With just two pure, natural ingredients going into our new Vanilla Bean Infused Maple Syrup, you may expect there’s nothing to it… but a lot goes on behind the scenes when creating an infused maple syrup formula. Read on to find out!
Ingredient Format
We infused our maple syrup with several different forms of vanilla, infusing at a range of temperatures for varying lengths of time, to see which combination delivers the optimal vanilla flavor.
Formula Considerations
These are a few of the questions we asked ourselves before we got to work:
A common flavor profile of pure amber rich maple syrup includes subtle notes of vanilla. How can we amplify the vanilla beans to ensure the infusion ingredient really shines?
Bean in or bean out? Leaving a bean in each bottle will allow flavor to build over time, but would a floating object (and the accompanying black vanilla bean specks) concern customers?
Any baker knows, vanilla is a precious and pricy ingredient… Can we secure organic vanilla that meets our high quality standards, while keeping our pricing in line with our other syrups?*
*Note: If a higher price point is necessary, all pre-orders will be grandfathered in at our standard pricing (a great reason to reserve today)!
Ingredient Origin
Like wine, vanilla can have unique flavor profiles based on the region it was grown. These are a few of the top vanilla producing nations.
Did you know?
Over 80% of the world’s vanilla comes from Madagascar, an island nation off of the east coast of Africa (and the fourth largest island in the world)!
Vanilla grows as beans from a vining orchid plant native to Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
“Bourbon Vanilla” does not actually contain bourbon… Alcohol is commonly used as a base in vanilla extract, however, if you see Bourbon Vanilla on a label it is referring to a specific variety of vanilla grown in the Madagascar region. The name originated from neighboring Reunion Island, which was formerly called Bourbon Island.