilla baby farms.

 

[TwiceOver]

No one else wants to know exactly what kind of "cinnamon sticks" we are talking about here? TTIWWP.

Yeah, that's where he lost me.

 

[BurnItDwn]

There are logical women out there, it just appears to be a very rare virtue. My woman is not very logical, but in the grand scheme of things, she is awesome, and nobody is without flaws.

 

[OutHouse]

Yes you heard right. France. Basically you need to 'import' them since France seems to be "THE" place for Vanilla beans, so no matter where you live you will likely end up ordering them from some French Vanilla farmers or breeders (?) Stéphane or Jacques from fricking France.

umm false. Mexican vanilla is quite good and Vanilla can only grow 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator because its an orchid.

 

[lxskllr]

Shhhhhh! We don't want him to know about the mutant vanilla baby farms.

 

[OverVolt]

Apparently so is vanilla extract. I could go to any of the 15 grocery stores in town and each of them have around 3-8 options for vanilla extract.

America is great.

No, the expat stores had vanilla extract at a cost, shortening you just can't get anywhere.

 

[Xstatic1]

I bake regularly, and I'm sooo not interested in making my own pure vanilla extract.

I have 3 vanillas in my cupboard: Nielsen Massey's Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract :thumbsup: , San Luis Rey Mexican Vanilla, and Nielsen Massey's Tahitian Vanilla.

 

[MongGrel]

His woman don't listen.

I know the feeling some days.

 

[MongGrel]

I'm fortunate enough to have in-laws that take cruises to Mexico a lot, so they bring me back a huge bottle of vanilla every year.

We used to, have a bit stocked up, even powder.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

The wife is a very good baker, I'm not, she goes berserk occasionally, and uses the pure stuff I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWC0sKCS5oA

 

[IronWing]

UMM, you TEACH a person, --- you train a dog.
<-------nitpicker

Did you read his post?