A popular food influencer has stunned the internet after revealing that a popular ingredient in European cuisine is actually illegal in the US.
Claire Dinhut, known as @condimentoclaire On TikTok and Instagram, she shared a short video highlighting the ingredient as part of an apricot jam recipe.
The American-French social media star described the ingredient as “smells and tastes like vanilla, but like a very almondy hay vanilla, kind of like the blade (of the plant).”
The spice, very popular in France, is actually the seed of the South American cumaru tree.
But even though it is commonly used in recipes around the world, Claire explained that she cannot get the ingredient in her home country, the United States, because it has been banned.
Claire Dinhut, known as @condimentclaire on TikTok and Instagram, shared a short video highlighting the ingredient as part of an apricot jam recipe.
She described that it “smells and tastes like vanilla, but like a very almondy hay vanilla, kind of like aspa (of the plant).”
It is known as tonka bean and has been illegal in the US since 1954 due to its heavy level of the chemical coumarin, which can be toxic to humans in high enough doses.
“But here in France it is very popular,” says Claire, adding that you would have to consume about 30 tonka beans to reach a toxic amount.
However, as he demonstrated when making the jam, he was grating a simple tonka bean into his bowl and combining it with about a kilo of chopped apricots.
Cassia cinnamon, commonly found in spice cabinets across the United States, has a much higher concentration of coumarin, as reported by the bbc.
Defending the tonka bean, which appears to be about the consistency and color of an almond, Claire continued: “I think it adds a really good flavor to things.
‘And some people consider it an imitation of vanilla, because vanilla beans can be very expensive. But tonka beans aren’t cheap either.
‘So I don’t know if I’d call them imitation vanilla, but they’re really fun. Apparently they are used very frequently in Latin America, which I didn’t know because that is where they are grown.
Elsewhere on her feed, Claire showed off the entire jar of apricot and tonka bean jam, which she soon after cleaned out herself, pairing it with several soft cheeses and a glass of red wine.
Revealing that the ingredient was tonka bean, Claire demonstrated how she only grated one into an apricot jam recipe for flavour, while it would take around 30 to be toxic.
Claire is half French and half Greek American and grew up between Los Angeles and the French countryside.
Hundreds of people took to the comments to react to the revelation about the legalities of the tonka bean, with many pointing out that the United States allows apparently much more dangerous additives.
Last year on her TikTok, Claire delved into her personal story, one that has directly informed her interest and tastes in cooking.
She is half French and half Greek American and grew up between Los Angeles and the French countryside. With this upbringing, she has developed a taste for seasonal produce and loves to experiment with fresh ingredients she can get her hands on.
In Claire’s tonka bean video, hundreds of people took to the comments to discuss the revelation about the seed and its legalities.
“I, a perfume lover, only associate tonka bean with perfume and don’t realize that people eat them too,” one admitted.
“Meanwhile, Brazil nuts are openly available and apparently you should only eat about 2 a day,” noted a second.
‘Really… that’s what the United States prohibits…?!’ A third chimed in with disbelief, given the FDA’s notoriously lax policies toward ingredients and food additives with well-documented negative health consequences.
“United States… where the carcinogens in bleached flour and preservatives are fine, but this thing that you have to eat 30 is prohibited…”, repeated a fourth.
