"Or, to make an even not that long story short: there is a reason that people (or chemists) don't source vanillin from commercially available extracts."
Indeed. I'm usually one for getting everything OTC as hell, but Vanillin has to be about the least suspicious chemical in the world. SWIM uses his for chemistry *and* to flavor his fucking coffee. It's real fucking cheap too, mine was $25/8oz, though I've since found it cheaper.