What is that and why is it in your pantry?
It’s time for another game of ‘What is that and why is it in your pantry/fridge/ freezer?’ No those aren’t bugs or turds. This item is great to have in your pantry. What is it?
Vanilla sugar!
I pulsed some regular white sugar in the Magic Bullet for a few seconds to get finer grains, then stored it with a broken vanilla bean pod. After a week or two, the whole thing is incredibly fragrant and you can use it any way you’d use plain sugar. I’ve read that one tablespoon of vanilla sugar has the flavoring power of 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
It’s great for cakes, cookies and frosting. I most often use it sprinkled on berries or in a cup of black tea. Actually, the most common thing I do is open up the container and smell it because it’s basically heaven.
Make your own by scraping vanilla beans into two cups of sugar (granulated white or caster sugar). Bury the pod in the sugar and keep in a covered container for at least a week for vanilla flavor to infuse itself. It can be stored pretty much indefinitely I think, and you can keep adding sugar as long as the vanilla pods have their fragrance.
Category: Cooking Basics | Tags: sugar, vanilla, what's that? 6 comments »
April 12th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
I could not help but smile that the vanilla sugar “secret” has touched another foodie’s soul!
They do smell amazing, don’t they? A nice pick-me-upper!
I make my own vanilla sugar as well and with two different kinds of vanilla. What type of vanilla bean did you use — tahitian or bourbon?
April 12th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Elaine — To be honest, I’m not 100% sure. I took the vanilla beans from my mom’s house. She gets them from Trader Joe’s.
How would you explain the difference between the two? When do you use each?
April 13th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Both vanilla types have different flavors; bourbon vanilla has a smooth, creamy and mellow flavor while tahitian vanilla has a rather floral and fruity flavor with a distinct star anise aroma – pastry chefs apparently favors Tahitian Vanilla for its flavor and aroma, it goes well with pastries, I suppose. Both types smell like vanilla and yet both have their own distinction. You can use both in your baked goods but in the end, it is a matter of preference. I personally find that when I combine both, they give me a very rounded vanilla flavor in my sugar and vanilla extracts.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I am so jealous of your pantry…(My kitchen is quite small.)
Vanilla sugar sounds great. Right now I just use vanilla extract.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I think the title should have been what is that in the little blue Tupperware? I common game I play in our house
April 14th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Hannah— There will more posts like this to answer your questions, promise.