I recall when I first read about INW Rhubarb and its authenticity. I had to try it, only to sample it and throw it in the bottom of the box. I was recently discussing baking things like apple crisp and rhubarb crisp at work, when someone asked if I could make a rhubarb custard vape. It got my creative gears turning, trying to figure out ways to impart INW Rhubarb into that type of recipe without it being overly tart and also without just dumping sweetener in to mask what might otherwise be an undesirable flavor in a vape. I've always thought that proper pairings and the right additives should eliminate any need to pour diluted sucralose into a mix unless you're trying to clone a commercial juice.
What I came up with is shake and vapable and carries plenty of sweetness without the gunk. It isn't exactly a "custard" in my opinion, but it isn't exactly a "crisp" either. It is however, delightful and very tasty.
Those of you that have a bottle of INW Rhubarb already understand the potency and subjective "vile tartness" of the flavor. It can be too sour, tart, vegetal, whatever sensitivities it hits your palate with. That being said, it is very true to it's name and Inawera did a great job as far as authenticity with this one. Readers who have had the pleasure of gnawing on freshly picked rhubarb from the garden will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't like it and you have a bottle, it is workable, the key is pairing it with a supporting cast of fruits that can accent it without taking over.
This flavor reminds me of a strong white wine. It carries a fermented note and does wonders with wetness in a recipe without adding the aloe funk INW Cactus would. I used it (ages ago) in my Grape Ice Cream Cone to add a little jazz and beef up the main fruit note. I still make it fairly regularly to this day, Koolada and all, although some prefer it without the chill factor. I've tried many other fruit combos on this base, but I've found the ones I like best kept the Liquid Amber. Without it, the fruit note gets lost in the mix and fades into the backgrund. But back those creams off, and we lose that thick ice cream volume and mouthfeel. It took a lot of trial and error to conclude that I needed FA Liquid Amber in this recipe, and I carried that experience to the recipe below.
Not an earthy green pear like TFA Pear. This one is more of a candied pear with its bright juiciness. It almost comes off as "crisp", and carries a lingering sweetness on the tongue. It does have a relatively authentic pear taste, but there is definitely some extra sweetness to go along with it. I tend use it at lower percentages to brighten up fruit recipes rather than cheating in a sweetener. It blends well with the green note of the rhubarb and helps ease the tartness into something much more palatable.
As a standalone strawberry, it holds its own, but it does benefit from being put with other strawberry flavors if you're after a full on strawberry taste. It has jammy properties, comes off a bit candied, and lends some soft creaminess, almost a puree if you will. It works well with every strawberry I've tried it with. Here, it serves as a great addition to the fruit portion of the recipe, mellowing out the rhubarb a bit further while giving the mix a bright hint of strawberry without coming to the front.
CAP definitely hit the cinnamon with this one, but some say the bakery "danish" portion got left out along with the "swirl". It doesn't have the thick breadiness you would expect, and that's fine for this recipe. I started out trying for a rhubarb crisp, but tabled the idea and decided to make the mix a bit more gooey, bringing the next two flavors to the party. This could probably be backed down to the 1.5-2% range for the cinnamon sensitive. As far as using v2 here, just don't, you will be disappointed. I've subbed CDS v2 in other recipes, and it doesn't do the wonderful things v1 does.
This is one ingredient I find to be a bit under-rated and under-utilized. All opinions aside, I find this a much more valuable ingredient than CAP Vanilla Custard. It doesn't take much to get the job done, and it's much thicker and egg-ier as a custard should be. Some say it has a vanilla note, others claim there to be none. I personally don't pick up vanilla from this one, maybe more of a heavy milk/cream sort of thing that would definitely play into a cereal recipe a lot better than actual dairy/milk offerings out there. At 1.5%, it serves as part of a thick and solid base for the fruits to sit on without turning the recipe into an eggy fruit + cream sort of thing.
This is not a strong or dark vanilla flavoring. At 1%, it provides a quite bit of body without bullying out other ingredients. I find it incredibly versatile, much like TFA Vanilla Swirl, yet I find this to be a little thicker and more concentrated. It's a great booster for the Custard, and adds another layer of depth to the gooey base. If you don't have this, TFA Vanilla Swirl at 2% should be an OK sub, but order yourself some of this because you're missing out on a fantastic ingredient.
Rhubarb Delight (ATF Link)
MFG|Flavor|% :--|:--:|--: INW|Rhubarb (yc)|0.3 FA|Liquid Amber|1 FA|Pear|0.5 INW|Shisha Strawberry|0.5 CAP|Cinnamon Danish Swirl|3 INW|Custard|1.5 INW|Shisha Vanilla|1 Total 7.8%
Looks phenomenal!
I can't believe that I still haven't gotten around to trying DANK. That's been on my to-mix list forever. It's time do something about that. Especially now that I see it got the RuntDastardly seal of approval.
I too favorited this on ATF forever-ago and have been meaning to mix it up. Not sure how I keep forgetting.
How important do you think it is to use FW's bavarian cream? Dont have it but i have TPAs and id like to try this recipe. Are they pretty different tasting?
I actually ran out of my big bottle of FW a while back and have been using TFA for the past 6 months or so. I can't say there's a whole lot of difference in the overall profile of the recipe. I might have to change that or maybe note that it works as a sub. Everyone is pretty familiar with TFA Bavarian Cream, but I don't see many mixers using FW.