Watkins Baking Powder and Double-Strength Vanilla

I go through baking powder like crazy. I make buttermilk biscuits several times a month in addition to pancakes, waffles, quick breads, and cakes. To me it seems like one baking powder is as good as the next.



One thing that attracted me to the Watkins baking powder is that it is aluminum free. (A good post about why you should use aluminum free baking powder can be found here.)

I liked this baking powder. I can't say that it did a better job than my regular baking powder--I'd need a few weeks in a scientific lab (without kids, the computer or a telephone, or diapers to change...ahem) to distinguish any differences. But I honestly can tell you the I did notice a difference in taste. Really--I could. Maybe it was in my head, but I could tell a difference. No funny after tastes. (Again--see here. Even David Lebovitz says that about AF baking powder.)

It comes in a 262 gram (9.25 oz.) can for $4.99, which is a fairly reasonable price.

Verdict: A good aluminum free baking powder.

Original Double-Strength Vanilla:



After my mom asked me about the Petro-Carbo Salve, she started gushing about Watkins Vanilla extract. She and my grandmother used it exclusively for a long time. I remember my mom having a big bottle in the cupboard.

I bought my own Watkins vanilla extract when I was in college from a client at the bank where I worked. I loved it.

I haven't used Watkins vanilla since then. The local stores where I lived in NY didn't carry it. I got used to using a few different brands and vanilla beans. (Then we started using homemade...)

You know how I like to pretend I'm a scientist. It was fun to start baking a few different things with the Watkins vanilla and get reacquainted.

I made a few different things ranging from plain sugar cookies to vanilla ice cream.

I could detect a difference in flavor that I haven't found in other brands--it is unique. I looked at the ingredient list and discovered that Watkins uses a blend of pure vanilla extract and artificially flavored vanilla.

Awhile back Cooks' Illustrated did a vanilla taste test. It was scandalous! Imitation vanilla from CVS pharmacy outranked expensive pure vanillas in baked goods. (Read the full article here.)

I am assuming that the combination of the pure and artificial vanilla gives the Watkins vanilla the unique flavor, but also the promised flavor retention for recipes requiring baking or freezing.

Now, what do I think about the Watkins vanilla?

The vanilla tasted great. It seemed to be twice as strong as regular vanilla extract.

I loved it in plain ol' sugar cookies. The flavor was just as strong after baking as it was in the dough.

I don't know if you'd count this as a postive or negative, the vanilla flavor in the ice cream reminded us of store bought ice cream. The only conclusion we could come to is that there are other flavor additives in the vanilla to give it such a distinct flavor. It had almost a buttery, candy taste to it. We're snobs and we've grown accustomed to the subtle flavor of real vanilla bean in our ice cream and custards. The "candy" flavor of the ice cream wasn't for us.

The vanilla was awesome in one of our favorite recipes, Carolyn's Syrup. (Which is just a caramel sauce made with buttermilk.)

I can't wait to try it in a cake I'm making for next week...(I'll tell you about it later.)

Original Double Strength Vanilla comes in several sizes, as well as a few other varieties. Click here to see the full range.

Verdict: A delicious vanilla. Great flavor retention in baked goods and ice cream. Powerful. Reminiscent of buttery candy. Tastes a little different than traditional pure vanilla.