Tell me about flavored extracts...

[cmd1974]

I think I want to give them a try, for a couple of reasons. First, I'd like to start cutting down on the amount of artificial sweetener I use, and I like the fact that I can control it with the extracts. And second, I find that the flavor in many of the DaVinci syrups in very artificial. One example that comes to mind is the banana. Although I love anything banana and I like the DaVinci, in my opinion it is not a true banana flavor.

Also, I'm thinking the extract might be more cost effective. So, what are your favorite brands and flavors?

[ravenrose]

Interesting you would single out banana... I only had one bottle of Banana DiVinci's, because getting it by mail is so expensive, but my memory is it was much better than any of the banana extracts I have used.

LorAnn has some good ones. I like apple and honey from them, blueberry... a few others.

[Deosil]

I have a few of the Torani ones:

White Chocolate (I like it in bevs and cream cheese. It doesn't taste too "fake")
Hazelnut (Usually use in coffee)
French Vanilla (General purpose whenever anything calls for vanilla and I use it in coffee sometimes or mixes with Hazelnut in coffee)
English Toffee (Really good for coffee or cream cheese items)
Caramel (Same as the Eng Toffee but a bit sweeter/less nuttier)
Raspberry (Tastes "faker" than a lot of them but it is good with club soda and in SF Cheesecake)
Irish Cream (My least favorite)
Peppermint (I don't use it a lot but I like it with some SF Cocoa Powder to make a mint hot choc)

I am going to buy some of the other ones available soon. I really like adding these to make things a bit more diverse in my diet. A nice hot cup of SF Cocoa or coffee with one of these syrups really hits the spot and helps any cravings for sugary dessert things I may have.

[at_last]

I've never found an extract that tastes like banana. They all have that popsicle fake banana flavor (not necessarily a bad thing, just sayin')

I like McCormick extracts, available at most grocery stores in the baking section. Favs so far - raspberry, pineapple, coconut and almond. It only takes a drop or two to flavor a whole water bottle.

[cmd1974]

Your feedback about the banana is helpful. Maybe I need to adjust my expectations and go with the "good enough" banana flavor.

A friend of mine also recommended the McCormick extracts in the grocery store, but in my area they can go up to $7 - $8 a bottle. I'll have to take a closer look next time and see what they have and the cost.

[rubidoux]

I have used "simply organic" lemon flavor a lot and it's pretty good for things like yogurt and cheesecake. I have also used vanilla (there's a good one at costco) and almond (mccormick) and maple (also mccormick) and cinnamon a lot.

This makes me wanna pick up some mascarpone, so yummy w a little truvia and maple flavoring.

[raindroproses]

I enjoy the McCormick Raspberry, Coffee, and Coconut varieties. Mint is also good, but you probably can't screw up mint very badly Vanilla is obviously really standard as well. I haven't tried any other fruit ones yet

[ravenrose]

for the limited flavors of citrus--lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, tangerine--mints, and a few other things, actual essential oils are wonderful. use just a few drops. and refrigerate them.

[ravenrose]

unless you are skipping the artificial sweetener, I don't think you save money with extracts plus sweetener vs. the DaVinci or Torani syrups. When I price it out, it comes out about the same. That is with the syrups around $4 a bottle.

[at_last]

Originally Posted by cmd1974

A friend of mine also recommended the McCormick extracts in the grocery store, but in my area they can go up to $7 - $8 a bottle. I'll have to take a closer look next time and see what they have and the cost.

In my area, Wal-Mart has the lowest cost McCormick extracts, about $3-$4 a bottle. You might take a look there if you have a Wal-Mart near you.

[MargD]

I have LorAnn banana emulsion. I used to know the difference between emulsion and extract, but it escapes me at the moment. I'm very satisfied with the banana flavor it gives baked goods.

A fruit market I go to carries several LorAnn emulsion flavors and I've been meaning to pick up another one.

[alex_in_wonderland]

There is a cake decorating shop near me that I get the little bottles of lorann flavorings from. I keep them in a tupperware container with a couple of droppers. (Like one dropper is only used for peppermint, even though I wash them after every use, the pepp. one is just too strong to use w/ any other flavor).
I've been trying to cut down on soda. I was only drinking Zevia or Blue Sky Free anyway, b/c I can't stand the taste of other diet sodas w/ asparatame and/or splenda. But those two brands also cost twice as much as regular diet soda.
Anyway, I get plain sparkling mineral water and will put a few drops of stevia glycerite and some flavoring to make what amounts to a really light soda.
Some flavors I like to use:
Raspberry Limeade = Raspberry flavor, a tsp of lime juice, stevia
Strawberry Lemonade = Strawberry flavor, a tsp of lemon juice, stevia
Apple or Pear flavor w/ a Tbs of apple cider vinegar and mineral water

I also like Nielsen Massey's Chocolate extract w/ mineral water and sometimes I add mint too.

Another thing I miss is malt flavoring, so I sometimes add a bit of Dandy Blend (its a powder) to almond or coconut milk, yogurt, etc. You can also add it to LC cookies for a bit of malt flavor too.