Pure Vanilla Extract — OKAY

Munch or Dump rates Pure Vanilla Extract by Nielsen-Massey OKAY — score 60/90.

A genuinely clean, four-ingredient flavoring extract: water, alcohol, a touch of sugar, and real vanilla bean. No artificial flavors, colors, or fillers. Used a teaspoon at a time, so the alcohol and sugar barely register in the finished dish.

Why this verdict

• Only four recognizable ingredients, none artificial
• Real vanilla bean extract, not synthetic vanillin
• Contains added cane sugar, though a very small amount
• 35% alcohol carrier, but it's a flavoring used by the teaspoon
• Non-GMO and free of fillers, colors, and stabilizers

Ingredients (4)

• Water (safe) — Inert; just adjusts texture.
• Alcohol (35%) (moderate) — Ethanol carrier that pulls flavor from the vanilla bean. Concerning in a drink, but you use this by the teaspoon and most cooks off, so the real exposure is tiny.
• Sugar (concerning) — Added refined sugar, listed high - spikes blood sugar with no nutrition.
• Vanilla Bean Extractives (3%) (safe) — The real deal: actual vanilla bean compounds, not synthetic vanillin. This is what you're paying for.