What’s the difference in taste between these two? I think “French Vanilla” is used to describe custard-like desserts that have a vanilla flavor. I’m looking to pick up a few bottles of Torani flavored syrups and noticed they have Vanilla, French Vanilla and Vanilla Bean all listed.
Based on the nutrition info, it looks like Vanilla is the sweetest with 19 grams of sugar compared to 17 for both French Vanilla and Vanilla Bean. I’m looking for the one that is going to have the strongest & cleanest vanilla aroma & flavor.
Vanilla beans have the strongest vanilla flavor but who knows what you could be getting with prepared syrups? I suspect the difference between those choices is negligible.
Depending on what you’re planning on using the syrup for, it may be cheaper and better tasting to just make your own vanilla flavored simple syrup. I like flavored coffee, but the ingredient lists for flavored creamers weirds me out (shouldn’t creamers have some sort of dairy product in them?!), so I keep homemade syrups in the fridge to add to my coffee when the mood strikes. Simply boil one part water and stir in two parts sugar until it dissolves completely. Add flavoring and store. For a strong vanilla flavor, I use split vanilla beans. To store the syrups, I use condiment bottles that can be purchased at most dollar stores or super-stores (like Wal*Mart or K-Mart) and keep them in the fridge.
Simple syrups work well for coffee and mixed drinks, but I’ve been told that they’re too heavy for Italian Sodas, but I imagine that could be fixed by adjusting the amount of water used.
