two things you might want to know (or three)

the first thing is that...

vanilla extract contains alcohol!

since i don't drink alcohol, this information really surprised me. i thought for some times if i had vanilla extract, i would use it in my recipes, and i was happy when i found out how to make vanilla extract in a beautiful mess.

but it was said that vanilla extract was made by soaking vanilla beans in vodka.

and i decided to ask Wikipedia...

Vanilla extract is a solution containing the flavor compound vanillin as the primary ingredient. Pure vanilla extract is made by macerating and percolating vanilla beans in a solution of ethyl alcohol and water. In the United States, in order for a vanilla extract to be called pure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that the solution contain a minimum of 35% alcohol and 13.35 ounces of vanilla bean per gallon.

in a hurry i searched for vanilla extract that didn't contain any kind of alcoholic drinks

Q. Are there non-alcoholic vanilla extracts? 

A. Yes and no. There are non-alcoholic vanillas but the FDA requires that they not be labeled Pure Vanilla Extract as they don't contain alcohol. They are usually called Pure Natural Vanilla, are made in a glycerin base and contain as much vanilla as extracts. They provide a reasonable non-alcoholic solution for flavoring foods and beitteverages. 

but a beautiful mess also says

Now you might be thinking: Wait, I'm going to be putting vodka in my cupcake recipes? I'm not too comfortable with that idea. Don't worry-the alcohol burns out as the recipe bakes, leaving only the delicious taste of vanilla.

how is that? is it fine with you who don't drink alchohol?

the second thing is that...

bitter also contains alcohol!

okay. some of you probably already knew that before, but i didn't. i didn't know if bitter was an alcoholic drink, what i knew was that bitter was something bitter (hahaha) used in cooking. but a beautiful mess mentions

*note: bitters do contain alcohol, but only a small amount. 

okay, that explains enough for me. what i have to know:

Non-Alcoholic Bitters

• Bradley's Bitters
• Bitter KAS (Spain)
• Chino
• Crodlino
• Fanta Chinotto (made from Chinotto)
• Hella Bitter
• Gioia (Canada)
• Sanbitter
• Stirrings Blood Orange

stirrings blood orangec

one more thing you might want to know...

you who don't drink alcohol, but like rum, can add the taste of rum to your cooking using rum zero.

Zero Rhum 70ml, Rp 16.000,-
Titan Baking

it's rum that doesn't contain alcohol. i myself don't really like its taste, because it's sharp and when it's added to pudding's vla, the vla doesn't really smell like vanilla anymore :)

xo gege arasy