Instructions: I make no bones about it: I love vanilla. Id take a bath in it if I could.

Vanilla is as familiar a flavor to the home baker as chocolate. With its comforting perfume and delicate floral flavor, it is the most widely used spice. and that popularity has created greater demand for all sorts of vanilla products.

These days, vanilla is available in myriad forms: the familiar liquid extract, a dry powder, whole beans or ground whole beans. To help you sort through the choices, heres a guide.

What is vanilla?

Vanilla is an extract, made from a flowering tropical orchid vine that is indigenous to Mexico. (It also was planted on the island of Bourbon - now Reunion - Madagascar, Indonesia, Tahiti, the Seychelles and the Comoro Islands.) The blossoms open only one day a year and must be handpicked.

The long, edible green fruit pods are fermented, or cured, in the sun. Over weeks, the pod shrivels, turns brown and develops its complex flavor, which includes natural vanillin, the primary flavor we associate with vanilla.

The word vanilla comes from the Spanish words vainilla, meaning small scabbard, and vaina, or string bean, which is what the pods look like, especially in a bunch. Historically, vanilla has been used as a syrupy tincture to calm upset stomachs. It was a main ingredient in the original Coca-Cola recipe. More recently, it has shown up in perfumes, candles, tobacco and tea.

Extract

Amber-colored, liquid vanilla extract is the most readily available form of vanilla and provides the strongest pure flavor. If you buy only one type of vanilla, buy extract, as its the most convenient and versatile. It is made from beans, alcohol and water in a cold-percolated method similar to brewing coffee.

I asked vanilla expert and food writer Patricia Rain how to determine the best extract for baking. She said quality has to do with using the finest beans and with the extracts alcohol content. You want a brand that is 35 percent to 44 percent alcohol, a level that preserves vanillas 250 fragrance and flavor components.

Most labels identify the extracts country of origin. Bourbon (from Madagascar, where labor is inexpensive) is the most common and affordable. It has a strong, almost musky, yet classic vanilla aroma that I like with nuts, in cinnamon rolls and in icings.

The best Mexican extract is rare and expensive, but lately it has become available in the United States. The cheaper liter bottles that you can buy in Mexico are usually synthetic. They contain 2 percent or less alcohol and some also have toxic coumarin as a booster.

Expensive, high-end Tahitian extract, which has a more floral, licorice-like aroma, is increasingly available. It is considered a delicacy, even by professional bakers, and is especially nice used in doughs with fresh and dried fruits.

My vanilla of choice is Cookie Vanilla, by Cooks, a blend of Tahitian and Bourbon.

Vanilla melds with most foods from the New World, such as chocolate or corn.

(Vanilla corn bread is fantastic.) And it complements other accent flavors, such as coffee, cocoa, sweet spices, raisins, rum, brandy and other extracts.

One teaspoon of vanilla extract is enough to flavor a pound of bread dough or batch of muffins. If you use too much, the flavor becomes harsh. Be especially careful if you get double-strength or twofold extract, which requires only half as much as regular extract.

Good choices include brands such as Cooks and Spice Islands (in supermarkets), Nielsen-Massey (Rains choice, available at Williams-Sonoma and gourmet markets), and Penzeys Ltd. Spice House (mail order only).

McCormick-Schilling stabilizes its vanilla extract with sugar, which can detract from the pure flavor.

Extract lasts about three years if kept in a tightly capped bottle in a cool, dry place away from light, or in the refrigerator. I store pieces of vanilla bean in my extract, both to add flavor to the extract and preserve the bean.

Imitation extracts, which contain artificial vanillin and are made from wood pulp by-products of the paper industry, just cant compare.

Vanilla powder

Powdered vanilla, which is popular in Europe, is made by spraying ribbons of vanilla extract from jets onto a belt lined with dextrose. Its then baked.

Long used in commercial cake mixes, creamy-white powdered vanilla is nice in streusel crumb toppings, in batters with vanilla extract and with chocolate.

In the jar, powdered vanilla can end up in a big, dry lump. Thats OK. Just crumble off what you need. If substituting powdered vanilla for extract, use measure for measure.

Powdered vanilla is available from Nielsen-Massey, McCormick and Cooks. Nielsen-Masseys brand contains no added sugar.

Whole beans

Sleek, flexible whole beans tend to be best used in custards and puddings, cakes, ice creams and other desserts.

Choose from Madagascar-Bourbon, which has a strong, musky flavor and a high concentration of natural vanillin; Mexican, which has a lighter, more complex flavor; and Tahitian, with beans that are the most plump, moist and expensive, producing a fruity flavor.

Store beans in a cool, dark place in plastic or in a glass jar. If a bean is brittle, soak it in warm water or milk until pliable.

To use, cut the bean in half crosswise, then split it in half lengthwise with a small knife. Scrape the seeds into milk or other liquid, then throw in the oil-rich skin. Let steep 10 minutes before removing the bean. I like the flecks from the seeds, which remind me of real vanilla ice cream.

You can also spruce up coffee and sugar with vanilla beans.

When making coffee, put pieces of vanilla bean in the drip basket. Or store vanilla beans along with whole coffee beans. For sugar, I keep a quart spring-top jar that contains pieces of vanilla bean covered with 3 to 4 cups of granulated sugar or powdered sugar. The bean pieces are potent for about 6 months. Use vanilla sugar in addition to extract whenever regular sugar is called for in a sweet bread or icing. Or dust a fresh loaf of holiday bread with vanilla powdered sugar.

Ground beans

Whole vanilla beans can be finely ground, which gives a distinct vanilla flavor. Ground beans are sometimes available from Nielsen-Massey and Cooks. Use a pinch in muffins, batters or yeast doughs. You will see vanilla flecks in the finished loaf.

I am using this type of vanilla more and more. Its easy to make your own ground beans. The technique comes from Rain: Place them on a clean baking sheet and dry them in a 200-degree oven for 10 minutes. Cool before breaking the bean into pieces and grinding it in a coffee grinder.

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