152  Standards  for  Flavoring  Extracts.  {Km-l^\\Mi!m' 
or  coarse,  as  the  case  may  be.  So  the  softness  of  the  pastry-flavor 
is  largely  determined  by  the  seasoning  and  quality  of  the  more  sub- 
stantial foods. 
This  is,  perhaps,  the  reason  why  a  true  vanilla  flavor  is  so  little 
appreciated.  It  follows  after  the  coarser  cuts  of  meat,  or  a  habit  of 
high  seasoning,  and  the  delicacy  is  mistaken  for  flatness  or  weakness 
of  flavor.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  heavier  tonka  is 
needed  in  part  to  make  a  satisfactory  impression  on  the  gustatory 
nerves.  The  flavors  must  match.  So  the  expert  who  declares  that 
only  a  high-grade  vanilla-bean  extract  is  the  standard  for  a  vanilla 
flavor,  is  speaking  only  for  the  most  fortunate  or  attentive  classes 
of  eaters,  and  the  great  bulk  of  the  public,  with  their  unfortunate 
culinary  restrictions,  is  ignored. 
Tonka  is  wholesome;  why  should  it  be  interdicted?  It  is  purely 
an  individual  question,  and  the  individual  has  rights.  To  say  that 
tonka  is  not  vanilla  and  should  not  be  called  by  that  name  is  quib- 
bling. The  public  knows  that  particular  character  of  flavor  by  that 
name,  and  is  well  aware  that  the  quality  varies.  Just  how  and  why 
it  varies  the  public  cares  little  so  long  as  its  diversified  palate  is 
satisfied  and  the  extract  is  wholesome. 
And  for  the  synthetic  bodies  now  so  rapidly  increasing  in  use — if 
the  public  finds  that  the  distinction  between  vanilla  and  vanillin  is 
too  subtile  for  the  average  discrimination,  and  that  vanillin  holds  its 
flavor  better  in  cooking,  why  should  the  epicure  object  to  the  non- 
epicure  enjoying  it  ?  And  if  it  wishes  a  heavier  flavor,  made  by  the 
combination  with  cumarin,  is  this  objectionable  to  others? 
Taste  is  self-regulative.  There  is  no  danger  of  its  going  too  far 
toward  coarseness.  No  law  is  needed  to  prevent  the  use  of  rotten 
eggs  in  cooking,  and  in  the  absence  of  unwholesome  or  injurious 
ingredients,  no  law  is  needed  to  regulate  the  standards  of  flavors. 
At  the  present  time  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  any  deleterious 
substances  are  being  employed  in  these.  Vanilla  extracts,  for 
instance,  are  made  from  vanilla  beans  of  various  grades,  from  the 
most  delicate  Mexican  bean  to  the  "  pure  "  but  coarse  Tahiti  beans 
or  the  rank  "  Vanillons."  They  are  combined  or  not,  according  to 
demands,  with  tonka,  vanillin  or  cumarin  to  suit  the  wants  of  buyers. 
There  is  a  great  difference  in  delicacy  of  flavor  between  a  fine 
Mexican  vanilla  bean,  a  Bourbon,  a  Tahiti  and  a  Vanillon  bean. 
The  last  two  are  strong  and  rank,  and  combinations  of  the  better 
