As vanilla extract is made from pure vanilla beans, it has a stronger, more complex vanilla flavor, compared with vanilla essence, which is cheaper but artificially flavored.

Is vanilla extract a pure substance?

Vanilla extract is a mixture of a variety of substances such as water, ethyl alcohol, and vanillin that is extracted from the vanilla bean itself. While this may be called pure vanilla extact, chemically speaking it is a homogeneous mimxture.

How real is vanilla extract?

Vanilla extract is made by percolating or macerating chopped vanilla beans with ethyl alcohol and water in large steel containers. The process is usually kept as cool as possible to keep flavor loss to a minimum, though some manufacturers believe that there must be heat for the best extraction.