Vanilla as an ingredient is a wondrous thing, ambrosial, floral, warm, and sophisticated.“It’s an essential ingredient, adding not just flavor, but also body and soul into a dish,” says Francis Ang, a San Francisco-based pastry chef.It is integral to so many foods, adding familiarity to everything from ice cream to sugar cookies.it’s a luxury good in its own right, the result of a wildly time and labor-intensive harvest that must be done almost entirely by hand.

Vanilla is anything but plain

Vanilla pods are the fruit of a stunning flower known as the vanilla orchid, which is the only orchid to bear edible fruit.The most commonly used vanilla orchid for culinary purposes is vanilla planifolia, native to Mexico, and grown across the Caribbean, northern South America, Central America, and Madagascar.

Where does Vanilla come from ?

Madagascar accounts for roughly 80 percent of the world’s supply today, so that’s probably the “traditional” flavor you’re most used to.Mexican vanilla is a little bolder and slightly smoky,Tahitian vanilla is more delicate and floral.

Do different vanillas have different flavors?

Vanilla harvesting is a time and labor-intensive endeavor that defies automation. It’s an incredibly long process that can’t be rushed.The vanilla orchids only open one day a year, and they must be hand-pollinated because this particular flower has only one natural pollinator the Melipona bee.It takes the pods another eight to nine months to mature, and then they must be hand-picked while green. The pods must be cured, then wrapped in little blankets and dried, a three-to-six-month process during which they ferment and shrink down by 400 percent.

Why are vanilla beans so expensive?

You can tell if a vanilla bean is really good based on how thick and plump it is, it should almost look a little moist.Brands such as <a href="https://nielsenmassey.com/" target="_self">Nielsen-Massey</a>, <a href="https://www.heilalavanilla.com/" target="_self">Heilala</a>, <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https://www.beanilla.com/&referrer=eater.com&sref=https://www.eater.com/2021/7/22/22585676/what-is-vanilla-flavoring-how-to-use-cooking-recipes&xcust=___et__p_22349717__s_pocket_discover__t_w__d_D" target="_self">Beanilla</a>, <a href="https://vanillaqueen.com/" target="_self">the Vanilla Queen</a>, and <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https://www.burlapandbarrel.com/collections/all/products/nyanza-vanilla&referrer=eater.com&sref=https://www.eater.com/2021/7/22/22585676/what-is-vanilla-flavoring-how-to-use-cooking-recipes&xcust=___et__p_22349717__s_pocket_discover__t_w__d_D" target="_self">Burlap &amp; Barrel</a> are generally reliable.

How do I know if I’m getting a good one?

Vanilla extract is made by macerating chopped vanilla bean pods in alcohol, which extracts the flavors and fragrances from the bean.Look for pure vanilla extract, which must contain 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon during extraction and 35 percent alcohol. Beans and extract are interchangeable in most recipes, one whole vanilla bean is equivalent to one tablespoon of extract.

What’s the difference between a vanilla bean pod and vanilla extract?

A guide to what vanilla is, the different forms it takes as an ingredient, and why you should never buy imitation vanilla extract.

Food

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Vanilla

Iced coffee - coffee served over ice and mixed with milk - can seem very easy to make. But there are all kinds of details that can affect the quality.&nbsp; Here's all you need to make the ideal version at home.

Making perfect iced coffee at home

The foundation for a perfect iced coffee lies in the right sort of coffee bean. You want a single, sweet, full-bodied coffee, such as a Brazilian or a Colombian. When the coffee is combined with heated milk, the natural sugars are brought out. But if you use a coffee blend, this process doesn't occur, and the finished product might be too acidic.

Step one: Coffee

<ul><li>The quickest option to make an iced coffee is with capsules.</li><li>You can also make coffee with an espresso machine. Weigh out 18,5 grams of freshly ground coffee, then tamp it evenly. The espresso extraction should be timed, about 30 seconds.</li><li>For a cold brew, use a light to medium roast as anything darker might be too bitter. With a cafetière, add 120g coarsely ground coffee per litre of cold water, stir and leave in the fridge for a day. Then plunge it for a cold brew coffee. Use a double shot for iced coffee.</li></ul>

