Vanilla Beans are in!!

[mr x]

I'd like to get these paid for and off my books before the NCM order is ready. Is the grain pick-up good for most people?

[homebrewcrew]

grain pickup is good for me.

[maltster]

grain pickup is good for me too.

[RubberToe]

Ditto.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[chalmers]

me too. thanks

[homebrewcrew]

How much do I owe you for the beans?

[mr x]

$10.75

[XmonikerX]

What do I owe you?

I can pick them up whenever, just let me know where you live or will be.

Cheers,

Dave

[mr x]

$10.75 is your bill. I'll pm my address.

[mr x]

By the way, here's a really great simple recipe with vanilla and chicken. I would even consider blasting the chicken over some rocking lump charcoal with some smoke for caramelization flavours.

http://chefmichaelsmith.com/Recipe/rose ... a-chicken/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CorneliusAlphonse]

By the way, here's a really great simple recipe with vanilla and chicken. I would even consider blasting the chicken over some rocking lump charcoal with some smoke for caramelization flavours.

http://chefmichaelsmith.com/Recipe/rose ... a-chicken/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mm, the recipe you mentioned to me. thanks!

[NASH]

Got my beans, thanks Xman!

[mr x]

Packaged more today. The aroma is insane. Going to try some goofy stuff with them. There is a crazy article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about smoked desserts. Apparently, you can smoke vanilla beans. There's crazy idea #1.

[CorneliusAlphonse]

got 1.5 litres of single fold mixed up yesterday, planning to split for Christmas gifts... didn't realize how much work splitting and scraping was, but it's looking good!

[homebrewcrew]

Packaged more today. The aroma is insane. Going to try some goofy stuff with them. There is a crazy article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about smoked desserts. Apparently, you can smoke vanilla beans. There's crazy idea #1.

Let me know how that works.

[homebrewcrew]

Wish now I had of got more beans. A lot of good recipes out there.

[GAM]

Wish now I had of got more beans. A lot of good recipes out there.

+1

Sandy

[LeafMan66_67]

Beans smelled awesome at the pickup today ... wish I had gotten some .. will know better next time!

[homebrewcrew]

Not sure how many people we can get interested but maybe a second order?

[GAM]

Build it and they will come.

9 pumps in one week, I think it can be done. Graham had a line on beens too.

Sandy

[maltster]

What is the best way to store these?

Thanks again X.

[mr x]

I've read different things - cool spot, refrigerate, do not refrigerate, no light..... I vac pac and put in basement or fridge.

[NASH]

Q: Which beans are right for me?

A: We like all the vanilla beans we sell, or we wouldn't carry them. That being said, so-called "Bourbon" gourmet beans, from Madagascar and the nearby islands, have the best reputation for quality and flavor. But the UGANDA GOLDTM beans we are importing have now, we believe, surpassed the best Madagascar beans in quality – they are beautiful, moist and incredibly flavorful. Our customers are raving about them!

The PNG planifolia beans we carry do not have quite the same reputation, but it is a very nice quality bean. They are cosmetically good looking, and they have a very pleasing flavor profile. The PNG tahitensis beans have a completely different flavor profile due to the distinct variety of chemical compounds found in the beans. Try our PNG tahitensis beans in your pastries and other baked goods for their unique, exotic flavor!

Our Indonesia beans are some of the best from that area of the world that we've seen on the market in a long time. They are long, moist and plump. The flavor profile is a little different from the Bourbon and Uganda beans, but they are quite good, and we get a lot of demand for them.

Our newest arrival is from India. We have finally found a source that is curing them in the traditional way, and we like what we see! So we imported a shipment and are now offering them at a promotional price. Try them – we think you will be as impressed as we were!!

The longer beans may tend to have a slightly stronger flavor, since they have been on the vine a bit longer. You will get more beans per pound for the shorter beans, but may have to use fewer beans per recipe for the longer beans.

We suggest you try a few of each type and see which variety you prefer.

Q: How should I store my gourmet vanilla beans?

A: Vanilla beans should be stored in a closed, but not air-tight, container in a cool, dry, relatively dark place. Do not store vanilla beans in the refrigerator or freezer! (The cold will dry them out and may promote a particular type of vanilla mold.) The important thing is that the temperature be relatively constant and that air circulate a bit (unless they are vacuum packed, in which case you can keep them that way until use). If you do store them in an air tight, sealed container, we recommend opening it every couple of weeks or so to let the air circulate a bit.

