Trader Joe's Bourbon Vanilla Set (Paste, Extract & Beans)

This Trader Joe's Bourbon Vanilla Set includes the following items:

• Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste (113g)
• Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract (118ml)
• Bourbon Vanilla Beans (2 beans)
  

Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste

If you’ve ever spent any time baking, you’ve likely dealt with vanilla extract before (it’s basically the duct tape of the baking world). What you might not have encountered, however, is vanilla paste. What’s the difference, you ask? Aside from their distinct methods of production (vanilla extract is made by soaking pure vanilla beans in a solution of water and alcohol, whereas vanilla paste is a mix of vanilla beans, sugar syrup, and some vanilla extract to tie them all together), vanilla paste is thicker, richer in taste, and tends to have more visible bits of vanilla bean throughout, making it a preferable option for recipes where you really want the vanilla to be front and center. And that’s exactly where Trader Joe’s Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste excels.

Made for Trader Joe's by a supplier in Mauritius with 100% Bourbon (as in, grown in one of the designated Bourbon islands within the Indian Ocean) Vanilla Beans, this Vanilla Paste adds a well-rounded sweetness and deep, full-bodied flavor of vanilla to cakes, cookies, pies, and more. It can be used in a straight 1:1 ratio as a substitute for vanilla extract, for any recipe you’d like to make that much more vanilla-y, and makes an excellent ingredient for cocktails, milkshakes, and homemade coffee drinks. Try mixing a small spoonful in your next batch of whipped cream, French toast batter, or even your morning yogurt.

Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract

Ever wonder what the “Bourbon” in Bourbon Vanilla Extract refers to? The alcohol content connection might make you think it has something to do with bourbon whiskey, but the truth is that the two are only indirectly related: both Bourbon County, the birthplace of bourbon whiskey, and Île Bourbon, an old name of an island where vanilla is famously harvested, are named for the House of Bourbon, the former ruling family of France. In fact, only vanilla harvested from islands in the Indian Ocean, like Île Bourbon (now known as Réunion) can be called Bourbon Vanilla. And that’s precisely what you’ll find in each bottle of Trader Joe’s Organic Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract.

Bold, full-flavored, and grown using organic certified practices, this Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract is ideal for use in making your favorite baked goods, stirring into frostings or icings, or even dropping a bit into smoothies, pancake mixes, or oatmeal. Because it’s made with pure Bourbon Vanilla, its intense vanilla aromatics and flavor are accompanied by a few finer, more delicate notes, like cream and even a bit of spice, making it a must- have for veteran and neophyte home bakers alike.

Bourbon Vanilla Beans

Vanilla, plain? Never! A spice so integral to desserts across the world can’t possibly be boring, but it can be quite expensive—vanilla beans in particular. 

Vanilla Beans are actually the pods of Vanilla orchids—including V. planifolia, better known as Bourbon Vanilla. They were first cultivated on their namesake island of Île Bourbon (now called Réunion) before operations moved to its larger neighbor to the west: Madagascar. If “Vanilla” and “Madagascar” seem synonymous, it’s because the island’s tropical climate and heavy rainfall produces Bourbon Vanilla Beans that are especially large, plump, and high in vanillin, the compound that gives the spice its wonderfully sweet and “warm” flavor.

Incorporate them into baked goods and desserts, Vanilla sugar, and Vanilla-infused spirits.

*Please note: This item does not come gift wrapped.