# Vanilla Bean



## rodentraiser

For the first time ever, I saw vanilla beans for sale. They were one of the McCormick spices. My question is, is it worth it for me to get them? 

They're $12.99 for 2 beans and I can't think of anything I might need them for. I understand I could make vanilla if I had vodka, but I don't drink, and I also don't use that much vanilla.

Is there anything else I can use vanilla beans for?


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## GotGarlic

Don't get McCormick. I bought some vanilla beans about a month ago through Amazon and they were a much better buy than that. I'll look up the vendor if you want. Only you can decide whether it's worth it for you. 

My aunt always kept a couple vanilla beans in a canister of sugar to infuse for baking. You can also use the caviar (the seeds and pith inside) to flavor custard, pudding, pastry cream frosting or glaze for baked goods.


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## GotGarlic

Also, you make vanilla *extract* with vodka (that was probably a typo, but I want to be thorough ). Not sure what not drinking has to do with it. You don't drink the extract. Well, I've heard alcoholics do, but I guess you don't have to worry about that


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## medtran49

You could put a vanilla bean in vodka or rum and get a flavored liquid to drink or make mixed drinks with.  It's just a matter of volume of liquid whether you are making vanilla extract or vanilla flavored ?? (Insert liquor name).


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## CraigC

Ah, but which are better, Madagascar, Tahitian, Mexican, etc?


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## rodentraiser

Craig, I think these were Madagascar. 

GG, thanks. It's just if I buy a very small, teeny weeny bottle of vodka to make the vanilla extract, I could be embalmed with it, because I'd never use the vodka for anything else. Or, they could embalm me with it when I die and then cremate me. That would be going out with a bang.


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## GotGarlic

I'm confused. You would use all the vodka in one of those eenie weenie bottles to make vanilla extract. There wouldn't be any left for anything else.


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## erehweslefox

rodentraiser said:


> Is there anything else I can use vanilla beans for?



I like to use vanilla beans to make vanilla sugar.

Vanilla Sugar Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network

You can use it in place of regular granulated sugar in baking or in coffee (yum!) for an nice taste of vanilla. I have a jar of it I bring out when guests come over to serve with coffee or tea, and I always get compliments. 

TBS


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## sparrowgrass

I have been making vanilla for years now, and I buy from these guys:  https://www.beanilla.com/

I get the grade B beans--same flavor, just not as pretty.  I like the Tahitian, but I see a couple new varieties there they didn't have the last time.


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## Mad Cook

medtran49 said:


> You could put a vanilla bean in vodka or rum and get a flavored liquid to drink or make mixed drinks with.  It's just a matter of volume of liquid whether you are making vanilla extract or vanilla flavored ?? (Insert liquor name).


I put my vanilla pods in gin - by mistake, I didn't have my reading glasses on - but it worked for vanilla extract.


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## Mad Cook

rodentraiser said:


> Craig, I think these were Madagascar.
> 
> GG, thanks. It's just if I buy a very small, teeny weeny bottle of vodka to make the vanilla extract, I could be embalmed with it, because I'd never use the vodka for anything else. Or, they could embalm me with it when I die and then cremate me. That would be going out with a bang.


If you don't use a lot of vanilla extract it's a bit of a waste if time and storage space making your own. The home made stuff lasts for years - I occasionally put a couple of vanilla pods into my jar when it looks a little low on same as I often use them up for the "caviar" inside.

I use a lot of vanilla as I bake, as they say, "for England".


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## Dawgluver

Mad Cook said:


> I put my vanilla pods in gin - by mistake, I didn't have my reading glasses on - but it worked for vanilla extract.




That doesn't sound very good, MC, but I'm glad it worked!

I've used rum with vanilla beans for vanilla extract, as well as vodka.  The rum gives it a nice rich flavor.


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## Mad Cook

Dawgluver said:


> That doesn't sound very good, MC, but I'm glad it worked!
> 
> I've used rum with vanilla beans for vanilla extract, as well as vodka.  The rum gives it a nice rich flavor.


It was cheap gin (I'm that kind of girl) so there wasn't much of a flavour conflict.


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## rodentraiser

GotGarlic said:


> I'm confused. You would use all the vodka in one of those eenie weenie bottles to make vanilla extract. There wouldn't be any left for anything else.



