Everything you need to get the most flavor from every vanilla bean: how to open one, how to store it, which grade to choose, and how to make your own vanilla at home.
How to split and scrape a vanilla bean
Lay the bean flat on a cutting board and hold one end.
With the tip of a small, sharp knife, slice it lengthwise from end to end, through the top layer only.
Open it like a book. Run the back of the knife along the inside to scrape out the tiny black seeds.
Keep the empty pod. It still has lots of flavor (see below).
Bean, paste or extract?
1 vanilla bean ≈ 1 tablespoon (15 mL) vanilla bean paste ≈ 1 tablespoon (15 mL) vanilla extract or alcohol-free vanilla. Use beans or paste when you want the black specks to show, as in custards, ice cream and frosting.
How to store vanilla beans
Keep them in an airtight glass tube or jar, somewhere cool and dark.
Don’t refrigerate them. The cold dries them out and can cause mold.
Well stored, beans stay soft for about 1–2 years. If one turns dry and stiff, soak it in warm milk or water for 10 minutes before scraping.
Grade A or Grade B?
Grade A (gourmet): plump, moist and oily. Best when you scrape the seeds: custards, frosting, ice cream.
Grade B (extract grade): drier and a little shorter, with concentrated flavor. Best for homemade extract, alcohol-free vanilla and paste. And better value.
Make your own vanilla extract, or alcohol-free vanilla
You need 1 oz (28 g) of vanilla beans, about 8–10 Grade B beans, for every 1 cup (240 mL) of liquid, and a clean glass bottle.
Alcohol-free vanilla: 3/4 cup (180 mL) food-grade vegetable glycerin plus 1/4 cup (60 mL) boiled and cooled water. Halal, naturally sweet and a little thicker.
Split each bean lengthwise, leaving it joined at one end. Cut long beans in half so they stay covered.
Put the beans in the bottle and pour in the liquid. The beans must stay under it.
Close tightly, label with the date and keep somewhere cool and dark. Shake once a week.
Ready after about 8 weeks (alcohol-free: 8–12 weeks). It keeps getting richer for months.
A note on names: US food rules only allow “vanilla extract” to be used when a product contains at least 35% alcohol, so an alcohol-free version is called “vanilla flavoring” or “alcohol-free vanilla.” It works the same way in recipes.
Five things to do with used pods
A scraped pod still has plenty of flavor. Rinse it and let it dry, then:
Vanilla sugar: push it into a jar of sugar and wait a day or two.
Stronger extract: drop it into your extract or alcohol-free vanilla bottle.
Vanilla salt: grind a fully dried pod with 1/2 cup (about 70 g) flaky sea salt.
Vanilla powder: dry pods at 200°F (95°C) for 30–60 minutes, then grind and sift.
Vanilla honey: add a completely dry pod to a jar of gently warmed honey and wait a week.
