What is the Difference Between French Vanilla and Vanilla

The main difference between French vanilla and vanilla is that French vanilla is ice cream with a custard base that contains egg yolks, while regular vanilla ice cream is a plain ice cream with vanilla flavor and does not contain any egg yolk.

The egg yolks give French vanilla ice cream a pale-yellow colour, while regular vanilla ice cream is relatively whiter. French vanilla ice cream also has a richer and smoother texture than regular vanilla ice cream.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is French Vanilla 
     – Definition, Ingredients, Features
2. What is Vanilla
     – Definition, Ingredients, Features
2. Similarities Between French Vanilla and Vanilla
     – Outline of Common Features
3. Difference Between French Vanilla and Vanilla
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

French Vanilla, VanillaDifference Between French Vanilla and Vanilla - Comparison Summary

What is French Vanilla

French vanilla is a type of ice cream that has egg yolks added to its base. This is the reason behind the slight pale yellow colour of French vanilla ice cream. Regular vanilla ice cream, on the other hand, is rather white in its appearance.

Compared to the consistency of plain vanilla ice cream, eggs give French vanilla ice cream a smoother and creamier texture. When focusing on the flavour profile, French vanilla ice cream has a relatively richer and a little bit denser taste to it compared with regular vanilla ice cream. This is because regular vanilla ice cream is usually made just using milk, cream, and sugar.

Compare French Vanilla and Vanilla

Although French vanilla flavour technically blends only with ice cream, there are many products in the local market with the French vanilla flavour: Coffee creamers, French vanilla chocolate, French vanilla cheesecake, etc. This means that these products usually have a rich, custardy, eggy and caramelized touch to their taste.

What is Vanilla

Vanilla ice cream is the frequently preferred ice cream flavour among ice cream lovers all over the world. When making vanilla ice cream, the manufacturers usually blend vanilla essence with cream, milk, and sugar.

French Vanilla vs Vanilla

The vanilla essence gives the ice cream a very natural aroma and a tasty vanilla flavour. Vanilla ice cream is used to make lots of other ice cream flavours such as fruit punch, Halo Top Vanilla Bean, Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean, Edy’s Slow Churned French Vanilla, Rocky road, etc. Vanilla ice cream can also be made as a sugar-free product by adding a sugar substitute instead of sugar and also can be made as a low-fat version by blending with low-fat ingredients such as low-fat cream and low-fat milk.

Similarities Between French Vanilla and Vanilla

  • French vanilla and vanilla are two popular varieties of ice cream all dessert lovers prefer.
  • They include vanilla essence, milk, sugar and cream as ingredients.
  • Manufacturers can easily turn both French vanilla and vanilla ice cream into fat-free or sugar-free products.

Difference Between French Vanilla and Vanilla

Definition

French vanilla is ice cream with a custard base that contains egg yolks, while regular vanilla ice cream is a plain vanilla flavoured ice cream that does not contain any egg yolk.

Colour

The added egg yolks give French vanilla ice cream a slightly yellow shade, while regular vanilla ice cream is usually white in colour.

Flavor and Texture

French vanilla ice cream has a slightly more complex and richer flavour than regular vanilla ice cream. Texture-wise, the French vanilla variety is smoother and creamier than regular vanilla ice cream.

Conclusion

The main difference between French vanilla and vanilla ice cream is that French vanilla ice cream contains milk, cream, vanilla essence, sugar, and egg yolks, while regular vanilla ice cream base does not contain egg yolks. If you are a dessert lover, both French vanilla and vanilla are two ice cream desserts powerful enough to captivate your taste buds.

Reference:

1. Denenberg, Zoe. “We Tasted 8 Vanilla Ice Creams, and These Are Our Favorites.” Southern Living.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Vanilla bean ice cream (3086700978)” By a.pasquier from bellingham, washington – vanilla bean (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “672295” (CC0) via Pxhere

About the Author: Anuradha

Anuradha has a BA degree in English, French, and Translation studies. She is currently reading for a Master's degree in Teaching English Literature in a Second Language Context. Her areas of interests include Arts and Literature, Language and Education, Nature and Animals, Cultures and Civilizations, Food, and Fashion.

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