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    Vanilla Beans, Keeping


    Source of Recipe


    David

    List of Ingredients




    Keeping Vanilla Beans

    Recipe




    Don't throw out dry or withered beans. They will probably rehydrate in a warm liquid and will still contain flavor. I don't recommend attempting to cut open very dry beans until they are rehydrated, as it's easy to have the knife slip. If you prefer, grind them up and use them in a recipe that calls for ground beans.


    Vanilla beans will keep indefinitely in a cool, dark place in an airtight container. Don't refrigerate beans as this can cause them to harden and crystallize. In the humid tropics where beans are grown, they are wrapped in oiled or waxed paper and stored in tin boxes.

    As I live in a cooler, dryer climate, I keep my beans wrapped in plastic in an airtight plastic tub or glass jar. If you live in a hot humid climate, this isn't a good idea as beans can mildew easily, especially if additional moisture collects in the plastic.

    Bourbon beans may develop a frosting of natural vanillin crystals if you keep them for a while. This usually occurs over time and not when the beans are first cured and dried.

    Called givre in French (which means light frost), these crystals indicate that the beans are high in natural vanillin and are of very good quality. These crystals are quite edible and very flavorful. If you are uncertain whether the beans are covered with crystals or mildewed, take them into the sunlight. The crystals are similar to mineral crystals and will reflect the sun's rays, creating the colors of the rainbow. Mildew, on the other hand, will be dull and flat in the light, and may also smell bad. If the bean is mildewed, throw it away as the mildew will spread to uninfected beans.

    source is David

 

 

 


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