Vanillin uses

Pure vanilla extract is commercially created by soaking vanilla beans in a mixture of water and ethyl alcohol, or you can make your own with vanilla bean pods and vodka (or any neutral-flavored liquor).

In contrast, "an extract labeled 'vanilla flavoring' is typically made from a combination of artificial and natural ingredients," says Kate Thrane, a Minnesota-based recipe developer, in an email interview.

And those "natural" ingredients listed on the label may not actually include the vanilla bean at all, adds Thrane.

The search for vanilla flavoring began in the late 1800s when scientists sought to understand the rare and expensive vanilla bean — and its extract — at a molecular level.

In 1858, French biochemist Nicolas-Theodore Gobley crystallized vanilla extract and discovered vanillin, one of 250 compounds that comprise natural vanilla.

"Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde compound that gives vanilla its 'vanilla' flavor," says Thrane.

In 1874, German scientists Ferdinand Tiemann and Wilhelm Haarman deter

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