Where are Silver Cloud's products
Silver Cloud's Vanilla Beans and Pure Vanilla Extract
are produced on the Silver Cloud Estates, located in the beautiful Nilgiri, or
Blue Mountains, of Southern India. The products are packaged and shipped to
customers from our facility in Baltimore, Maryland. This enables us to deliver
orders within a few days of them being placed.
Silver Cloud's Vanilla Bean Paste, Vanilla Sugar,
pure premium extracts, natural flavors and imitation extracts and flavors are
all manufactured, packaged and shipped from Baltimore. Any vanilla sold or used
in our products, except our Pure Mexican Vanilla Extract, is always
from the estates.
What is propylene glycol?
Most flavor ingredients (essential oils, oleoresins and aromatic chemicals) are
oil soluble and will not disperse in water. This can be a problem, since the
majority of food and beverage products are aqueous. As a result various
solvents, emulsifiers and carriers are used in flavors to disperse the oil
Propylene glycol is a food grade, clear, colorless, slightly syrupy, solvent,
which is hygroscopic and relatively inexpensive. It is highly effective in
dispersing oil soluble flavor ingredients. Other commonly used solvents and
carriers are ethyl alcohol, polysorbate 80, and triacetin. The solvent, or
combination of solvents, which are used in a particular extract or flavor is
largely based on the characteristics of the flavor ingredients, food product
being flavored and customer requirements.
Propylene glycol, which is generally known as "PG" in the flavor industry,
tastes bitter and is slightly sweet. If you dip a finger in some of your
flavors and extracts containing propylene glycol and taste them, these
characteristics are very evident. Since most extracts and flavors are
used at low levels (0.50% or less) the flavor of propylene glycol is
rarely perceptible in foods or beverages.
The propylene glycol used by Silver Cloud meets the requirements established by
the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) the U.S. Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) as
well as the European and Japanese Pharmacopeias. It also meets the
requirements of the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia (Farmacopéia Brasileira), and
fulfills the purity criteria detailed in the European Council Directive
2000/63/EC for food additives, other than colors and sweeteners.
Propylene glycol also functions as a preservative in extracts and flavors. Many
retail extracts and flavors would not be completely shelf stable without
What is an imitation extract?
The term "imitation" extract was popularized by McCormick & Co. and other
manufacturers of retail bakery extracts to describe extracts containing
artificial flavors. Although they are one and the same, consumers prefer the
term imitation to artificial. Imitation extracts are typically less expensive
than pure extracts and natural flavors. This is largely due to the fact that
the synthetic flavor ingredients used to make imitation extracts are generally
less expensive than their natural equivalents.
How are flavor extracts made?
Every time you make coffee in a coffee maker, you are making an extract.
In the example of coffee you are using water as the solvent to extract the
flavor compounds. In many cases, however, the flavor compounds found
in botanicals are not water soluble, but rather oil soluble. As an
example, if you attempted to make "coffee" using ground black pepper it
would have little flavor and pungency. This is due to the fact that most
of the flavor compounds in pepper are not water soluble, but rather oil
soluble. As a result, solvents such as ethyl alcohol, which extract oil
soluble compounds, are used to make extracts.
Many extracts are not "true" extracts, but rather solutions in ethyl alcohol
and water. While it's relatively easy to make extracts, it is challenging
to make them well. The exact process a company uses is usually considered
proprietary. A well made extract will be clear and will not cloud the
product in which it is being used.
When a "true" flavor extract is made, the ingredient being extracted is actually
"washed" using a mixture of ethyl alcohol and water. The ingredient
(in this example an essential oil) is placed in a tank. Alcohol and water
are pumped into the tank and the three products are blended together. The
amount of alcohol and water, as well as the amount of agitation, is adjusted
depending on the ingredient being extracted and the extract's
The mixture (alcohol, water and essential oil) is then allowed to settle.
The alcohol and water will slowly separate from the essential
oil. As this separation occurs, the flavor from the essential oil is
extracted into the alcohol and water. This process can take a few hours
or sometimes several days. Extraction with alcohol is not completely
efficient and as a result much of the flavor remains in the product being
The alcohol and water, which at this point is typically described as
an "intermediate" is then filtered and usually adjusted with additional
alcohol. The added alcohol helps to clarify the finished
Botanicals, such as vanilla beans are washed in a similar manner. The main
difference is the solvent (alcohol and water) is circulated through the cut
beans in lieu of it being a static process. More detailed information about the
extraction of vanilla beans is available at
Why is glycerin used in some flavors and imitation
Glycerin, like propylene glycol, is used as a solvent in flavors. While
propylene glycol has superior solvent characteristics, it is
bitter tasting and there is a limit to how much can be used in a flavor
formulation without imparting a bitter note. Glycerin, therefore, is
sometimes used in flavor with propylene glycol to help improve its solubility
and reduce the amount of propylene glycol needed. Natural glycerin is
also one of the few organic compliant solvents a flavor chemist has to
use. As a result, it is increasingly being used in flavors for
Do Silver Cloud's extracts contain any sugar or gluten?
All of Silver Cloud's extracts are gluten free and do not contain any added
sugar. Our Vanilla Sugar and Vanilla Bean Paste are also
gluten free. These two products, however, do contain sugar.
What is triacetin and why is it used in flavors?
Triacetin, like propylene glycol, is another food grade solvent. It is
used in many oil miscible flavors to dissolve powdered flavor ingredients, such
as vanillin and heliotropine. Triacetin is also sometimes used to improve
the stability of "heat stressed" flavors in baking and cooking applications.
Where are vanilla beans grown?
Until recently vanilla beans were grown in just four countries,
Madagascar, Indonesia, Mexico and Tahiti. Today, they are also grown
commercially in India, Uganda and Papua New Guinea. Small quantities are
also produced in Costa Rica and in Hawaii. For more information
How many times a year is vanilla harvested?
Vanilla beans are picked just once a year. This is true no matter
where the beans are grown. For more detailed information about the
growing of vanilla visit