Ice cream may be flavored by artificial or natural vanilla flavoring. Artificial flavorings contain 100% vanillin, the main factor that contributes to natural vanilla extract's flavor. Natural vanilla extract may also contain nearly 200 more compounds in addition to vanillin. The different chemical properties of these compounds may cause compatibility issues with different ice cream preparations.
Vanilla ice cream may be classified based on the type of flavoring used. If natural vanilla extract is used then it is called "vanilla ice-cream". If vanillin from natural vanilla is used then the product is called "vanilla flavored ice cream". If the ice cream used artificial vanillin then it is labelled as an "artificially flavored vanilla ice-cream".