the library

Vanilla

Spice & roots· spice

What it is

Vanilla is the cured seed pod of Vanilla planifolia, an orchid vine native to Mexico, now grown mainly in Madagascar.

What it tastes like

On the nose: vanilla, phenolic, wintergreen, almond. Among its measured molecules: 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, salicylaldehyde, anisyl alcohol, methylvanillin, p-cresol.

15 of 111 compounds on file carry a paper the library can cite.

• 4-hydroxybenzaldehydearomaphenolMeasured in 1 of 341 ingredients.cite

  1.32 ± 0.15% relative percentage — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Aldehydes, row 'p-hydroxybenzaldehyde')
• benzaldehydearomaaldehydereads as burning aromatic taste (PubChem)Measured in 57 of 341 ingredients.cite

  detected in the headspace of cured vanilla beans under every curing method tested — Gu et al. 2015, Molecules (Table 1, Aldehydes, row 'Benzaldehyde', column 'CK')
• benzyl alcoholaromaalcoholreads as aromatic (PubChem)Measured in 17 of 341 ingredients.cite

  detected in the headspace of cured vanilla beans — Gu et al. 2015, Molecules (Table 1, Alcohols, row 'Benzyl alcohol', column 'CK')
• guaiacolaromaphenolreads as aromatic (PubChem)Measured in 15 of 341 ingredients.cite

  1.78 ± 0.30% — the second-largest identified volatile — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Phenols, row 'guaiacol')
• vanillinaromaphenolreads as sweetish (PubChem)Measured in 12 of 341 ingredients.cite

  detected in the headspace of cured vanilla beans under every curing method tested — Gu et al. 2015, Molecules (Table 1 (Volatile compounds detected in the headspace from cured vanilla beans obtained using various curing methods), Aldehydes, row 'Vanillin', column 'CK' (control curing))
• p-cresolaromaphenolreads as phenolic (PubChem)Measured in 7 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.69 ± 0.12% relative percentage — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Phenols, row 'p-cresol')
• methyl salicylatearomaesterreads as liquid the wintergreen (PubChem)Measured in 11 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.31 ± 0.09% relative percentage — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Esters, row 'methyl salicylate')
• phenylethyl alcoholaromaalcoholreads as sharp burning taste (PubChem)Measured in 42 of 341 ingredients.cite

  detected in the headspace of cured vanilla beans under every curing method tested — Gu et al. 2015, Molecules (Table 1, Alcohols, row 'Phenylethyl alcohol', column 'CK')
• salicylaldehydearomaphenolreads as burning taste (PubChem)Measured in 1 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.22 ± 0.07% relative percentage — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Aldehydes, row 'salicylaldehyde')
• creosolaromaphenolMeasured in 7 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.46 ± 0.06% relative percentage — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Phenols, row 'p-creosol')
• furfuralaromafuranreads as almond (PubChem)Measured in 34 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.56 ± 0.12% relative percentage; the lowest-retention-index compound in the table (RI 799) — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Aldehydes, row 'furfural')
• anisyl alcoholaromaalcoholMeasured in 1 of 341 ingredients.cite

  detected in the headspace of cured vanilla beans under every curing method tested — Gu et al. 2015, Molecules (Table 1, Alcohols, row 'p-Anisyl alcohol', column 'CK')
• methylvanillinaromaaldehydeMeasured in 1 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.20 ± 0.06% relative percentage, reported separately from vanillin's 75.80% — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Aldehydes, row 'methylvanillin')
• alpha-bergamotenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 8 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.49 ± 0.04% — the most abundant sesquiterpene in cured vanilla pods — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Sesquiterpenes, row 'α-bergamotene')
• α-copaenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 18 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.17 ± 0.03% relative percentage — Yeh et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 1, Sesquiterpenes, row 'α-copaene')