It sounds like you have been reading the article on www.straightdope.com. While it is very informative, it does create some confusion. In order to understand the difference between Pure Mexican Vanilla and Mexican Vanilla Extracts of Vanilla you need to understand how it is produced. Mexican Vanilla comes from a bean. The only pure form can come from a Mexican Vanilla Bean. Pure denotes that nothing has been added to or taken away from. So the only Pure form of Mexican Vanilla is a bean.

In order to use this bean in cooking, baking, etc. you will need it in it's liquid form. In order for the Vanilla to be blended with water, there is an ingredient added called Propylenglycol. Another ingredient that is found in Mexican Vanilla is alcohol. Alcohol is used as a preservative and also to keep the solution sterile. The claim that states that Mexican Vanilla has to have 35% alcohol to be pure vanilla is silly at best. It all depends upon whether you are looking for a fresh vanilla taste, or are looking for an alcoholic flavor.

The price is high for vanilla from Mexico... that's true. Anytime you bring in authentic products from outside of the country, you will be paying a higher price. The shipping cost alone will make items a higher price. The price also depends upon the quantity shipped into the United States. If you purchase and ship one bottle at a time into the U.S. your prices would be enormous. If you ship items on pallets by the truck loads, your prices will be significantly lower.

You do need to be careful that you get a vanilla extract that has been FDA approved. There aren't that many out there. You can find many illegal (brought across the border) brands on E-bay.

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

Sincerely,
www.MexicanVanillaExtract.com