Since I started doing cakes, I have always used wiltons clear vanilla. It has been a wonderful flavor for my MMF as well as BC. Since I have been serious enough to do anywhere from 1-5 cakes in a week, I am getting larger quantities of product. I just bought a large bottle of CK clear vanilla. To me, the taste is no good, close to terrible. PLEASE.... Share your favorite brand of clear vanilla. This stuff is expensive and I hate to buy more to waste. I just can't make something that is going to someone elses family, and me not like it myself.
The best I have ever tried is Adams. I used to be able to buy it at Walmart or the grocery store but they don't have it anymore 
so I guess I'll end up ordering a gallon of it and paying shipping if I can't find it locally.
Also, the CK powdered vanilla tastes fine. Not as strong as Adams, either the liquid or their powdered vanilla, but the taste is good.
I just looked on the Adams website and a gallon of clear vanilla is $28 plus $7 of shipping, but orders over $50 have free shipping. They have a clear butter flavoring for $26 a gallon too.
Just the idea of owning a gallon or two of clear vanilla is making me smile 
I use Niblack brand, but that is because I can get it local. I think it tastes better than Wilton.
http://www.ingredientwarehouse.com/product_info.php?cPath=47_48&products_id=436
8oz is $3.75, but I purchased a 16 oz bottle in the store; you could probably call them and see if they have that size (I find they don't always update their website.)
The best vainilla i ever taste is from Dominica republic, You have to be very carefull because i bake a cake and have problems , i was looking what i was doing wrong , and when i tasted de vanilla was bad this vainilla I bought on a bakery place, the Dominican vainilla a friend brouht for me is the best.
Is there any pure clear vanilla extract, or are they all imitation? I am ready to purchase some for the first time, so I am thankful I came across this topic.
MommaM
I am waiting for my Adams to come in. When I did my search, I never found a pure clear vanilla extract. Maybe because its not pure once they do whatever they do to get it clear? I will let you know how the Adams is. Until it comes in, I have used the McKormick from the grocery store. Its good.
I bought some Dancy clear vanilla on ebay and it is horrid. It tastes like cinnamon is in there. I need to try the adams stuff.
I have the Dancy. It is hightly concentrated. I've ended up using it to glue my fondant pieces together, or when I want to paint my fondant I use it with the coloring. Other than that I haven't figured out the right mix yet for it myself. But it does seem to be at least twice the strength of the Wilton vanilla.
Sorry to say, real vanilla is always brown. Clear vanilla is always imitation. Sad, but true.
Oh, not true! Real clear vanilla is made by steeping vanilla beans in rum or vodka (I left mine in for 3 months before I used it.) I got my Madagascar vanilla beans from Williams-Sonoma. I don't have the URL at hand, but recipes for dark and clear vanilla can be found online. Doug, can you help us out here?
TracyLH posted her review of a natural clear vanilla a few days ago. I'll try to attach a link. If it doesn't work, it's in the cookies forum.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-659379.html
Cool! I've been looking for natural flavors for forever, without success. I will check out Spices etc. Now if I could just find effecftive colors.
Cake RX. Are you saying that when you steep vanilla beans in vodka, it stays clear? When I've done this, it always turns brown. And Rum has always turned darker too.
No, real clear vanilla is made by combining propylene glycol or glycerine with artificial vanillin. Vanilla beans are incredibly dark colored, so soaking them in something would result in a brown liquid, hence all real vanilla extracts made from real vanilla beans are brown.
I use wilton because I have tried CK products vanilla and it made my icing taste kinda like cinnamon. I also tired a differnt brand that I cant think of the name but it was double strenght and it didnt have a good flavor wither
Well, I just called Spices etc. and asked about their clear vanilla. I can't use it because it isn't certified kosher, but the person who answered the phone said their clear vanilla and all their flavorings are natural. She did say that they don't manufacture their flavorings. They buy them from others. Why this makes me feel skeptical, I can't say. I'd like to see more documentation, though.
I also did a search to find anything else I could about clear vanilla and all of the discussion I could find said what it has always said--real vanilla is always brown. Recipes for clear vanilla still said it would be amber colored when ready.
Guess I will keep making my own and it will be brown.
Edited to say I just found a website called Naturesflavors.com that says it has natural clear vanilla which is made of alcohol and natural and organic vanillan. This gets really complicated, because although vanillan is usually artificially produced, it is also found on the outside of vanilla beans. I'm pretty sure I'm scientifically out of my league here. I'll have to do some more research, but I'm out of time for now.
I really like the Adam's Clear Vanilla and Butter. 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%
