The price of pure vanilla extract, whats up with that?

[Hotler]

I know it's expensive, but the price seems to have gone through the roof. Kroger brand pure vanilla extract, 4oz. $13.89. It's not scarce is it?

[supernova]

1. Vanilla Beans from Madagascar

are scarce. That's what makes it so expensive.

You can still get artificial vanilla for cheap.

[flamingyouth]

9. It's a fact

And it's way better than the imitation - so I pony up the cost for the real thing. It's not cheap, that's for sure.:D

[burrowowl]

2. Real vanilla comes from

around Veracruz in Mexico. There is only one pollinator and it is going extinct.
Vanilla plants are now grown elsewhere and have to be hand pollinated.

[Deja Q]

17. Pity it's going extinct...

mankind had better hurry if it wants all the prepared food delicacies that require it... or get used to bogus flavoring...

[Kadie]

3. Isn't is crazy?

The price has doubled. Hubby says bushie must have pissed off the country that we get vanilla from.

[shoelace414]

4. Which country has he NOT pissed off?

[Hotler]

6. No shit!

Thanks for the input everyone.

[Kellanved]

10. Yup:

70% of all Vanilla comes from current (technically France) and former French colonies.

[Widgetsfriend]

5. Here you go.

http://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/one-stop.asp

I ordered some from this place about six months ago. You're right, though, even their prices have gone up. Scroll down, a 16 oz. bottle is $24.00. It arrives quickly and you certainly won't need any for awhile!! It's good, too.

[Hotler]

7. Way cool!

Thanks a bunch.

[tridim]

8. Costco vanilla is cheap too

Well not cheap, but much cheaper than those tiny bottles at the grocery store. It's probably about 1/4 the price.

[Kadie]

11. I once bought Vanilla at Costco for around $10.00

Last time I checked it was $20.00 for 16 oz. bottle. Better price than grocery store, but whoooshhhh!

[TX-RAT]

12. A lot of people from TX, go to Mexico to purchase.

[Harrumph]

13. It's reallly that expensive in the US?

I just bought 3 bottles (16 oz) for less than $10.00 in Mexico for my aunt in Oregon.

[catzies]

14. Before vanilla vodka came out I had a recipe for a martini that

called for 3 or 4 whole beans, split and then "muddled."

I did the math and figured each martini would have cost $28-$30. Even homemade!

[Kellanved]

16. wha...?

How much costs a bean stateside?

Last time I bought Vanilla two beans were about €3; organic €4. :shrug:

[catzies]

18. I don't know how much whole beans are right now. Can't find them.

I looked for them around the holidays last year, no store I checked had them.

[Susang]

22. Trader Joes had them last time I was there

I wanted to buy them to make my own infused vodka. :-) I forgot to go back and get them. I don't know if they still have them. You can buy them mail order or online from from Dean & Deluca's.

[supernova]

20. It's about triple the price here

3 beans will cost you about $12. Holiday baking gets expensive.

Here's one place, vanilla.com

[Westegg]

15. The price of vanilla beans blew me away...

... but I paid, because I wanted to adhere to the recipe... In the final analysis, I could have just used pure vanilla extract, which costs as much for 4 ounces as these two beans cost me---and those 4 ounces last for months...

[Lisa]

19. natural disaster in Madagascar ...

They're a major producer, and apparently the crop was almost wiped out by storms. (A co-worker is from there, and she tipped me off in advance, suggesting I stock up because the vanilla market "is going to go crazy".)

I make my own vanilla extract by steeping the beans in vodka for several months, and give it away at Christmas. It tastes different than the commercial type (frequently they add coloring, and even sugar, even to the natural varieties) but people have been asking me for refills -- so I guess it's okay!

[Susang]

21. See if there is a Trader Joe's in your neck of the woods

They have excellent quality vanilla extract at a very low price. Their saffron is also quite reasonable.

http://www.traderjoes.com

[Shakespeare]

23. Yup--and their Madagascar vanilla beans are WAY cheap!

I see them in other stores for $10-20 for a jar containing ONE vanilla bean. TJs sells a jar of 2 beans for $3.99.

Long live TJs.

[Susang]

24. My favorite store

For food products anyway. }(

[Canuckistanian]

25. Pure Vanilla is rare

It comes from a plant which only grows under another rare plant called Saxifragum cornellus.

The plant must be harvested only when the moon is in its 1st quadrant not less than 3 days after a hailstorm.

The extract can only be removed by rolling the plant clockwise on the thighs of 16 to 22 year old virgins (female OR male, strangely enough).

And export of the product must be in special explosion and magnetically protected containers.

That must be why.

[soothsayer]

26. the price of cloves has gone goofy, too!

$130 a lb or something, so like $6 or so for a jar

BUT....I found them in an ethnic store for 1.29. Larger jar, too. In that same store in the spice aisle, the McCormick ones were still pricey.