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Vanilla Beans Culinary Use

There's nothing plain about real vanilla...It's an ingredient of rare beauty. Luscious, warm, sexy and exotic...like the climbing orchid vines reaching out from the damp moist earth to the brilliant sun above. The real vanilla has nothing to do with the bland, flat aroma of artificial vanilla flavoring...Did you know that vanilla beans were once considered a potent aphrodisiac by the ancients Totonacs?

Today, vanilla is one of the most popular flavorings in the world. It is popularly used to flavor desserts, ice-creams, custards, cakes, candies, puddings. It is also used to enhance the flavor of beverages and sauces. However, many people are choosing to use artificial or synthetic vanilla flavoring because of the pricey-tag on vanilla beans and extracts. Although there is nothing close to a substitute for real vanilla, if you choose to use artificial flavoring, just make sure to check the ingredients on the bottle. Many artificial vanilla flavoring on the market contains propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is a form of antifreeze and we do NOT recommend it for human consumption. Did you know that you can make 8 ounces of pure vanilla extract for less than half the price of 8 ounces at your local market? And one inch of Vanilla Bean is equal to about a teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract.

To add vanilla bean to a liquid, slit the bean lengthwise with the point of a knife and drop the bean into the liquid. Remove the bean before serving. To add to a dry mixture, slit the bean and use the knife to scrape out the tiny seeds.Vanilla Beans should never be refrigerated because they may develop molds when chilled. They should be kept in an air-tight container at room temperature. Vanilla beans are not just for desserts and baked goods. You can use them in myriad other ways to achieve many uncommon yet delightful flavor combinations. Add to desserts or beverages to boost sweet, fruity, or rich flavors. It provides smooth rich background taste - use vanilla beans to balance sauces for shellfish, chicken, and veal. Vanilla softens dairy flavors and perfectly complement French toast and meringues. Add to a mug of hot chocolate, coffee, or tea for added richness.  And vanilla beans goes well with santan (coconut-milk) and also durians!

Here are a few ideas to stimulate your taste-buds:

Vanilla Sugar
If you have done much baking, you are probably familiar with vanilla sugar. It can be purchased (very expensive) in small tea-bag sized pouches at some upscale grocery stores. You can easily make your own vanilla sugar for a tiny fraction of the price. To make vanilla sugar you will need 1 vanilla pod for every 2 cups of sugar. Make a slit along the vanilla pod. You could cut it in half if it's too long. Bury the pods in sugar inside a vacuum-sealed or airtight jar and shake well. Shake often. In about 2-3 weeks, you will have sugar infused with the heady and evocative aroma of vanilla. Use it to flavor your cookie-dough, cakes, cocktails, pastries, coffee, hot chocolate, yogurt, tea, fruit..etc..Add a teaspoon to your morning nescafe or coffee and we'll guarantee that you'll turn into a vanilla convert...the possibilities really are endless.

Vanilla Salt
Using the same process described above for vanilla sugar, toss your scraped pods into a container of salt and let it sit. Vanilla salt is great in savoury dishes made with seafood, meat or chicken and it added a great finishing touch to your cupcakes. You'll need 200g unadulterated sea salt (any kind of salt will do) and 1 whole super-size vanilla bean. Tip in the salt into a very dry, non-reactive, airtight container. You can either add a split bean or cut the bean into two, finely grind one piece and mix it into the salt and then put in the other half, or just put the whole bean in. Seal the bottle and place in a cupboard for a month before using, stirring up the contents every so often. Replace with more sea salt as necessary. For something really unique, use your vanilla salt on seafood, chicken, roasted vegetables, etc.

Vanilla Syrup
You'll need 400g granulated sugar, 500ml water and 1 premium vanilla bean ( or 2 shorts-size), split lengthwise. Put everything into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and light the hob to medium to medium-high. Stir until sugar dissolves. Let mixture come to a boil for about two minutes, then reduce the heat and let simmer until the syrup’s volume has reduced to about one cup. Turn off heat and then let the syrup—including bean—cool before pouring into a container. You can use it immediately, store unused portion in refrigerator. This syrup adds a delightful kick to rosewater syrup and orange cordials.

Vanilla Coffee
Leave a scraped vanilla pod to dry out and harden. It doesn't take too long. Then when it is ready, break it up and put it in your coffee grinder with your coffee beans. Upon brewing, the hot water will release a divine vanilla flavor into your brewed coffee or espresso.

Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar
Immerse a slit but unscraped vanilla bean into a bottle of good quality balsamic vinegar. Re-cap and shake well. Let it infused for a 3-4 weeks or longer before using. This doesn't give the balsamic vinegar a noticeable vanilla flavor or aroma. It adds a refined balances the sharpness of vinegar on the palette and gives it a unique character. Sauteeing mushrooms, onions and leeks  in vanilla balsamic vinegar is absolutely wonderful. Great taste too when sprinkled on french fries.

Vanilla Bean Butter
Take about 1/2 pound of butter out and let it soften to room temperature. Then, put the butter in a bowl. Slit a vanilla bean and scrape the pulpy seeds (caviar) into the butter. Whisk the butter-vanilla mixture. Roll the butter into a log with wax paper and place it in the refrigerator to harden. To use, just slice off little rounds whenever you need them. Use the vanilla bean butter in cookie dough, in sauces, on seafood, on pancakes, on hot toast...etc..

Just be creative....Check out our recipes page for vanilla bean recipe samples...For more in-depth info, visit our FAQ page...