Vanilla Bean

[Andy M.]

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

 

[GotGarlic]

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?

 

[GotGarlic]

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.

 

[GotGarlic]

Could I make homemade root beer with vanilla beans?

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

 

[sparrowgrass]

Cream soda, maybe?

 

[rodentraiser]

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.

 

[GotGarlic]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Addie]

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.

 

[Addie]

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.

 

[rodentraiser]

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

 

[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.

 

[GotGarlic]

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

 

[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

 

[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

 

[rodentraiser]

Thank you!!!

 

[GotGarlic]

You're welcome

 

[Addie]

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.

 

[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.

 

[TaraFace]

I love tipsy bar tender


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