Yet another chemistry question - Mark/Stuart, help please !

Oh yum, oh yum, oh yum, Celia!

I love love love vanilla and have been known to use an excessive amount in my desserts.

Not too much to add to what's been said already.

Since vanillin, the primary active ingredient in vanilla beans, is polar, I'd expect it to extract well in ethanol, a polar solvent. I'd then opt for high ethanol content, relative to water, to extract more of the non-polar components.

If you like rum, a 151-proof dark rum (75% ethanol) such as Bacardi 151 or Goslings 151 will do the trick nicely.

If you want to use neutral spirits, I suggest the highest proof vodka you can find, or buy Everclear (95% ethanol) and cut it back a bit. Or not.

I'm thus not surprised that Celia's pure-vodka batch turned out better. I'd wager even better results with Everclear cut back to 80% (160 US proof). Or used straight.

-Paul W.