# Why are vanilla-flavored foods white... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2017, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590 "2017-07-06T07:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/1 "2017-07-06T07:19:38Z")
…when a vanilla bean, and its seeds, are jet black? I made from-scratch vanilla ice cream for the 4th, which of course meant using a real vanilla bean. So I’m wondering. Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/2 "2017-07-06T08:01:42Z")
Probably because vanilla ice cream is white. Although, IME, most vanilla-flavoured foods\* aren’t \*white, they’re cream/custard/yellowish, like cremes, vanilla cake and vanilla custard ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/3 "2017-07-06T10:39:13Z")
To add to that: Most vanilla-flavored foods use vanilla extract, which isn’t strongly colored. It’s brown, but also strong enough that not much of it is needed, so the brown color “dilutes” easily. Many other flavoring elements, like chocolate or berries, have a much higher color-to-flavor ratio. And then, much of the coloring of foods isn’t directly flavor-linked, but done for marketing reasons with artificial colors. Somebody decided to “brand” vanilla as white or off-white colors, possibly because it was a common flavor without a strong natural color of its own. Edited to ramble: I’m a fan of “golden cake”, and was stumped the first time I was asked what the flavor in it is. It’s a vanilla cake, but what gave it the golden color (before they added food coloring to supermarket cake mixes etc) was the egg yolks. If you make a similar vanilla cake using only the egg whites, then it’s close to white. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/4 "2017-07-06T10:45:12Z")
Vanilla flavored foods are whatever color they are without the flavoring, unless you deliberately color it. And since a lot of desserty food is white or pale without specific colors or colored flavorings added, we’ve come to associate vanilla with “plain” and avoid coloring vanilla flavored foods. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/5 "2017-07-06T11:34:28Z")
Because all the other colors were taken? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/6 "2017-07-06T12:44:28Z")
It doesn’t take much vanilla to flavor a food, not enough to change the color of the food by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/7 "2017-07-06T14:16:18Z")
Cola is vanilla and cinnamon flavored, and it’s brown. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/8 "2017-07-06T15:01:33Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Cola is vanilla and cinnamon flavored, and it’s brown. Cola is _Cola_ flavored, however the brown is from caramel coloring. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/9 "2017-07-06T15:15:31Z")
I think it’s because… • vanilla ice cream is white, and vanilla ice cream is the archetypcal representation of vanilla • for all _other_ flavors of vanilla ice cream (at least those that I make homemade, and I suspect the same is at least historically true in general for commercial as well as homemade recipes), the recipe is basically “make vanilla ice cream, then add…” • hence, vanilla is associated with “plain” i.e., “before you add stuff”, and that also maps conceptually to white, if you see what I mean ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Doremro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Mr.Doremro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Doremro)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/10 "2017-07-06T16:04:50Z")
Isn’t the flower of the vanilla plant white? It is in the pic on my yogurt. Might this have been an influence? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/11 "2017-07-06T16:09:28Z")
FWIW the black specks found in some vanilla ice creams are purely decorative. They’re a byproduct of extraction and don’t have much if any vanillin left in them. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/12 "2017-07-06T17:17:36Z")
Okay, makes sense. Thank you. The ice cream I made does have little black specks in it. Can’t say how much they contribute to the flavor (and I did add two teaspoons of vanilla extract before churning), but they’re the seeds that I scraped out of the beanpod while making the custard. Heavy cream, 2% milk, egg yolks, sugar, salt, one vanilla bean, and vanilla extract are the ingredients. All that added up to a kind of off-white, or “cream” color. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/13 "2017-07-06T17:39:05Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Cola is _Cola_ flavored, however the brown is from caramel coloring. I think Dr. Pepper uses those ingredients to flavor it, I vaguely remember reading something about it, but could be wrong as hell. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/14 "2017-07-06T19:03:04Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Cola is _Cola_ flavored, however the brown is from caramel coloring. No. The flavor is a mixture of vanilla, cinnamon, citrus (and sweetener). ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/15 "2017-07-06T19:09:39Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Cola is _Cola_ flavored, however the brown is from caramel coloring. And what do you think “cola” flavor is made from? Vanilla and cinnamon are part of the formula for cola flavor, among other things. [Coca-Cola formula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_formula) ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/16 "2017-07-06T19:09:51Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Cola is _Cola_ flavored, however the brown is from caramel coloring. “Cola is a sweetened, carbonated soft drink, derived from drinks that contain caffeine from the kola nut and non-cocaine derivatives from coca leaves, flavored with vanilla and other ingredients.” “Despite the name, the primary modern flavoring ingredients in a cola drink are sugar, citrus oils (from oranges, limes, or lemon fruit peel), cinnamon, vanilla, and an acidic flavorant.” > **[Cola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola)** > > Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils, and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imitated by other manufacturers. Most colas originally contained caffeine from the kola nut (Cola acuminata), leading to the drink's name, though other sources of caffeine are generally used in modern formulations. The Pemberton cola drink also contained a coc... ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/17 "2017-07-07T03:11:12Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Cola is _Cola_ flavored, however the brown is from caramel coloring. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. The flavor is a mixture of vanilla, cinnamon, citrus (and sweetener). > [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > And what do you think “cola” flavor is made from? Vanilla and cinnamon are part of the formula for cola flavor, among other things. > > [Coca-Cola formula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_formula) > [@Napier](#): > > “Cola is a sweetened, carbonated soft drink, derived from drinks that contain caffeine from the kola nut and non-cocaine derivatives from coca leaves, flavored with vanilla and other ingredients.” > > “Despite the name, the primary modern flavoring ingredients in a cola drink are sugar, citrus oils (from oranges, limes, or lemon fruit peel), cinnamon, vanilla, and an acidic flavorant.” > > [Cola - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola) Awww … I thought that was clever … but thanks for the correction … only use the stuff to clean stubborn stains out of the flooring tiles … ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/18 "2017-07-07T03:27:51Z")
To continue on with the questions about cola flavor, just how much flavoring does the cola nut give the drink? Does anyone market a “cola” with just the other flavorings and not the cola nut? I’m rather curious how much of a difference there would be. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/19 "2017-07-08T04:07:37Z")
Minor correction : it’s the [Kola nut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut), with a K. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590/20 "2017-07-08T05:26:25Z")
Forget the cola. Let’s explore the coca part! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590.md?page=2)