How to Cook With Vanilla Beans
The term "vanilla" somehow has come to signify bland and ordinary, but authentic vanilla flavor, especially when extracted fresh while cooking with vanilla beans, is anything but plain. Vanilla beans grow on a particular orchid plant -- the only one of 20,000 varieties that produces something edible. Growers pollinate the long, thin pods by hand and ferment them for about six months after harvest. To cook with vanilla beans, you simply split open the pod and scrape out the pulpy seeds inside. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Vanilla pods
- Paring knife
- Custard or ice cream recipe
- Sugar, optional
- Brandy or vodka, optional
Instructions
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Make Custards and Ice Creams
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1
Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, using a paring knife.
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2
Scrape out the seeds with your knife. Some cooks find that using the back edge of the knife produces the best results.
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3
Add the seeds and the pod to the liquid ingredients of your custard recipe, and let the mixture steep or simmer as directed.
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4
Remove the vanilla pod just before serving your custard or churning your ice cream, to achieve maximum flavor.
Make Vanilla Sugar
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5
Cut the bean in half lengthwise. You can either use a full bean or one from which you've already removed the inner pulp. (Although the beans themselves are mostly flavorless, some vanilla remains on a freshly scraped pod -- enough to flavor the sugar on its own.)
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6
Bury the bean in one to two cups of granulated or confectioner's sugar.
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7
Let the mixture sit for one to two weeks, allowing the vanilla flavor to permeate the sugar.
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8
Use this sugar in place of regular sugar in any cooking recipe to add a vanilla flavor to your dessert or savory dish. One tablespoon of vanilla sugar contains the strength of one-fourth of a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Make Vanilla Extract or Substitute
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9
Use one whole vanilla bean to make your own vanilla extract. Cut the bean in half lengthwise.
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10
Add the split bean to three-fourths of a cup of vodka. Brandy is OK to use too.
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Cover and steep for four to six months, shaking occasionally.
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12
Substitute a whole vanilla bean in a recipe that calls for extract by scraping out the seeds and then dividing them. One whole vanilla bean equals two to three teaspoons of extract.
Garnish Idea
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13
Boil as many vanilla beans as you'll want for garnish in water until they're soft and tender.
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14
Simmer them in sugar syrup until the pods are shiny. (Boil one part sugar and one part water to produce sugar syrup.)
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15
Bake the pods at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. The finished pods will be crisp, and you can use them as a garnish for dessert.
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Tips & Warnings
The vanilla pod's flavor depends on the soil and climate where the plants are grown. Today, up to 80 percent of vanilla comes from Madagascar, which produces a rich, deep flavor. Mexican vanilla beans are thicker and darker with a smooth, slightly woody sweetness. Vanilla beans from Tahiti have a complex floral aroma, but less flavor than the other two. You can keep your vanilla beans for up to 18 months by storing them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.
Many chefs prize Mexican vanilla beans above the others, but you should buy them only from trusted sources. Some manufacturers in Mexico add coumarin, which is banned by the FDA and is thought to cause liver and kidney damage.
