Instead, artificial vanilla flavoring is made ... beaver vanilla. But while the FDA says castoreum in food is generally safe and permits its use in products under the label of imitation vanilla ...

Castoreum, a substance from sacs near a beaver’s anus, has been used in human products for more than 2,000 years. Some wonder if it's still an ingredient on today's grocery shelves.

Let's break down the difference between the vanillas at the grocery store: Which one is worth the splurge, and is there really beaver goo ... Use it to make homemade vanilla extract, infuse ...

And although the myth that imitation vanilla is made with beaver gland secretions has been largely debunked, I'd still prefer to use the real deal or at least a boozy substitute. So maybe it's ...

To make the extract itself, a combination of water and alcohol is passed over chopped vanilla beans for several days before the liquid is aged for further flavor development. Imitation vanilla is ...

Are there beaver secretions in your vanilla ... They then use alcohol to extract castoreum, similar to how vanilla is removed from the plant to make your vanilla ice cream, Francl says.