When my girls took me to America a bit back and we did a bus tour to Tijuana (just over the border and into Mexico), I noticed (apart from the zebra striped painted donkey everyone was having a photo taken with!) that there were signs everywhere advertising the sale of bottles of pure vanilla essence. Apparently it was really cheap but I only used to use imitation vanilla essence back then and couldn't understand their obsession with the real thing. Anyone know why they were making such a big deal of it - do they grow the beans there I wonder?
I can't find that anyone replied to your post about the Mexican vanilla, and since I am familiar with the subject, here is the answer.
It is not advisable to buy vanilla extract in Mexico because, although the Mexican vanilla beans are excellent for cooking, some of the companies that manufacture the extract "stretch" the volume produced by incorporating tonka beans in their products.
The tonka bean contains a toxic substance called coumarin, which is related to Coumadin, the prescription medication that slows clotting in blood.
Mexican and other Hispanic people like the stronger flavor and are willing to take the chance of problems but the FDA here has banned it.
http://www.ptinr.com/data/templates/article.aspx?a=850&z=3I have been making my own vanilla extract for many years and it makes wonderful gifts. I also make vanilla paste, which is a labor-intensive task which I hope to find will work and be much easier in the TMX.