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    Food » Tips and Tricks » The Difference Between French Vanilla and Vanilla Ice Cream

    The Difference Between French Vanilla and Vanilla Ice Cream

    Posted: 07/04/2019 | Last updated: 03/08/2021 by Erin 1 Comment
    Post may contain affiliate links via Amazon Associates or other programs. (Disclosure)

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    Source: Pixabay - no attribution required

    Is there a difference between French vanilla and vanilla ice cream?  

    I spent a large portion of my life not knowing if there was actually a difference in calling an ice cream flavor French vanilla, other than it sounded extra special.  I admit, I'd always been drawn to the name because it just sounded fancy.  Ooh, French vanilla?  Not just plain ol' vanilla?  Well then, that has to mean it uses some kind of fancy pants vanilla bean, right?  Vanilla that's grown in rural France, sold for $10 per pod, and tastes way better than any other vanilla, right?

    In reality, French vanilla has nothing to do with the vanilla itself. An ice cream is called French vanilla if it uses egg yolks in the ice cream base.  The egg yolks create a richer, smoother, and more creamy consistency in the finished dessert.  This bit of info was news to me, as I've always considered custard-based ice creams superior to their eggless cousins but had no idea that the addition of egg yolks was the determining factor for what made a vanilla ice cream French or not.

    So, I guess I did have good reason for always reaching for the French vanilla versions of store-bought ice cream since I always start with a custard base using egg yolks whenever I make ice cream at home, only now I know the real reason behind my long-ingrained preference.

    Oh, and as an extra tidbit, did you know that vanilla ice cream made without egg yolks in the base can be called Philadelphia style? I didn't either!  Though no offense to you Philly-dwellers out there, but I don't think "Philadelphia Vanilla" has quite as nice of a ring to it.

    What about the vanilla itself?  Because it is a bit of a temperamental plant that can only thrive within 20 degrees north or south of the equator, most of the world's vanilla is grown in Madagascar, with the bulk of the remaining crops found in Tahiti and Mexico.  So while that ice cream you're indulging in may be labeled French vanilla, it likely uses vanilla from one of those three areas.  Pretty wild, right?

    But now that we know what actually makes French vanilla ice cream... French... we can all agree that it is way better than its non-Frenchy siblings, am I right?  Fight me in the comments.

     

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    About Erin

    Erin is a mom of two human babies and two fur-covered babies. She loves comfy clothes, eats too much peanut butter, and watches excessive amounts of Netflix. Make her day and toss her a like on Facebook or follow her on Instagram. Post may contain affiliate links including those via the Amazon Associates program

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    Comments

    1. Dena

      July 18, 2019 at 10:06 am

      Interesting. What about New York Vanilla? Also vanilla bean, however that probably is just the flecks of actual vanilla bean in the regular vanilla?

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    Hi, I'm Erin! I love food and I bet you do, too! I cook for my family and share the recipes that we love. We also like to camp, so there will be a fair bit about that around here, too.

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