It's a joke. I've never seen an eenie weenie bottle of vodka. The only bottles of vodka I've ever seen were big enough to fill a swimming pool.

OK, maybe not that large. But much more than I think I'd need to make a small amount of vanilla extract.

But I would still get vanilla beans if I thought I could use them in something else.


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## rodentraiser

Mad Cook said:


> If you don't use a lot of vanilla extract it's a bit of a waste if time and storage space making your own. The home made stuff lasts for years - I occasionally put a couple of vanilla pods into my jar when it looks a little low on same as I often use them up for the "caviar" inside.
> 
> I use a lot of vanilla as I bake, as they say, "for England".



That's what I was thinking. I go through maybe one small bottle of vanilla extract in 6 months.


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## Dawgluver

rodentraiser said:


> It's a joke. I've never seen an eenie weenie bottle of vodka. The only bottles of vodka I've ever seen were big enough to fill a swimming pool.
> 
> OK, maybe not that large. But much more than I think I'd need to make a small amount of vanilla extract.
> 
> But I would still get vanilla beans if I thought I could use them in something else.




Go to your local liquor/grocery store.  Surely they will have one ounce bottles of rum or vodka, usually back by the liquor counter.  Don't use gin like MadCook did, that just sounds nasty.

Then you can just poke a vanilla bean into the tiny bottle and recap it.  Let it sit for a few weeks.


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## rodentraiser

I didn't know they had one ounce bottles of vodka. That shows how often I've been in a liquor store in my lifetime. LOL 

Maybe I will do that. Sounds like a plan.

Could I make homemade root beer with vanilla beans?


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## Dawgluver

They may be two ounce bottles.  Anyway, they're like they sell on airplanes.

Sure, rootbeer with vanilla would be delicious!


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## Andy M.

Around here they're called nips. Actually a great way to try out a new liquor or buy just enough for a recipe.


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## Dawgluver

Heh.  When I went back to my HS reunion, the liquor store next to my hotel had a drive-through that sold "nips".  I wandered over on foot just to see what they were advertising, and they were already sold out.  Apparently quite popular!


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## Andy M.

Airplane bottles/nips = 50ml = 1.6907 Fl.Oz.


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## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> It's a joke. I've never seen an eenie weenie bottle of vodka. The only bottles of vodka I've ever seen were big enough to fill a swimming pool.
> 
> OK, maybe not that large. But much more than I think I'd need to make a small amount of vanilla extract.
> 
> But I would still get vanilla beans if I thought I could use them in something else.



This is what I meant:
http://65.media.tumblr.com/61e04c7435d00eab000523e73d2f8a49/tumblr_nhiqrtnbfV1roin39o1_500.jpg

I'm getting the impression you haven't read, or you have ignored, all the other suggestions people have made for how to use vanilla. Is the entire question a joke?


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## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> That's what I was thinking. I go through maybe one small bottle of vanilla extract in 6 months.



Vanilla extract keeps forever. About three years ago, I bought a kit consisting of a pretty bottle, about 6 ounces, I think, and three vanilla beans for about $8. I added vodka and have been using it ever since. With the beans in the bottle, you just top it off whenever it's necessary.


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## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> Could I make homemade root beer with vanilla beans?



No. Root beer is made from sassafras, not vanilla.


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## sparrowgrass

Cream soda, maybe?


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## rodentraiser

GotGarlic said:


> This is what I meant:
> http://65.media.tumblr.com/61e04c7435d00eab000523e73d2f8a49/tumblr_nhiqrtnbfV1roin39o1_500.jpg



I'm not even sure what that is.



> I'm getting the impression you haven't read, or you have ignored, all the other suggestions people have made for how to use vanilla. Is the entire question a joke?


What I've seen so far besides vanilla extract is:

_"My aunt always kept a couple vanilla beans in a canister of sugar to  infuse for baking. You can also use the caviar (the seeds and pith  inside) to flavor custard, pudding, pastry cream frosting or glaze for  baked goods."_
_
"I like to use vanilla beans to make vanilla sugar."_

and
_
"You could put a vanilla bean in vodka or rum and get a flavored liquid to drink or make mixed drinks with."_

The sugar looks interesting.

Unfortunately, I don't drink.

