what is artificial vanilla made from
Real Vanilla is Natural, but Natural Vanilla is Fake. What most gourmands would define as ârealâ and ânaturalâ vanilla flavoring is simple: Vanilla beans steeped in alcohol. But vanillin, the chemical responsible for vanillaâs taste and flavor, is a far more complicated beast. Chemically identical to real vanilla, artificial vanilla can be made from clove oil, pine bark, coal tar, bran, even cow dung. Until fairly recently, the chemical lignin, derived from wood pulp, was the most common way of synthesizing vanillin.