The advantages of living in such a diverse country like India are many-fold, especially from the gastronomic perspective. The variations of food through different cultures are immense. There is always something new you haven’t tasted before. And of course, I don’t have to ship in Vanilla Pods from Madagascar because the gorgeous terrains of South India took care of that aspect for me.
If you’ve never experienced the scent and taste of a vanilla bean, you haven’t experienced vanilla yet. So the next time you are in Coorg ( Vanilla Beans are ubiquitous), do pick up some. Even if you don’t bake extensively. Just, trust me. Do.
Ever since I got my suppy of Vanilla Beans from Coorg, I use them everywhere instead of the artificial Vanilla Essence. It delicious and gives you a good feeling about being ‘organic’, if nothing else!
Now in a Vanilla Bean, the seeds are what you want. They hold the most flavour. Even though the skins themselves hold a mighty amount of flavour themselves, the seeds have a direct punch.
The procedure to remove seeds from a Vanilla Bean include 2 steps.
1. Slit the Vanilla Bean down its entire length.
2. With the width of your knife, scrape out all the seeds by running it down the slit.
And voila, you’re all done.
P.S- Don’t you dare throw away those skins. Just bury them within the sugar containers and let them be. After a few days, your sugar will have the most subtle and beautiful vanilla scent! 🙂
