Raw Vanilla Extract

[Raene]

Where do you find raw and non-alcohol based vanilla extract?? Thanks.

[rawpriestess]

I buy raw vanilla beans from a friend who lives in Mexico, she just mails them to me, but I used to use Frontier's vanilla, and vanillyn, you can find Frontier at most health food stores, they have sevral different kinds of vanilla, one wihtout alcohol.

there spices are raw, dehydrated at 95 degrees, so I liked them, before we started growing our own.

[codajess]

I was wondering about this myself. I bought two vanilla beans ($12, ack!) and was looking for vanilla extract. I ended up buying Frontier's vanilla extract that doesn't have alcohol in it. My question is about the glycerin in it. Does that make it unraw??? It was the purest vanilla extract I could find, all other brands had alcohol and or corn syrup in them.

When using the beans in recipes, how do you use them? I've never used fresh beans before. Do you grind them then use them, or what? Sorry, I'm not too smart about this cooking/uncooking thing.

When I read recipes on here that call for vanilla, are they using vanilla extract, or beans?