Pure Vanilla Sugar is the only way to go and Nielsen Massey has it

Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar

Nielsen Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar is a product I recently had the opportunity to review.  Before I told you my views of their bourbon pure vanilla sugar, I thought it’s important to learn a little more about vanilla.  Fortunately Nielsen Massey has some great information about the origins and history of vanilla on their website.

If you’ve been reading my posts, you now know that there are over 100 types of garlic.  But who knew there were different types of vanilla.  We all go to the store and look at the spice section and you basically see 2 kinds of vanilla, the imitation version and the “real” version.  Vanilla is a staple in most homes today.  Almost every baking product requires some amount of vanilla and creative cooks have even found ways to use it in savory dishes.  So my first recommendation is to always buy the “pure” version. 

But now I have found out vanilla is made in different areas all over the world and each think about it.  All grown foods can be influenced by the dirt they are grown in the humidity level and the basic surroundings.

Vanilla was first grown in Mexico but can also be found in Madagascar, Tahiti and Indonesia to name a few.  I won’t go into the details about how each country began growing vanilla but if you want more information you can find it on their site.  Vanilla from each of these reasons can be great if you get it from one of the top distributors of these products like Nielsen Massey.  I was asked to review their Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar.  And for those of you who are thinking that bourbon pure vanilla sugar has bourbon in it, think again.  Bourbon is just the region of Madagascar where it’s grown.  

Now I am not the baker in the family.  That’s my husband.  So he wanted to see what it did to a basic recipe like chocolate chip cookies.  He left out the sugar and vanilla and used the Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar instead.  We really didn’t expect much.  I mean sugar is sugar, right? WRONG!!

The first thing we noticed was the smell.  It had a different smell than regular sugar.  The consistency looked the same but it seemed to have a richer scent to it.  But we kept our hopes for this sugar in check until we tasted the final product.  The house smelled great while they were cooking.  Again, we kept our hopes in check.  When they came out we both grabbed them as soon as they came off the cookie sheet.

The flavor produced by the sugar was amazing.   It added another level of flavor to the cookies.  What I did notice was that the chocolate chips actually overshadowed the wonderful flavor of vanilla.  The next batch of chocolate chip cookies will include the bourbon vanilla sugar and exclude the chocolate chips…imagine that! 

This sugar is not something I would use every day to bake cookies for the kids.  I’m not sure they would even notice as they stuff 5 of them in their mouths.  But if you want to take your holiday or special baked products to another level, they I highly recommend this product.  I know you won’t be disappointed.  I brought some of them into work and my co-workers were very upset when the plate was empty.  I think this product may win me over when it comes to baking.  We have decided that our next test will be Crème Brulee Cheesecake!  If you would like some recipes, you can find them on Nielsen Massey’s recipe page.  Oh….one more thing….I have been ordered to purchase 10 more bottles of the sugar.  It will definitely become a staple in our house.  

Nielsen Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar can be found on the internet at sites such as Amazon, Williams Sonoma, or Kitchen & Company.  I’m sure there are more, but this will get you started.

I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above in exchange for an honest opinion.  I only recommend products or services I use personally and/or I believe would be helpful for my readers.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.  Your experience with the product(s) or service(s) may differ from mine.