What is a vanilla bean?
Vanilla beans start off as green, 6 to 10-inch cigar-shaped seedpods of the vanilla plant. Freshly harvested pods have no aroma or flavor so to develop their distinctive flavor, pods are cured by sun-drying during the day and sweating under blankets at night for 3- to 4 months. During this process they ferment, shrink and turn dark brown. Next, they’re graded and shipped to the U.S. They’re either packaged as whole vanilla beans or made into pure extract by a process similar to making coffee. Once aged, the pure extract is sent to grocers. Using Vanilla Beans Inside of the dark brown bean is the prized mass of moist, very small brownish-black seeds. The seeds contain most of the flavor, but the skin has some as well. To store the beans, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and put in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. The beans can be used in several ways: • For liquid-based desserts like sauces, ice cream and custard, the bean can be slit open lengthwise, or left in