And I was going to ask you about putting the beans in sugar. You mean just drop a bean into the sugar and leave it there? And I wouldn't know how to use the pith or seeds to flavor anything. I'm really not that advanced of a cook.

I also didn't know vanilla extract kept that long.


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## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> I'm not even sure what that is.
> 
> What I've seen so far besides vanilla extract is:
> 
> _"My aunt always kept a couple vanilla beans in a canister of sugar to  infuse for baking. You can also use the caviar (the seeds and pith  inside) to flavor custard, pudding, pastry cream frosting or glaze for  baked goods."_
> _
> "I like to use vanilla beans to make vanilla sugar."_
> 
> and
> _
> "You could put a vanilla bean in vodka or rum and get a flavored liquid to drink or make mixed drinks with."_
> 
> The sugar looks interesting.
> 
> Unfortunately, I don't drink.
> 
> And I was going to ask you about putting the beans in sugar. You mean just drop a bean into the sugar and leave it there? And I wouldn't know how to use the pith or seeds to flavor anything. I'm really not that advanced of a cook.
> 
> I also didn't know vanilla extract kept that long.



The image is intended to show you the size of a small bottle of liquor compared to a drink. It's just for scale. Like dollhouse furniture compared to people's furniture. 

Sugar, custard, pudding, pastry cream, frosting or glaze for  baked goods. That's six non-alcoholic ways to use vanilla beans. 

If you don't know something, just ask. You didn't ask, you just said again that you don't drink and then you asked about root beer. 

You take the vanilla pod, cut it into pieces and put it in the sugar in a canister. After a few weeks, the vanilla flavor will be infused into the sugar. It really is that simple.


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## rodentraiser

Well, I always knew I wasn't the sharpest pencil in the drawer. I had it the other way around. I thought it was an extra large glass with a large bottle. I'm sorry, I didn't see that right away.

I always use vanilla extract in baking, but I didn't know you could use the bean itself to flavor anything else. I think I will get the beans then and use it in the sugar like you suggested. That sounds like a good idea.

And thank you, everyone else, for your suggestions. I appreciate it.


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## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> *I didn't know they had one ounce bottles of vodka. *That shows how often I've been in a liquor store in my lifetime. LOL
> 
> Maybe I will do that. Sounds like a plan.
> 
> Could I make homemade root beer with vanilla beans?



They are called "Little Nips." We have an Aide that works here, and you can catch her on her break out on the back steps drinking her Little Nips. There is a whole pile of empties in the bush away from the building.

You could use vanilla beans in any recipe that calls for bottled liquid vanilla, I would think.


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## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> I'm not even sure what that is.
> 
> What I've seen so far besides vanilla extract is:
> 
> _"My aunt always kept a couple vanilla beans in a canister of sugar to  infuse for baking. You can also use the caviar (the seeds and pith  inside) to flavor custard, pudding, pastry cream frosting or glaze for  baked goods."_
> _
> "I like to use vanilla beans to make vanilla sugar."_
> 
> and
> _
> "You could put a vanilla bean in vodka or rum and get a flavored liquid to drink or make mixed drinks with."_
> 
> The sugar looks interesting.
> 
> *Unfortunately, I don't drink.*
> 
> And I was going to ask you about putting the beans in sugar. You mean just drop a bean into the sugar and leave it there? And I wouldn't know how to use the pith or seeds to flavor anything. I'm really not that advanced of a cook.
> 
> I also didn't know vanilla extract kept that long.



But your guests might.


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## rodentraiser

Thanks, Addie, but I'm pretty reclusive and don't really have guests over, especially as I'm just renting a room.


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## Addie

Well, one again you all got my curiosity aroused. So of course I had to go to good ole Wiki and found the following after I manage to get through the whole article.


 The title was "_*Culinary Usage*_" 


Vanilla rum, Madagascar
The four main commercial preparations of natural vanilla are:
Whole pod
Powder (ground pods, kept pure or blended with sugar, starch, or other ingredients)
Extract (in alcoholic or occasionally glycerol solution; both pure and imitation forms of vanilla contain at least 35% alcohol)
Vanilla sugar, a packaged mix of sugar and vanilla extract

Pure vanilla powder
Vanilla flavoring in food may be achieved by adding vanilla extract or by cooking vanilla pods in the liquid preparation. A stronger aroma may be attained if the pods are split in two, exposing more of a pod's surface area to the liquid. In this case, the pods' seeds are mixed into the preparation. Natural vanilla gives a brown or yellow color to preparations, depending on the concentration. Good-quality vanilla has a strong, aromatic flavor, but food with small amounts of low-quality vanilla or artificial vanilla-like flavorings are far more common, since true vanilla is much more expensive.

