Comments on: Homemade Holidays: Vanilla Bean Sugar

By: Marit

Marit — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:37:11 +0000

This is exactly how my mom used to make her Vanilla Sugar, when I grew up! It is delicious and just opening the jar makes me feel like i am back home :)

By: Becky

Becky — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 08:46:20 +0000

I am living in Germany, and cannot find vanilla extract. I make my own by doing the same with the bean and steeping in vodka…not quite the same intensity as back home, but in baked goods, the flavor is the same….oh fresh vanilla is da killa!

By: Sayward

Sayward — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:31:13 +0000

Haha, Waits is such a lucky little dude to have so much love coming his way. Thank you guys!

And YUM there are some great ideas in these comments! =D

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:53:09 +0000

@Annie: I really want to try cinnamon sugar now… Maybe cinnamon-vanilla sugar… Mmmm…

@sarah: I 2nd the call for a link. I googled that guy, but google told me to go to his website at my own risk…

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:47:38 +0000

<3 Vanilla sugar! We also put extra vanilla skins (?) in sugar for nomness like Rebecca mentioned, but having the caviar in there would be awesome too. It's really pretty once it cures!

We made a bunch of our own vanilla extract this year and gave some as gifts. Every time I pull down the rum bottle to put vanilla in something, my 2yo asks for a smell :) OMG it smells so good. I put about 8-9 beans (split open) in a full 750ml bottle of dark rum and let it set. The molasses tones of the rum + vanilla means I want to swig it before it's done. Is that like spiced rum? What's in spice rum anyway? So far I've resisted :D The awesome thing about the extract (like the sugar) is that you can just keep adding rum. And used beans for that matter. It lasts for ages too.

Also, I found a nice cheap source of beans… Haven't researched them much, though, beyond their price!
http://www.vanillaproductsusa.com/

Are you a Happy Solstice person too?? We're doing our first at home celebrating of the solstice this year with our little family, and it's pretty fun. It's opening up Christmas day for us, and I've been thinking about ways to spend the day… maybe visiting a nursing home? I used to do that more regularly… any ideas? Some people I know are going to volunteer at a soup kitchen, but I imagine they get plenty of helpers. Happy Solstice back!

By: Melissa L.

Melissa L. — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:42:27 +0000

Oh, what a little sugar Waits is! The vanilla bean sugar looks like something I need in my life. Thanks!

By: HeatherG

HeatherG — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:07:04 +0000

My heart can’t take the cuteness!!! LOVE Waits expression as he sniffs!!!

By: Natasja

Natasja — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 10:40:35 +0000

om nom nom…thanks!
& seriously, Waits is one of the cutest little people I have ever laid eyes on (& I have seen a LOT of cute babies). His facial expressions crack me up!

By: erosan

erosan — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:09:56 +0000

@sarah: do you have a link to that recipe? I don’t think I’ve ever done RAW vegan ice cream… what better occasion than this to make one!

I just hope the recipe won’t call for any of the weird substitutes, as most of them (actually all of them, except soy milk) are pretty much impossible to find in this city. At least I don’t know where.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:02:40 +0000

Yummy…although, as you all (Sayward and Bonzai readers) try to practice conservation, I would like to add that it is possible to scrape the vanilla beans for another purpose (anything else you’re making really…”ice cream” and so on) and THEN use the discarded vanilla bean to infuse the sugar. Will still be PLENTY vanilla-y AND you’ve gotten 2 uses out of a mega-expensive vanilla bean! yup yup