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Name: Sam
Status: other
Grade: other
Location: VA
Date: July 2008
Question:
On my maple syrup it says that it contains "ethyl vanillin." Does this mean that it contains alcohol (ethanol)? If not, does it mean that ethanol is used in the production of vanillin?


Replies:
Hello Sam:

When you see the word ethyl included in a chemicals name, it does not necessarily mean it has alcohol in it; it does mean that the chemical in question has a part of its structure that is similar to ethanol or ethyl alcohol. This similarity is called the "ethyl" group: which, in short, refers to a structure composed of 2 carbon atoms along with their accompanying hydrogens..

So without confusing the issue too much, the answer is no, ethanol is not the same as ethyl vanillin. Ethyl vanillin is synthetic (man-made) chemical, similar in structure to vanillin. Vanillin is the primary chemical (among many other naturally-occurring chemicals) that gives the vanilla bean its particular flavor. Ethyl vanillin is about 3.5x stronger in flavor potency than vanillin, but it is slightly different with regard to the note of the flavor. Ethyl vanillin is used as an artificial additive to enhance the flavor of your maple syrup; and it is used in many foods, drinks and medicinal formulations as a flavor additive. Ethyl vanillin is sometimes made from guethol, which originally comes from petrochemical oils. Sounds tasty huh?

Hope this helps,

Joel Jadus

Sam,

Ethyl vanillin is a common synthetic substitute for vanillin. Natural vanilla extracts contain many different compounds of which vanillin is only one of them. Since vanilla extract can be expensive to produce in quantity, methyl vanillin and ethyl vanillin (both synthetic) are used as substitutes. It is said that ethyl vanillin is many times stronger in flavor and aroma than vanillin itself - and as such less of it needs to be used to get a similar flavor and aroma.

I am not sure how the synthetic vanillins are produced so I cannot tell you if ethanol is used in the process. I can tell you that by the time the synthetic substitute is produced it bares no resemblance to ethanol (if it were used in the process).

Greg (Roberto Gregorius)


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