topic Re: Ina On Making Vanilla in Kitchen

Ina On Making Vanilla

Snowpuppy — Fri, 11 May 2018 15:54:47 GMT

I was watching a Barefoot Contessa show featuring an all things vanilla theme when she briefly discussed making your own vanilla.

She showed the how to followed by the comment that the bean pods in her jar were 30 years old and she just reuses them when making a new batch.

While I love Ina, I always see her using bottled vanilla. Your thoughts on reusing vanilla beans for THIS long?

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

Cat lover 1731 — Fri, 11 May 2018 16:05:17 GMT

Vanilla is one of a few things that never expires. So I could her keeping it for so long. Also honey never expires.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

CLEM — Fri, 11 May 2018 16:09:06 GMT

@SnowpuppyI didn't see the show, but that is now you make vanill sugar which is used for many things.

Unless you grow vanilla beans, you have to buy them.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

Nightowlz — Fri, 11 May 2018 17:26:30 GMT

Wow 30 yrs. That's a long time to be re-using Vanilla Beans. She probably only uses the bery best out there so maybe so.

I should buy some Vanilla Beans so I can make my own Vanilla. It's so expensive now.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

Snowpuppy — Fri, 11 May 2018 17:52:11 GMT

@Nightowlz wrote:
Wow 30 yrs. That's a long time to be re-using Vanilla Beans. She probably only uses the bery best out there so maybe so.
I should buy some Vanilla Beans so I can make my own Vanilla. It's so expensive now.

The beans are now outrageously priced, too!

I am going to make a batch this month so it cures in time for holiday baking. The 30 year shelf life was a nice thought to offset the initial investment in bean pods but I don't think I'm going to chance it.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

faeriemoon — Fri, 11 May 2018 17:52:44 GMT

@Nightowlz wrote:
Wow 30 yrs. That's a long time to be re-using Vanilla Beans. She probably only uses the bery best out there so maybe so.
I should buy some Vanilla Beans so I can make my own Vanilla. It's so expensive now.

The beans are expensive too.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

Dusty1 — Fri, 11 May 2018 20:19:31 GMT

@SnowpuppyI can not believe how high vanilla beans have gotten.

1/31/2015
I bought 1/2 lb of Grade B Madagascar Vanilla Beans from Beanilla ($31.45-10% Coupon=$28.31 Free S&H)
There were 61 beans in the 1/2 lb bag. Their web site says "Approximately 72-85 Beans", but I weighed them & it was exactly 1/2 lb.
I bought 2 1.75 liter (7.4 Cups-or 59 oz/14.8 Cups-118oz for 2. There are 16 C in a gallon.) bottles of Korski 80 Proof Vodka ($14.00 Each)
$28.31+28.00=$56.31 $3.80 per C of pure Vanilla Extract.

8oz of the Grade B Madagascar Vanilla Beans are now $199.95 on Beanilla. There is a 5% off coupon available.

I may reuse beans, I didn't when I made my vanilla in 2015, but I can't imagine them having much flavor left after 30 years!

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

Fona — Fri, 11 May 2018 20:33:14 GMT

A very large part of the world's vanilla bean crop comes from the island of Madagascar, which has animals that are not found anywhere else. Unfortunately, many of those animals are becoming very endangered because their habitats are being encroached upon to grow these beans. Hopefully someone out there is looking for another way or place to grow vanilla.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

Yahooey — Sat, 12 May 2018 09:29:04 GMT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWdVuddIrkQ

above is the clip of Ina making vanilla extract

she keeps refilling the jar with volka and beans - how to you keep track of which vanilla bean is cured enough to take out and squeeze the seeds out

