Vanilla Powder - Tools for making vanilla extracts

Make your own fresh vanilla for using a few simple tools. Your vanilla flavoring will include natural ingredients and they will control the quality. Commercial vanilla processors add sugar or another type of sweetener or combine pure vanilla with synthetic vanillin to reduce production costs. For avoiding this, it's easy to create your own vanilla flavoring at home.

                         Cut the beans in lengthwise with the scissors and leave an inch at one end intact. Place the beans in the glass jar. Pour the vodka over the beans and push the beans down into the alcohol. Put the lid on the jar and place it in a cool dark place for 8 weeks. The longer you leave it, the more pronounced the vanilla flavor will be. Shake the jar every couple of weeks to mix the vanilla pods with the vodka. Add sugar syrup to sweeten. For making the syrup, boil 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water. Remove from heat when the sugar is dissolved.
                 Use in baking when flavoring has reached desired potency. It should have a medium amber color. You can remove the beans once you're satisfied with the flavor of your extract or you can leave them to steep and develop more flavor.
                     Make your own vanilla powder at home by processing dried vanilla beans in a coffee grinder. Drier vanilla beans will make for a more powdery end result. Because it does not contain any alcohol, the flavor of vanilla powder is not affected by prolonged cooking times. Try using vanilla powder in white icings to prevent the color tint caused by using dark vanilla extract. Sprinkle vanilla powder directly onto waffles, oatmeal, fruit and other foods to quickly add a rich vanilla flavor to your meal. Because it dissolves quickly and does not contain any alcohol, vanilla powder makes an ideal addition to hot drinks such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

For more details about:  Vanilla Beans Recipes

Vanilla Beans Recipes - Use of vanilla powder for baking

In many recipes the use of vanilla extract will be easily found in every grocery store. A lesser known alternative to vanilla extract is vanilla powder, which will be made by grinding dried vanilla beans. Vanillapowder is more potent than its extract cousin and does not contain any alcohol allowing it to be added to warm liquids, such as coffee and tea without evaporating. Vanilla powder is not as widely available as vanilla extract, many specialty stores and online shops do carry the ingredien

                        By purchasing the vanilla powder from a specialty grocery store or online it is comprised of ground vanilla beans, while sweetened vanilla powder is ground sugar which will be mixed with vanilla extract. Choose the recipe according to your recipe. When you are substituting vanilla powder for vanilla extract, purchase pure vanilla powder rather than the sweetened variety.
                                      You can follow your recipe and add the requested amount of vanilla powder. For substituting vanilla powder for vanilla extract, use half of the amount. For example, a recipe that calls for 1 tsp. of vanilla extract would need only ½ tsp. of vanilla powder.
                            You have to store the unused vanilla powder in an airtight container away from extreme temperatures or moisture. Unlike vanilla extract, when stored properly vanilla powder never spoils.
                          Make your own vanilla powder at home by processing dried vanilla beans in a coffee grinder. Drier vanilla beans will make for a more powdery end result. Because it does not contain any alcohol, the flavor of vanilla powder is not affected by prolonged cooking times. Use vanilla powder in white icings to prevent the color tint caused by using dark vanilla extract. Sprinkle vanilla powder directly onto waffles, oatmeal, fruit and other foods to quickly add a rich vanilla flavor to your meal. Because it dissolves quickly and does not contain any alcohol, vanilla powder makes an ideal addition to hot drinks such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

For more details about:    vanilla beans for sale

Vanilla Powder - Various types of vanilla beans

Mexico was the sole producer of the vanilla bean until the 1800s when the French took clippings of the vanilla orchid to Reunion Island and began hand-pollinating the plant to produce vanilla. It is placed vanilla in the neighboring French territories of Madagascar, Comoro and Santa Maria. Currently vanilla is produced primarily in Madagascar, China, Mexico and Indonesia, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The beans will be produced in these and many other countries, including the recent production in the U.S. on the Big Island of Hawaii, they are usually classified into four categories.

Mexican Vanilla

                     Mexico is the native country of the vanilla orchid, but the bean will be produced in smaller quantities here. Mexico's production of vanilla falls far short of the Indonesia, Madagascar and China efforts despite its proximity to the world's largest vanilla consumer, the United States. Part of the issue is that there have been problems in the past with Mexican vanilla being mixed with the extract of the tonka bean, which contains coumarin, a toxin banned in foods in 1940, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Bourbon-Madagascar Vanilla

                      Madagascar or Bourbon Vanilla will be the most well-known product today which will be the primary source of the bean for the majority of the past century. The bean itself is the same species originating in Mexico, but because of the lack of the non-stinging melipona bee in the region to pollinate the orchids, a system of hand-pollination had to be established to make the orchid produce its fruit. The first clippings were brought to the Ile of Bourbon by the French and hence it is named as Bourbon Vanilla.

West Indian Vanilla

                       West Indian Vanilla will come from an entirely different strain of orchid and cultivated in the Caribbean, Central and South America. West Indian Vanilla is not as widely available as other members of its family. The plant itself is present in Florida and the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico.

Tahitian Vanilla

                       Tahitian vanilla is native to French Polynesia and it is thought to have derived either from a mutation of Mexican vanilla or a cross-pollination of Mexican and an uncultivated strain. The rare spice is a favorite among French and Polynesian gourmets and the orchid it comes from is not found in the wild. The orchid is introduced from Guatamala through the Manila Galleon trade, according to a genetic archaeology study from the University of California Riverside.

For more details about:    vanilla beans healthy foods

Vanilla bean cheesecake - Making vanilla from vanilla beans

Vanilla is the one of the most commonly used flavoring in the United States, and it is made from the pods of the vanilla plant. These pods will be of 8 to 12 inches in length, with a smooth, black surface. Vanilla is made at home with vanilla beans, but significant time is required for the beans to infuse their flavor into a usable extract. This recipe yields approximately 1 pint, or 2 cups, of vanilla. It will be used to flavor sweet foods such as ice cream or baked goods, or anywhere else vanilla extract is require to do the best things.
·  Cut the vanilla beans lengthwise using scissors and you have to begin at one end and cut up the center of each bean, leaving the last inch uncut to keep the bean together. Pour the vodka into the glass jar, and then place the cut vanilla beans into the jar with the cut end down. Push them down into the vodka until they are fully submerged.
·  Place the lid onto the glass jar and close tightly in place. Move the jar into a cool, dark place such as a kitchen cupboard. Allow the vanilla to stand for 4 to 8 weeks without disturbing. The longer the vanilla stands will be more potent it will become.
                             You can strain the vanilla through a fine mesh sieve for removing the vanilla beans. Pour the liquid into dark colored glass bottles for storage. Label with the contents and store in a dark place for up to six months.

·  Place the lid onto the glass jar and secure tightly in place. Move the jar into a cool, dark place such as a kitchen cupboard. Allow the vanilla to stand for 4 to 8 weeks without disturbing. The longer the vanilla stands, the more potent it will become.

                           Strain the vanilla through a fine mesh sieve to remove the vanilla beans. Pour the liquid into dark colored glass bottles for storage. Label with the contents and store in a dark place for up to six months.

For more details about:  vanilla bean cupcakes