Nielsen-Massey Vanillas

I use a lot of vanilla extract in our house, so I was really intrigued when I heard about Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste.  It sounded wonderful, but I didn’t really have a very good idea of what it was. I have heard of Madagascar Vanilla Extract and Mexican Vanilla Extract before but never Vanilla Paste.

Nielsen-Massey sent us a 4 oz. bottle to review.  I opened it and found, to my delight, that the vanilla bean paste smells wonderfully sweet and vanilla-like.  Vanilla bean paste is syrupy instead of paste-like and is so good you’ll find yourself wanting to turn the bottle up and drink it.    My favorite thing about it is the gorgeous little black specks from the vanilla bean seeds that enhance everything you use it in.  And for those who are interested, the “Bourbon” in the title refers to the Bourbon Islands, not the liquor. You can use vanilla bean paste in place of vanilla extract or a vanilla bean.  In place of vanilla extract, use an equivalent amount (1 tsp. extract = 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste); in place of a vanilla bean, use one tablespoon vanilla bean paste.

It was a 2011 SOFI Gold Award winner in the Outstanding Baked Good, Baking Ingredient, or Cereal category, and it our house, we give it a gold award, too!  In fact it has now replaced the Mexican Vanilla that we use on a regular basis. I used it in both our vanilla cupcakes and vanilla buttercream and they both turned out delightfully vanilla-y in addition to having lovely little black vanilla specks throughout.

You can find Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste at Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table stores in addition to online at Amazon.  It retails for about $11 for a 4 oz. jar.  Nielsen-Massey has many more amazing baking products that you might want to check out, too.