Why Is Vanilla So Expensive, Yet Found Everywhere?
Vanilla is one of the world’s most popular and beloved flavors. From ice cream to cookies, yogurt to drinks – it’s everywhere. But if you’ve ever tried buying real vanilla at the store, you know it can be outrageously expensive. So how can something so costly be so common?
The Price of Real Vanilla
Real vanilla comes from the vanilla orchid – a delicate tropical plant that mainly grows in places like Madagascar. Producing vanilla is incredibly labor-intensive. Each flower must be hand-pollinated within a narrow time frame, and once the pods are harvested, they undergo a long process of blanching, drying, and fermenting that takes months.
All this care and time makes real vanilla extremely expensive – sometimes more than €2,400 per kilo – making it one of the priciest spices in the world.
Why Is Vanilla in Everything Then?
Here’s the secret: most products don’t actually use real vanilla. Around 90% of vanilla-flavored goods are made with synthetic vanillin – a lab-made version of the flavor compound responsible for vanilla’s taste.
Vanillin can be made from sources like wood pulp (lignin), cloves (eugenol), or even castoreum (a substance extracted from beavers’ scent glands). This synthetic version is cheap, easy to produce, and stable – making it ideal for mass production.
What’s on the Label?
Unfortunately, labels don’t always tell you the whole story. Terms like “vanilla flavor” or “aroma” often refer to synthetic vanillin. Unless a product specifically says “real vanilla” or lists vanilla bean extract, it’s probably synthetic.
Real Vanilla Is a Luxury
Real vanilla has a deep, rich, complex flavor that synthetic versions can’t fully replicate. That’s why chefs and food lovers still prefer the real thing – even if it comes with a high price tag.
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