Vanilla Bean Grade A

After spending $25 for 10 Vanilla beans you already know that my sanity is suspect. I get it. But I couldn't help myself after seeing a single dried out Vanilla bean in a jar selling for about $11 at my local Publix I gave in to whimsy. I opened the package and inside was the most vanilla-y aroma ever experienced. It looks like I got 9 really nice beans and one scragglier (skinny, thin and not very moist). It's hard to describe the texture, softer than raisins but not as dry as sun dried tomatoes. Not being an expert, I cannot say for sure. One thing I do know is quality and freshness. These have it. The bean I used is going into some vanilla ice cream so I split the bean down the middle to expose the pulpy seed laden interior. Then cut it into a few pieces. The recipe called for me to mix it with milk and then put in the blender for 1 minute. The milk is then heated along with cream, sugar and stabilizers (powdered milk, corn starch) to 190 degrees. The mixture was strained and cooled overnight. The bean imparted some darkening to the mixture and the vanilla seeds are visible. I just tasted the mix after freezing in my ice cream maker. The flavor is a subtle, flowery light vanilla flavor. There is absolutely no bitterness only some slight sweetness from the bean (My ice cream mix uses very little sugar). I am very pleased with the finished product. My next few experiments will be making some extract and flavoring some vodka. Other than the skinny bean, these seem to be very good quality, fresh beans that impart a delicate light flavor of the finest vanilla. I know they won't keep long because I live in a warm climate so we will be making lots of stuff to use them up. Yes they are expensive, and obviously an extravagance (1 whole bean to 1 1/2 quarts ice cream) but if you like to cook and want true flavors, they are worth it.

I purchased 1/4 oz each of Madagascar and Tahiti vanilla beans, both are grade B beans. The Madagascar beans were a little smaller and dried out, but pliable. The Tahiti beans were larger & plump and had a much stronger vanilla smell to them. The Madagascar vanilla beans package had about 60 beans and the Tahiti had about 50 beans in each of the vaccum sealed bag. I think buying these beans by the oz is a better deal than purchasing the beans by the number of beans in the pack. I will definitely be order more Tahiti vanilla beans in the future!

It was as I hoped and expected. The beans were vacuum sealed, so proper care was taken there. The beans themselves we're moist and plump. The batch of vanilla ice cream I made with the first beans used was wonderfully fragrant and had a great deep vanilla flavor. I've used the leftover pods for some nice tasting vanilla sugar too.A worthwhile purchase indeed.

These vanilla beans were OK. They are a little on the dry side for grade-A. I used used them for making vanilla, but felt like I needed more than I would normally use to make it strong enough ( At this point it has been steeping for 7-8 months) and it is still more mild than some that I started in November with beans from another website that were a little more fresh, plump and juicy. ( Definitely recommend ordering from a reputable vanilla distributor).These are great for some who is just wanting to play around with ingredients or extract making ( I don't feel guilty scraping seeds for 4 beans for one recipe when using these) but if you are really after quality and you probably won't be too happy.These do have the expected fruity flavor of Tahitian vanilla beans, if you are not familiar with it you may be a bit caught off guard since it is extremely different than Mexican or Madagascar vanilla - so keep that in mind as well.This is a good additive for cocktails though, it is quite nice with bourbon and lemon.

Vanilla was in perfect condition and smelled fresh. Oils were not rancid and flavor was fantastic. I will buy again! Made pure vanilla extract with 5 beans and a pint of everclear liquor. Will be potent and delicious in 6 months. Then I will strain the beans and add more everclear to the beans. They will continue to produce pure vanilla extract for years to come.Also made vanilla sugar with beans and a quart of sugar in an air tight container. Cant wait to use it in 3 months

I love the freshness of these vanilla beans. When you slice them they have lots of fresh full bodied vanilla beans inside. The outside of the bean are also very soft and I use every part of it. After I am done getting the beans out I take the casing and put in containers with sugar to flavor my sugar and my sugar gets a nice vanilla flavor. I really love the taste of these beans- they are rich and full of flavor. I use them in home made ice cream and it always add more flavor than the vanilla extracts you can buy. If you are looking to find a vanilla bean to add to your cooking then I would recommend these vanilla beans. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I have ordered these 3 times. The first two times the vanilla pods were super dry. I think you really would have to squint to see how these could really be labeled Grade A. However, the taste and aroma was really on point. Tahitian vanilla really is the best vanilla. I made a crème brûlée and vanilla bean ice cream, I used double the dose of vanilla to make up for the dry pods. The rest I have in big jugs of vodka, turning into extract. However, I got some more recently to top off my extract and omg I got some real Grade A stuff. So soft, so moist. With the same great aroma. The inconsistency sucks, but it’s still a great price for the best kind of vanilla. The reason I got the 3rd batch was with the expectation that it wouldn’t be Grade A, but it will still make an amazing extract. Definitely recommend it.Update:Unfortunately, I was so happy that this batch was fresh that I didn’t notice it was moldy. Sigh :(