A major use of vanilla is in flavoring ice cream. The most common flavor of ice cream is vanilla, thus most people consider it to be the "default" flavor. By analogy, the term "vanilla" is sometimes used as a synonym for "plain". Although vanilla is a prized flavoring agent on its own, it is also used to enhance the flavor of other substances, to which its own flavor is often complementary, such as chocolate, custard, caramel, coffee, and others.

The food industry uses methyl and ethyl vanillin. Ethyl vanillin is more expensive, but has a stronger note. Cook's Illustrated ran several taste tests pitting vanilla against vanillin in baked goods and other applications, and to the consternation of the magazine editors, tasters could not differentiate the flavor of vanillin from vanilla; however, for the case of vanilla ice cream, natural vanilla won out. A more recent and thorough test by the same group produced a more interesting variety of results; namely, high-quality artificial vanilla flavoring is best for cookies, while high-quality real vanilla is very slightly better for cakes and significantly better for unheated or lightly heated foods.

The liquid extracted from vanilla pods was once believed to have medical properties, helping with various stomach ailments.

Hope this information helps someone. It certainly opened my eyes to a lot I didn't know. Specially about Imitation Vanilla.


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## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> Well, I always knew I wasn't the sharpest pencil in the drawer. I had it the other way around. I thought it was an extra large glass with a large bottle. I'm sorry, I didn't see that right away.
> 
> I always use vanilla extract in baking, but I didn't know you could use the bean itself to flavor anything else. I think I will get the beans then and use it in the sugar like you suggested. That sounds like a good idea.
> 
> And thank you, everyone else, for your suggestions. I appreciate it.



Glad I could help 

You can get a much better deal through Amazon and the beans are likely much fresher than what you can get in the grocery store: 10  beans for $15.

https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n:724725011,p_4:Vanilla Products USA


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## rodentraiser

Amazon it is, but not until next month. Darn car repair......

ICE CREAM! I totally forgot about ice cream! Did I say I was trying to lose weight? Well, forget that!

And since I now know that vanilla extract lasts so long, maybe I will go get a bottle of vodka and make my own, too. I better go to a store where they don't know me, though. I can just see the looks I'd get from the cashiers if they see someone who uses food stamps coming through their line with a bottle of vodka. LOL


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## GotGarlic

Here's more information about storing and using vanilla beans, including how to scrape the seeds out. 
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-use-a-vanilla-bean-181511


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## rodentraiser

Thank you!!!


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## GotGarlic

You're welcome


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## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> Amazon it is, but not until next month. Darn car repair......
> 
> ICE CREAM! I totally forgot about ice cream! Did I say I was trying to lose weight? Well, forget that!
> 
> And since I now know that vanilla extract lasts so long, maybe I will go get a bottle of vodka and make my own, too. I better go to a store where they don't know me, though. I can just see the looks I'd get from the cashiers if they see someone who uses food stamps coming through their line with a bottle of vodka. LOL



Just tell them it is for medicinal purposes. And besides those Little Nips are small enough that it could fit in your apron pocket. But you can't purchase alcohol products with food stamps anyway. According to my kids, an inexpensive Little Nip of Bourbon will make for a better vanilla product.


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## rodentraiser

LOL Addie, I already tried that when I was buying 5 to 6 12-paks of soda a month. That was when my doctor took me off my Prilosec because I was on another drug. The sub for Prilosec didn't work worth a darn and for 6 months I was sicker than a dog. The only thing that kept me on my feet was Ginger Ale and 7-Up. Plus Root Beer and decaffeinated Pepsi when I got sick of the other two. Thank the gods you can buy soda with food stamps!

One lady in line behind me called me out on it and I told her I could either get the soda or toss on her shoes - her choice. I was getting a little short tempered by that time, too.


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## TaraFace

I love tipsy bar tender 


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