vanilla bean paste

For the best baking, use the best ingredients.

That is a pretty simple rule.  I stick with real cream, real Irish (or Amish) butter, quality eggs, and vanilla paste instead of extract.  Ok.... FIRST, there is NOTHING wrong with extract, if you are using a quality extract.  Why do I use the paste instead of there is nothing wrong with extract?  Paste has caviar and a more intense taste profile.  Second, vanilla is expensive, so get your money worth.

I used to get this

 

which is pretty good.  Still, it's $3.75 per ounce.  I think we can and should do better.  I found a vanilla bean co-op, well, no my cousin found it, and bought beans.  I decided to make my own vanilla bean paste. 

 

Intrigued yet?

How's this to up the game?  My vanilla bean paste was barely over an $11.00 investment and I have about 14 ounces. That's close to $0.82 per ounce.

Here's how:

Servings	Prep Time
16 oz	10 minutes

Cook Time

6-10 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 whole, premium grade vanilla beans
• 8.82 ounces Water
• 10.58 ounces granulated sugar
• 1.76 ounces Corn Syrup or glucose OR juice of one lemon 🍋 

Servings: 14-16 oz

1. Chop the beans into half inch long pieces.

   
2. Add the beans and half the sugar to a food processor and grind until it forms a sandy-looking mass. 

   

   
3. Add water, remaining sugar, and corn syrup or lemon juice to a medium sized pot and heat to boil over a medium flame. Allow to boil for 2 minutes.

   
4. Add to the sugar solution the ground vanilla beans and sugar. Allow to boil for another 2 minutes.

   

   

   

   look at all that caviar!
5. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve placed over a bowl. Use a flexible spatula to work the paste through the sieve as much as you can. Reserve the pulp that is left in the sieve. You can use this for extract.

   

   

   
6. Scrape into a glass jar with a well sealing lid (I use mason jars) and allow to fully cool before setting the lid.

   

   

Voila!  Vanilla bean paste.  This can be kept at room temperature (in a dark place please, they aren't fans of the light) for a year.  The will not last nearly that long in my kitchen!

What a way to kick up my debauched baking!

Tip:  Weigh out your ingredients.  You can use a measuring cup, but weighing is more accurate.