Vanilla extract and Vanilla essence..........Whats the difference?

[LadyTophamHatt]

I'm making choc chip cookies and it say 1tsb of vanilla essence but I have vanilla extract.

They taste yummy anyway as I've made them lots of time before but I have no idea what the difference is. Which is best?

And....if it asks for 1tsp of essence should I use 2tsp of extract or 1/2 tsp??

[soapbox]

Vanilla extract is extracted from the vanilla pod. Vanilla essence is synthetic.

If you have extract it will be better than essence

Same quanity I would say!

[WigWamBam]

According to this , extract and essence are the same thing. Vanilla flavouring is the synthetic stuff.

[LadyTophamHatt]

Well, well....the same stuff.

Why let it have 2 names then? it's very confusing for a 2 bit cook like me.

[Carmenere]

I agree with soapbox, I actually think that the Waitrose site is wrong or at least mistaken. To my knowledge essence is a chemical compound. This is the reason for the vast difference in price between the two products.

[crunchie]

I just 'assume' they are the same and use the same quantity

[motherinferior]

Every cookbook I have says steer clear of the essence, it's the fake stuff; you need the extract, which is what you've got.

[soapbox]

Delia - always says to use extract - so like the good girl I am...

[NannyL]

I agree essence is a chemical taste, where as extract is more naturally extracted from actual vanilla

i only ever use extract... you can really taste the difference!