I don't use enough vanilla to try this experiment - but it does look interesting

she also uses the spent pod to put in sugar - for vanilla sugar

LOVE INA

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

Harpa — Sat, 12 May 2018 12:17:35 GMT

After mascerating in alcohol for all that time, they will not go bad. I haven't had my pods for that long, but I never throw them out, unless I've scraped them to oblivion.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

cajun3mama — Sat, 12 May 2018 14:01:43 GMT

So why are vanilla beans so expensive?
It may surprise you to learn that vanilla bean pods come from an orchid (which already sounds expensive). In fact, the vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is the only orchid that produces an edible fruit. It was originally discovered climbing among the trees in Mexico and was later introduced to other warm tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
It's only one of about 100 climbing and terrestrial (land) orchids and can climb anywhere from ten to eighty feet into trees or shrubs. Vanilla orchid's natural pollinator is a Melipona bee species that is only found in Mexico. So, for many years this was the single resource for vanilla beans.
Today, vanilla is grown commercially in Madagascar, Caribbean, Mexico, Comoro Islands, Indonesia, Hawaii, and Tahiti. The cultivation of vanilla is extremely labor-intensive. The plants themselves don't even start producing vanilla beans until after three years. When they finally do bloom, the flowers only stay open for one day and have to be carefully pollinated within 12 hours of blooming.
To ensure pollination and the best vanilla bean flavor, each flower on every orchid is hand-pollinated. This is especially true for plants grown in areas other than Mexico where there would at least be the Melipona bees to help out.
This is harder than it sounds considering the flowers are opening every day at different times for several weeks. It takes nine full months for the seed pods to mature enough to harvest and every pod matures at a different rate. Which means, like the tedious flower pollination, workers are harvesting daily for three to four weeks at a time. Following the harvest, the seed pod curing process takes another three months. There's simply no rushing the production of pure vanilla extract, which is why this liquid spice remains so expensive.
Growing Your Own Vanilla Bean Plant
Vanilla orchids are evergreen plants with 6 " inch, yellow-green, fleshy foliage. Vanilla likes a neutral soil pH (6.6 - 7.5). Although you may not see a bloom on a cutting for a couple of years their blossoms show up in mid-spring to late summer -- and only for one day. The tubular flowers are white, yellow or green and about 5" inches across. If the flowers are successfully pollinated (which would have to be done by the gardener), 6"-10" long seed pods will follow about nine months later.
Vanilla orchids prefer high humidity and should be grown in an area where nighttime temperatures don't drop below 55 degrees, which makes gardens in USDA zones 10-11 their best bet. Bright light & filtered shade is preferred and the potting medium should be well-draining and humus-rich. Yes, you could come up with your own blend, but it's easier to purchase a proper soil mix specific to orchids.
Keep the soil evenly moist at all times taking care not to over-water at the same time. This orchid may not like its feet to dry out between waterings, but it doesn't want rotten roots either. During the spring and summer, lightly fertilize your vanilla bean plant every two weeks with an orchid fertilizer. Offer the vines some type of support for climbing and clinging such as a wooden trellis.
Vanilla bean plants aren't especially hard to grow but if your outdoor climate isn't ideal they're well-suited to the greenhouse, as well as indoors among other houseplants.

Re: Ina On Making Vanilla

PamelaSue72 — Sat, 12 May 2018 16:45:24 GMT

I've been making my own vanilla for quite a few years now. I make a fifth of vanilla, using bourbon and another fifth of vodka. They both have their places in my kitchen. For pound cake, vanilla ice cream, bread pudding, coffee cake, etc, I use my bourbon vanilla. For the rest, I'm comfortable with my vodka vanilla. Once a year (in the summer), I strain the vanilla, take the beans out and scrape them. Then I throw everything back into the bottle. I add 12 or so new beans, halved and scraped every summer; the really bad beans get discarded at that time. Before I ever use my vanilla, I always give a good roll....not a shake, but a roll. My vanilla smells awesome! (When I do brand new vanilla, I let it go for about six months before I use it. I tuck it away in the cabinet, get it out once a week or so, give a good roll, and then put it back.)

I've always got at least one bottle of vanilla going on somewhere in the kitchen. I always get at least one relative ask me for my vanilla as a Christmas gift! I keep little brown bottles on hand for them.