The Rule To Follow When Swapping Extracts And Oils In Baked Goods

It's difficult to stumble upon a baking recipe that doesn't call for vanilla extract. But there's another way to pack flavor and aroma into your next supply of vanilla frosting or coconut cream: essential oils, which are super-condensed extracts of a plant or spice. Some essential oils, though not all, can be used sparingly in baking. They're significantly stronger than extracts and make sense to use if you want the added flavor to be more pronounced in the final product. When making that swap you'll want to measure the oil in drops, not teaspoons.

For example, a recipe for yellow cake might call for a teaspoon of vanilla extract. The same recipe would benefit from about three drops of vanilla oil. Add too much, and your cake will begin smelling less like a baked good and more like your favorite aisle at Bath and Body Works. If you're feeling skittish about the flavor, try mixing one or two drops of oil into your batter to start. Pour a small pat of batter onto a heated pan and taste the cooked sample — adjusting as you see fit.

Here's what sets essential oils apart from extracts: The process of making them is completely different. Vanilla extract, for example, is created by soaking vanilla beans in an ethyl alcohol-water solution, resulting in a fairly concentrated flavor. You can probably imagine the smell of the tiny bottle right now.

Essential oil, however, is a different animal altogether. Flavorful oil is drawn from the source — whether that be a vanilla pod, a lavender plant, thyme — through processes like distillation or cold pressing. After the oil is separated, it's not mixed or diluted with other ingredients, leading to a purer and even more highly concentrated solution.

Before you start experimenting, check out the Food and Drug Administration's list of essential oils that are safe for consumption. These range from coffee and violet to more savory spices like tarragon, rosemary and turmeric — possible bursts of flavor for your next loaf of bread or batch of homemade crackers.