Are we allowed to eat food containing Vanilla extract?And what about BAKING with Vanilla extract?

by Asma bint Shameem

ANSWER

When it comes to whether we can use vanilla EXTRACT and mix it with our food/drink, we should understand the following:

Whenever foods or drinks contain some amount of alcohol, there are two situations

1. Either the alcohol gets fully ABSORBED into the food or drink

OR

2. The essence of the alcohol REMAINS in the food/drink and you can still taste, smell or see it in some way because the alcohol did not get fully absorbed into it.

I will try and explain the two situations further:

🔺 FIRST SITUATION:

IF the alcohol gets fully ABSORBED into the food or drink and you can NOT taste it or smell it or see it in any way and the alcohol has completely DISAPPEARED into the food and cannot be detected in any way, and no matter how much you eat or drink it, it does not intoxicate you, then such foods and drinks can be consumed without any problem.

An example of such a food product would be CAKES, ICE CREAM, DRINKS etc that already contain vanilla extract.

🍃 Ibn Taymiyah said:

“If alcohol falls into water and is completely absorbed in it, then someone drinks it, he is not regarded as drinking alcohol and the hadd punishment for drinking alcohol is not to be carried out on him, because nothing of its taste, color or odor remained.”

(al-Mustadrak ‘ala Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (3/12)

🔺 SECOND SITUATION

The second situation is where the essence of alcohol REMAINS in the food/drink and you can either taste, smell or see it in any way. And if you consumed it, it would make you drunk.

Such food/drink would NOT be allowed to be used or consumed, even if the percentage of alcohol is very small.

That’s because some alcohol STILL REMAINS in that food or drink.

An example of such a food product is vanilla extract BY ITSELF.

🍃 Shaykh ibn Uthaymeen said:

“If this alcohol is mixed with something and is not fully absorbed into what it is mixed with, and does not disappear into it, then that thing becomes haraam, because this mixture is affected by it.

But if the alcohol has been fully absorbed into what it has been mixed with, and no trace of it can be detected, then it does not become haraam thereby.”

(Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb)

🍃 Someone asked Shaikh Ibn ʻUthaymeen about non-alcoholic beer, given that some brands of non-alcoholic beer have alcohol content.

He said:

“As to percentage, do not think that any percentage of alcohol in a thing makes it unlawful;

rather if the percentage of alcohol has an EFFECT whereby when a person drinks this mix, he becomes intoxicated, then it is unlawful.

But if the percentage is very small without effect, then it is lawful.

For example, a percentage such as 1%, 2% or 3% does not make the beverage unlawful.

Some people misunderstood the hadeeth that states, 'Whatever intoxicates in large quantities, then a small quantity of it is forbidden,' to mean that if a small percentage of an intoxicant is mixed with a large amount of a substance that is not intoxicating, then it is unlawful.

This is a misunderstanding of the hadeeth. 'Whatever intoxicates in large quantities, a little of it is unlawful' means that if a lot of something will cause intoxication, and a little of it will not cause intoxication, then a lot or a little are both unlawful, because you may drink a little that does not cause intoxication, then you may be tempted to drink more and become intoxicated.

But if something is mixed with alcohol, while the alcohol content is a minute amount and does not have any effect, then it is lawful and does not come under the ruling of this Hadeeth.”

Once this basic principle is clear, we can easily understand that foods that ALREADY contain vanilla extract, such as cakes, cookies, ice cream, drinks etc are PERMISSIBLE because whatever amount of alcohol that was present in the vanilla extract is COMPLETELY ABSORBED into the food and no matter how much of it you may consume, it will not make you intoxicated.

Think about it this way...

Even if you eat 10 gallons of vanilla ice cream, you will never get drunk.

Alhamdulillaah!

However, when it comes to cooking/ baking/ at HOME with vanilla extract, it would NOT be allowed because in the case of vanilla extract, alcohol is NOT fully absorbed into the extract itself and you CAN get intoxicated if you drink a few bottles of this extract.

And so because we would be ADDING a substance that is itself haraam, it would not be allowed to use it when preparing food and drink at home with this product.

🍃 The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

“Every intoxicant is khamr and every khamr is haraam.” (Muslim)

🍃 The scholars of the Standing Committee said:

“It is not permissible to put anything that causes intoxication into anything that is intended to be used as medicine, food or drink, or anything from which food, drink or condiments are to be extracted, whether that intoxicant is nabeedh, beer or anything else.”

[Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (22/124)]

❗️ Solution❗️

While you CAN consume

food/desserts “already containing” vanilla extract, you can NOT “add” vanilla extract by yourself, for baking, cooking purposes.

Instead use the NON-alcoholic kind of vanilla extract that's easily available online and in grocery stores etc.

it is called “artificial vanilla flavoring” is available everywhere, even in dollar stores, which does not have alcohol and works great when added to all kinds of food and drinks.

And Allaah knows best