Different ways to make coffee

<ol>
<li>Coffee in: Prepare one shot of hot coffee or a double shot of cold brew coffee.</li>
<li>Sweeten: If you have prepared the perfect type of coffee in the best way, your coffee should be sweet enough to drink. You can add sugar when you are pouring the hot coffee.</li>
<li>Pour over ice: Your shot of coffee goes in the bottom of the glass. Then fill with ice - between a third and a half.</li>
<li>Add milk: Top up the glass with milk. Full-fat milk gives a better flavour, but experiment with what works for you.</li>
<li>Stir vigorously to combine the coffee, milk and ice.</li>
</ol>

Coffee in, ice over top, milk, stir

From choosing the best beans and selecting the right milk to stirring vigorously, here’s all you need to consider for a delicious summer drink

Stashed ideas

Brew master: five steps to making the perfect iced coffee at home

The National Coffee Association certainly believes that the best way to store coffee is to put them in an airtight container.
Coffee should be kept in an opaque container that is able to protect it from light and then stored in a cool place.

Properly Storing Coffee

Health

Different types of coffee lose their freshness easily, such as coffee grounds lose freshness faster than whole beans due to it having a surface area that's exposed to oxygen while whole beans will lose freshness almost as soon as they're done roasting.

Purpose of Proper Storage

Some coffee advocates argue that freezing your coffee will prolong its shelf life but moisture is the enemy of fresh coffee. Storing your coffee in the freezer might also lead to having freezer-burnt coffee.However, freezing your coffee can keep it fresh for up to a month if you take the right steps:<ol><li>Divide the product into individually portioned bags before putting it in the freezer.</li><li>Seal coffee bags as airtight as possible to prevent air from coming in and out.</li></ol>

Freezing Coffee Properly

Proper coffee storage is important, but sticking your coffee grounds or beans in the freezer may be doing more harm than good.

What Is the Best Way to Store Coffee?

<ul>
<li>Take a bite of your chocolate and have your tongue spread the melting chocolate all over your palate and notice the feeling of what we can compare to a symphony.</li>
<li>The front notes, middle notes, and the afternotes of the chocolate will liven your experience.</li>
<li>Some chocolates may lead with acidity and follow with fruitiness and earthier tones.</li>
<li>The only way to build your chocolate savoring skills is to buy more chocolate and keep on tasting.</li>
</ul>

Savoring Chocolate: Taste

Try to notice the texture of your chocolate. Is it smooth? Gritty? Is there texture? Rub your fingers on the chocolate and feel it.
Some chocolates that are silkier have more cocoa butter in them and those that have a rough feel might have been stone-ground.

Savoring Chocolate: Touch

When you snap the chocolate in two, we don&#39;t often think about it, but it gives us a peek as to how the chocolate was tempered.

Savoring Chocolate: Sound

Cocoa has more than 600 aroma compounds that range from bright, tart berries to sweet floral noted. 
You&#39;ll be stormed by scents as you open your chocolate bar and even more so when it melts on your tongue and wafts through your nose and the back of your throat.

Savoring Chocolate: Smell

<ul>
<li>Unwrap your chocolate bar and look at it. </li>
<li>Cocoa beans are diverse and can vary in color from reddish to dark brown. Sometimes your chocolate may have a whitish discoloration but this doesn&#39;t mean that your chocolate went bad. </li>
<li>Cocoa beans have a very high fat composition and sometimes the fat crops up to the surface.</li>
</ul>

Savoring Chocolate: Sight

Making (and tasting) chocolate is an art. In this episode, a cocoa expert guides us through the world of chocolate and how you can appreciate it to its fullest.

How To Savor Chocolate Like A Cocoa Expert  : Life Kit

Every Fall, there are ‘limited edition’ offerings of Pumpkin Spice pies, lattes and even Kit Kats.
The ingredients of Pumpkin Spice are usually nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and other spices. These spices have certain chemicals that have sedative and relaxing effects if taken in small doses, and may be a psychoactive reason to crave this holiday special treat.

The Annual Pumpkin Spice Craze

Money & Investments

The seasonal treat of Pumpkin Pie is associated with the holidays, celebrations, family gatherings and positive memories.
Big corporations exploit a persuasion tactic called the principle of scarcity, when the ‘limited time’ offering becomes a compelling factor for the consumers to act fast or miss the deal.

Pumpkin Spice Craze: Psychological Reasons

A persuasive factor highlighted in this craze is the Bandwagon Effect, where the popularity and social craze of a particular product (similar to the tulip craze) causes a frenzy among everyone to ‘get with it’ and appear hip and cool.