Vanilla extract is a very popular flavoring component that is often used in cooking or, more frequently, in baked goods. To end up with this mixture, vanilla pods or vanilla beans are dissolved in a water-and-ethanol mixture.
You’ll observe that when cooking, recipes ask for a small amount (teaspoon) of the ingredients, such as custard, cakes, brownies, cupcakes, and many more. If you add too much, like a tablespoon of vanilla extract, by mistake, you may not notice, and it won’t hurt the recipes. More than this, and you may taste the alcoholic flavor.
The question is, even if you know how much vanilla extract to use, can too much vanilla extract make you sick? In our guide, you can find some surprising facts regarding the effects of vanilla extract. You’ll know how to fix your recipes, and ultimately, is too much vanilla extract bad for you? (Learn How Much Creamer In Coffee)
How To Measure Too Much Vanilla Extract?
Understanding why using a lot of vanilla can be risky is essential before you know how much is too much. Depending on your brand, vanilla extracts can have a 35% alcohol content.
Given this, it’s essential that you just prepare them in quantity needed for your dish. For example, you can drink 4 to 5 ounces of vanilla extract. One teaspoon or a tablespoon of vanilla extract per dish is typically needed in baking recipes.
You can only use an additional spoon of alcohol-containing vanilla extract if you don’t have any problems with it. If you monitor it, the consistency will be OK, giving your dish a richer vanilla flavor.
You’ll note that most bakeries and chefs just use a modest amount of vanilla extract to give their dishes a vanilla flavor. More usage is unnecessary because it’s a waste. besides all this, drink this, and you could end up with a police record if you are drink driving.
Can You Substitute Vanilla Extract?
Last, remember that since maple syrup or honey doesn’t taste like vanilla extract, the taste and flavors of your recipe may vary. It’s difficult to resist the bitter-sweet taste that vanilla extract creates by enhancing other flavors.
Because of its alcohol level, vanilla extract taken in excess can lead to several problems. A substantial amount of pure vanilla extract, which has a 35% alcohol level, can cause alcohol intoxication and alter food taste.
If you’re considering replacing vanilla extract, you might be shocked to learn that there are quite a few items you can use in their place without changing flavors too much. Vanilla paste, vanilla sugar, almond extract, honey, and even maple syrup are ingredients you can substitute as a safe alternative.
What Happens When Adding Too Much Vanilla Extract
Too much vanilla extract consumption can have the following effects on food and health:
Drunk Feeling
Like other ethanol-containing beverages, too much vanilla can get you inebriated. Alcohol makes up about 35% of pure vanilla extract. To get drunk with this amount of alcohol, you need 3-5 ounces. Adding too much vanilla extract to your coffee can make you drunk, but it can also serve as a substitute for sugar and other sweets.
However, many characteristics affect how much alcohol a person needs to become intoxicated. They comprise a person’s age, weight, eating history, and alcohol tolerance.
Skin Irritation
If too much vanilla extract is used in your food or drink, it could irritate your skin if it comes into touch with it directly. Stay away from skin-to-skin contact when you become aware that you have consumed more vanilla than is safe. (Read Does A Coffee Maker Boil Water)
Bitter Taste
Vanilla extract typically has a strong flavor from vanilla beans. It has a bitter taste when added in excess to food and beverages. It’s best to stick to the serving size suggested by the recipe to avoid ruining your food.
Alcohol Poisoning
When there is too much alcohol in the blood, alcohol poisoning occurs. Because vanilla extract contains a large amount of alcohol, consuming too much can occasionally lead to poisoning. This will likely happen if the vanilla extract is sipped straight from the bottle.
Alcohol toxins are kept out of the blood by the body through the liver. But much drinking strains the liver.
Alcohol poisoning symptoms include:
- Clammy skin
- Seizures
- Throwing up
- Low body temperature
- Slow heartbeat
How Much Vanilla Extract Should I Use?
A modest amount of vanilla extract is sufficient because of its potent flavor. However, too much vanilla extract makes dough inconsistent, complicating the baking process. Use the specified amount of vanilla extract in each recipe, as the effects have been proven.
Fixes for Too Much Vanilla Extract
Fortunately, when too much vanilla extract is put into meals, nothing terrible happens. Consider these options:
Dilute the Vanilla
By double the recipe, you might reduce the vanilla extract’s impact. For instance, you could prepare more brownie batter without adding more vanilla extract if you accidentally added too much vanilla extract to the batter for the brownies.
You would need to use up more ingredients, of course. So you would end up with more brownies than you had expected, yet it can resolve your vanilla extract issue.
Add Another Contrasting Flavor
Using a grater to remove the lemon’s rind after overusing the vanilla extract. Lemon zest can balance out vanilla extract’s bitterness. The bitterness of the vanilla extract will be balanced by adding a flavor that contrasts it.
Lemon juice and zest are ingredients with tart flavors that can balance bitterness. Salt gives vanilla extract, typically used in sweet treats, a savory taste.
Sweeten It
When you use too much vanilla extract, sweetening it can revive your meal’s potential for enjoyment and balance the flavors of your recipe.
Sugar, fruit, and honey are examples of sweet ingredients that balance the bitter taste of vanilla extract and help to mask it in your chocolate cakes.
Add Other Spices
Other spices are used to balance out the strong vanilla taste, which would otherwise be overpowering. Strong-tasting spices like cloves and cinnamon are the best to use, depending on your dish.
How Much Alcohol is in Vanilla?
Less than a bottle of vodka, pure vanilla extract is 70 proof. The pure vanilla extract must have a minimum of 35% alcohol to meet FDA regulations and get the most from the vanilla beans. (Learn How Many Times Can You Reuse Coffee Grounds)
How Much Vanilla Extract Will it Take to Get Drunk?
A few shots would do the trick because the alcohol content is like most hard alcohol. Various teenagers will have varying alcohol tolerance levels and body weights.
Why is Vanilla Extract Dangerous?
A potent vanilla-flavored cough medication is what drinking vanilla extract tastes like. Alcohol poisoning can result from ingesting vanilla extract, which is treated similarly to alcohol consumption.
Breathing issues could result from ethanol’s central nervous system depression. Hypothermia, dilated pupils, flushed skin, and digestive problems are all signs of intoxication.
Is Drinking Pure Vanilla Extract More Expensive?
Since vanilla costs three times as much as most alcoholic beverages, it is frequently out of reach for most teen budgets. But keep in mind that the appeal is that it is considerably more accessible.
Have Kids Gotten Drunk Drinking Vanilla Extract?
Kids have been drinking vanilla extract to get drunk. The most absurd aspect is that it is legal, and you probably already have it on your kitchen shelf, ready to add to your following recipe.
This is just one of the unfortunate new techniques teenagers are coming up with to gain a “buzz.”
Children visit the grocery store and select a tiny bottle of bourbon vanilla extract from the baking aisle. To cover up any evidence, they then add this to their coffee.