I've been working on a vanilla custard juice. All of my previous iterations had a strange metallic taste to them. I decided to taste the flavorings on a small pin and narrowed it down to the TFA Vanilla Swirl.
Without the Vanilla Swirl, the custard doesn't have enough vanilla flavor.. but with it, it ends up having a metallic taste mingled in with everything else..
Is it just me?.. Does Vanilla Swirl taste metallic to anyone else?..
Most importantly, would a very long steep get rid of the metallic taste? The longest I've steeped the juice, thus far, has been one week. (The rest of the ingredients contain diacetyl and don't seem to really benefit from a steep after the two-day mark.)
I don't get that from Vanilla Swirl. The one flavoring I can think of I get a nasty tingy taste from is TFA Cotton candy. Alot of ppl use it to sub sweetener but if I use it it just makes everything taste nasty.
Have you tried TFAs Vanilla Custard? I find it to be quite a good combo with the Cap VC v1.
I've never noticed any metallic tastes from it, I use TFA Vanilla Swirl in one of my all days vapes, it just tastes like sweet vanilla swirly stuff. Yeah, I'm not exactly a chef or a pro mixer, my idea of flavors is, it's either good or bad, I'm like a caveman banging rocks together over here.
Anyways, since you mentioned you were working on a custard juice, here's my banging rocks together vanilla custardy thing that I threw together when I had a sweet tooth. TFA Vanila Swirl %4, Cap NY Cheesecake %4, and Cap Vanilla Custard V1 at %6. It actually ended up really good as a shake and vape, and like most custardy things, age improves it even more.
No idea why you're getting metallic notes, but I'd maybe wash things thoroughly, new coils, try a new atty, and maybe even try a new bottle of flavoring. If that doesn't work, well, we all have different taste buds.
It's not just you, I get it too if I use more than 2% of it in a mix.
I do get a little non-vanilla taste to vanilla swirl, but I associate it to what I get from FA meringue rather than metallic. Maybe it's just me, but I'm finding 10 days seems to be my sweet spot to see if off notes are going roll in or stick around (or worse, get more pronounced.)
Just started with Cap VC v1 myself, had some bad experiences with VC v2 and VBIC when I first started mixing and that really put me off custards/creams until very recently.
Thanks.
I first started out just aiming to clone TheSauceLA's Vanilla Custard from their Awesometown line.. I went back to compare how I was doing versus their juice and I like mine better, so no matter what, I've surpassed my goal.. I just want more vanilla in my custard.
I guess I'll try a good long steep to see if the metallic twinge still exists.
If you're only after more vanilla and not the creaminess then try TFA vanillin 10%.
I would also maybe try inw vanilla shisha. Its a great creamy vanilla.
I use vanilla swirl in a mix for a ry4 my buddy likes. Never had a metallic taste that I noticed. But there's a lot of other stuff in there so maybe I'll have to try it by itself to see. Also second whoever said tfa VC.i use both a lot.depending on if I want that almost eggy taste.
For vanillas, you can try the 3 types from FA. They have classic (Madagascar?), vanilla Tahiti, and vanilla burbon. One, two, or a combination of the three will add to the pure vanilla flavor while not adding anything off.
Thanks. I never even considered vanilla bourbon. I figured it would taste like.. bourbon.
Not at all, it's more an aged oaky type vanilla. I use that (.5%) and vanilla Tahiti (.5%) with a bit of FA Oakwood (.5%) to make my French vanilla custard a bit earthier. Percentages may be different then what you want though. But keep in mind that when trying to clone something there might be something in there you don't expect.
Fortunately I don't get the metallic thing from vanilla swirl. I just wanted to add one or two more alternatives to the list that no one has mentioned yet.
INW Shisha Vanilla
DIYFS Holy Vanilla
Yup - I don't like Vanilla Swirl at all. You're the first person who nailed it on the head for me - it's got an underlying "metalilic" taste. No matter what I put it in, it ruins the recipe for me. I always thought it was just me because everywhere I look I see people praising it. And for me, no - a long steep doesn't get rid of it.
THANK YOU!
So, I'm not crazy and it isn't just an off batch. I've been accused of being a super-taster, before.. being able to pick out small nuances in foods and beverages and even name individual spices in meals. I wish I lived near a business that would let me take advantage of that. Oh, well.. at least my cooking is awesome.
I'm really happy that someone else confirmed TFA Vanilla Swirl is metallic. I got a lot of great vanilla flavoring suggestions in this post; I'll go with another of them and put this metallic liquid into the vault.
lol... you're welcome. I retired my Vanilla Swirl over a year ago now. I simply gave up trying to make it work. I should just PIF to one of my DIY friends (I'll do that soon, come to think of it). If it's any help I can tell you this is the only vanilla flavor I've ever had a problem with. A quick check of my stash shows I have 14 other flavors with "vanilla" in the title and none of them are off in any way.
Try using TFA French vanilla deluxe instead. Hands down my favourite vanilla concentrate. Combine that with VCV1 and some TFA whipped cream and you got yourself an amazingly creamy vanilla custard. If you're after percentages I'd aim for something like this.....
- CAP vanilla custard v1 6%
- TFA French vanilla deluxe 4%
- TFA whipped cream 2%
Thanks, no one had yet suggested French vanilla deluxe.
I almost bought whipped cream in my last order, but I went with sweet cream, instead.
In Australia we have TFA French Vanilla (no deluxe) and I get an off note at anything above 1%. A peppery taste which is unpleasant. I now use FA Fresh Cream or FLV cream instead, and get vanilla from others (Shisha Vanilla etc).
Sweet cream is good but for me whipped cream is a must. Not many off notes to it and it helps thicken up any dessert/bakery mix with ease. One of my secret weapons for sure
Agreed. TFA Whipped Cream is one of the few flavors that I need to buy in 4 oz bottles because I go through it so fast. The vast majority of my recipes are of the bakery / dessert variety, and there are very few that don't use at least a touch of TFA Whipped Cream.
It's sweet, but light and 'airy', just like actual whipped cream, and mixes well with just about every other flavor. For me, 1–2% gives just a touch of sweetness and cream, and 2.5–4% is like spraying a whole bunch of whipped cream on top.
It has a somewhat strange smell that I can't quite put my finger on, but I don't get any 'off' flavors when using it even at high percentages.
One of my go-to "quick and dirty" recipes (something very simple that I can whip up in under a minute) is:
- 5% CAP Vanilla Custard
- 3.5% TPA Whipped Cream
- 2% TPA Cheesecake Graham Crust
Of course, as you already know, flavor is extremely subjective, so it may turn out that you can't even stand TPA Whipped Cream. For example, Capella has a Vanilla Whipped Cream which is pretty universally well-liked, but I don't care for it at all.
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The only way you’ll know is if you single flavor test it. It could otherwise be a weird interplay between Flavors?
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Many creams do benefit from a >2 week steep. Stop measuring your steeping in days, but in weeks. Next time you mix, mix double the amount and put half of that aside to steep for a month. I guarantee your custard will be different... of course if you prefer it like that or not I can’t say, but many people do.