Q: How long will gourmet vanilla beans remain fresh?

A: Stored properly, gourmet beans should remain moist and easy to work with for at least six months, many times quite a bit longer. If the beans do dry out a bit, you can place a half of a small potato in a jar with them to soften them for use. You can also soften them a bit by placing them in some warm water or milk just before use.

Our certfied organic Extraction Grade 1 vanilla beans should have essentially an indefinite shelf life. The reason is that the flavor components in vanilla beans do not degrade significantly over time; the beans will just get drier as the moisture in them evaporates. So while at some point your gourmet beans may be a bit too dry to slice open and use in the kitchen, you can always use them for making vanilla extract or vanilla sugar. (Click here for our recipes for vanilla extract or vanilla sugar). Since our extraction-grade vanilla beans are already fairly dry, they should remain "potent" for a relatively long period of time. In fact, even after vanilla beans have been used for extract, they can often be used again, with some added, fresh beans, to make some more extract in a second "extraction."

Q. What is that white substance that I see on the surface of the beans - is that mold?

A. NO, it isn't mold!! Sometimes, due to temperature and humidity conditions, or how the beans are stored, the vanillin in the beans (vanillin being the principal flavor component in vanilla beans that gives them their characteristic vanilla flavor) will actually crystalize out to the surface of the beans. You can see this in the picture of vanilla beans we have at the top of our website - see the white spots and lines on the beans on the far right side of the picture? This is a good thing -- it shows the high quality of the vanilla beans that they have such a high vanillin content! If you warm the beans up a bit, the vanillin will usually melt back into the beans. But you can use them just as they are, as well.

There is a type of vanilla mold that sometimes does affect vanilla beans, but it comes from the source country - it does NOT develop just from the surrounding air as bread or cheese mold does. When it shows up it generally appears as a sickly, kind of slimy, yellowish/greenish substance on the surface of the beans and smells really, really bad. So if you do develop vanilla mold, you should know it!! Fortunately, vanilla mold is not, to our knowledge, toxic to humans (we have not heard of any allergic reactions to vanilla mold), so you can usually just wipe or wash it off, and the beans should be fine. If your beans go moldy, please do contact us to let us know, and, if you wish, we will process an exchange or refund.

Q: What about vanilla extract? How long does that stay fresh?

A: Vanilla extract is actually like fine red wine, it gets better with age! So you can keep vanilla extract essentially indefinitely. Again, we suggest you keep it in a cool, dry, relatively dark place; like any other flavor product, the flavor will degrade if exposed to extreme or variant temperatures, moisture or direct sunlight. Remember pure vanilla extract is 35% alcohol (by FDA regulation), so treat it as you would a fine liqueur!

Q: What exactly is Bourbon vanilla?

A: Originating on Bourbon Island (now called Reunion Island) in the Indian Ocean off the East Coast of Africa, the process for producing the best vanilla beans in the world now refers to beans grown and cured in the nearby islands: Madagascar, the Comoros Islands and Reunion.

By far the most important of these is Madagascar, which produces more than 60% of the world's vanilla, and where these finest of vanilla beans, known as Bourbon beans come from.

Q: How does Bourbon vanilla differ from Tahitian vanilla?

A: Bourbon vanilla beans come from the fruit of an orchid plant of the variety, vanilla planifolia, and are rich in the chemical compound vanillin, which, along with more than a hundred other organic compounds, contributes to its unique flavor profile. It's the flavor most associated with vanilla, that is used in ice creams and vanilla desserts.

Tahitian vanilla beans actually come from a completely different plant variety, called vanilla tahitensis which has very little vanillin content - but are high in certain "anisyl" compounds. Many pastry chefs like to use Tahitian vanilla because of its lively, fruity flavor.

[NASH]

How to Store Vanilla Beans:
Keep the vanilla in an airtight container (we recommend a glass jar) at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. Kept this way, it can be stored for 12 months. Do not worry if you see whitish powder on the surface of the beans for those are vanillin crystals - gold of the vanilla bean!

http://www.vanillafoodcompany.ca/Gourme ... ns-s/3.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mr x]

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Eggs/ ... shid=10455" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;