I have a quarter kilo of vanilla beans. Ideas?
A friend of mine was in the Peace Corps in Madagascar and brought me back a quarter kilo of vanilla beans. This is approximately 300 vanilla beans. I'm not /quite/ sure what to do with them. I know make vanilla extract, and I know make gifts of vanilla extract, and I know vanilla sugar and creme brulee. But is there some ingenious way to store/prepare vanilla beans I'm missing out on? I want to take full advantage of my windfall. ;)
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
15 Comments:
Goodness, that's a lot o'beans.
The first thing I would do is make vanilla sugar. Just get yourself a 5 pound bag of sugar, pour into a container and stick about 10-12 beans in it. The beans give the sugar a lovely flavor. Alton Brown covered vanilla recipes in an episode of Good Eats, you may want to check it out.
Happy vanilla-ing!
sixsonnets at 11:43AM on 10/10/08
Mail them out to people who send you a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) in return for something fun like a 3x5 card of their favorite recipe? I have a ton of things that want me to have 1 vanilla bean - I've never even seen a vanilla bean!
(urm - except it would be kind of creepy to give out your address to all those people. So never mind unless you have PO Box! or you give them to SE to organize like the do the sticker mailouts)
ansate at 12:12PM on 10/10/08
Oh my aluapaluap! You're so lucky!!
Real vanilla beans call for real créme brulée!
Make some home-made ice cream maybe?
Keep vanilla beans in the refrigerator in an airless/tightly sealed ziploc plastic bag. You can freeze them but it's not necessary.
If I were in your situation I would do some experimenting since you have so much! Maybe try combining it with savoury ingredients like fish or poultry?
GOOD LUCK!
hungrychristel at 12:19PM on 10/10/08
Freeze some. Roll in wax paper and freeze them.
When the spring comes you will want them again. They will be a bit moist when you unfreeze them. Make sure you thaw them on paper towels.
Those you are keeping seal in a jar. They will dry out without being sealed in a bag or jar.
JerzeeTomato at 12:22PM on 10/10/08
Also, here's a good thanksgiving recipe that involves vanilla bean!
hungrychristel at 12:25PM on 10/10/08
Elise at simplyrecipes.com just posted how to make vanilla extract today! VERY easy, and would make lovely gifts for the holidays. I think you would want to start now, but check out her post.
Cary at 12:35PM on 10/10/08
These are great suggestions. I think I do need to be a little bit frivolous and try things that might not work (ie savory dishes) as well as gifting.
By the way, when my friend gave them to me and my jaw dropped through the floor, she said "What? The whole kilo cost me $20. I kept a quarter, gave one to my mom, one to you, and one to my brother's girlfriend." Anyone want to run the math on how much money is to be made flying to Madagascar and spending $100 on vanilla? :)
aluapaluap at 12:41PM on 10/10/08
Here's a link for making vanilla oil for savory cooking: Vanilla Oil
And you may be able to find some instructions for making vanilla lotions, candles, and essential fragrance oil too.
Cary at 12:54PM on 10/10/08
freeze some, that's for sure! Or send them to Boise. :)
sakuraa at 1:04PM on 10/10/08
uh that didn't work...
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/CRANBERRY-SAUCE-WITH-VANILLA-BEAN-AND-CARDAMOM-236535
hungrychristel at 1:07PM on 10/10/08
Vanilla vodka or rum?
Given the way the economy's heading, maybe you should sell them!
chgoeditor at 1:12PM on 10/10/08
Oh I'm so jealous. The weather is cooler now and I've been craving some warm chai in the mornings. I've been wanting to make a huge batch of chai with whole cloves, cardamom, cinnamon sticks, an anise pod, all spice and ginger AND toss in a vanilla bean, but those things are so dear...if I had your stash...
Dang! Now I want to join the Peace Corps. JK. Two of my professors were former Peace Corps volunteers and I KNOW I couldn't do what they did.
Enjoy your vanilla and tell us what you do.
wookie at 1:20PM on 10/10/08
SELL ME SOME!!!! :) :) :)
simon at 2:14PM on 10/10/08
I also bought a 1/4 lb on ebay for $20.00 so far I made some vanilla extract, cream brulee and vanilla sugar, I'm sure I will use some more around the holidays My kitchen baking cupboard smells yummy and they are in a vac sealed zip lock!
joanpieroni2 at 3:08PM on 10/10/08
I bought some vanilla balsamic vinegar at the farmer's market...and I've yet to figure out what I'm going to do with it, but the sample was sure tasty. It shouldn't be too difficult to make, if you think you might want to try a savory concoction.
Making vanilla liqueur sounds good too. And after you take the beans out of that, you could still use them for vanilla sugar or for flavoring something else, I'd bet.
For anyone else who wants a quantity of beans at a decent price, JRs Mushrooms has 1/4 pound for a little under $25, and 1 pound is under $50. You can get to them through Amazon. I bought beans from them before, and they were good. They're got smaller and larger quantities, as well, and I when I bought, shipping was free on vanilla beans. That might have changed; I didn't check when I looked there. But it's better than paying $6 for a dried out pod at the supermarket.
dbcurrie at 5:08PM on 10/10/08