Re: Tips needed for homemade vanilla extract

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Save your real vanilla for desserts, like puddings, ice
cream, whipped cream, frostings, etc., not for cakes, cookies, or
anything where it will be cooked.

Sheldon

uncooked pudding must be one of your famous secret techniques

Paddy said:

Quoted message said:

You're very, very young, only know instant pudding out of a box.

I'm old enough to know that pudding is cooked slowly and not boiled and
making vanilla ice cream calls for vanilla beans to be "rendered" of their
flavor in scalded milk

LOL You obviously know a lot more than our obnoxious self proclaimed expert.
:-)
Pudding and ice cream are labours of love, slowly cooked and constantly
stirred.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

ms. tonya said:

Going to make my first batch of homemade vanilla extract -2 fold-

very

Quoted message said:

shortly using organic vanilla beans & wondering if anyone who is a
master of this has tips or even their recipe they wouldn't mind

giving

Quoted message said:

out.

If they're good quality fresh beans and you intend to use the resultant
extract in a way that it will be subjected to high temperatures such as
in baked goods, then you are wasting your vanilla beans. Use your
beans for something not subjected to high temperatures, like ice
cream... for anything heated past boiling use vanilla flavoring, not
even extract. Modern vanilla flavoring is indistinguishable by humans
from even the most expensive extract if it will be subjected to high
temperatures. Save your real vanilla for desserts, like puddings, ice
cream, whipped cream, frostings, etc., not for cakes, cookies, or
anything where it will be cooked.

Sheldon

<shiver> Sorry babe, but there are many people, myself included, that
CAN tell the difference between "real" vanilla extract vs. the fake
stuff. I can't stand the fake stuff!

There are a lot of dessert chefs that I've seen on the cooking shows
(especially the ones on the stuff done at the teaching schools) that
don't use vanilla extract. They split the beans open and scrape them
out, and use the mush that is inside of the beans for direct flavoring.

I've never tried that, but I scored a number of fresh and inexpensive
beans off of ebay that are residing in my refrigerator right now that I
intend to try that with. ;-d

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob' virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz said:

Sheldon replied to Paddy:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

uncooked pudding must be one of your famous secret techniques

Actually it is.

Yer supposed to add the 'nilla AFTER the pudding is cooked, and AFTER
it has cooled a bit...

[I snipped Sheldon's typical splenetic racist misogynist commentary. I'm
sure he'll be more civil once he takes his Viagra and masturbates.]

This had me roflmao, thanks! ;-D
Wonder how many folks will have to google the word "mysogynist"?
Well done!

Quoted message said:

Sheldon is correct in this; if you're making a vanilla pudding using vanilla
extract, the extract should be added at the time he states.

I agreed with that also.
Same goes for brandy, rum or tequila.

Quoted message said:

But you're
better off making vanilla pudding using actual vanilla beans, and cooking
those beans with the pudding. More specifically, you should slit the beans,
scrape out the pulp, and add both the bean husks and the pulp to the pudding
when you start to cook it. At the end of cooking, fish the bean husks out.

Bob

You add the husks too? Interesting.
Most cooking shows I've seen just add the pulp and put the husks aside
to make extract, or they will grind the husks prior to adding them
rather than fishing them out.

Quoted message said:

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

Quoted message said:

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Katra replied:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

you should slit the beans, scrape out the pulp, and add both the bean
husks and the pulp to the pudding when you start to cook it. At the
end of cooking, fish the bean husks out.

You add the husks too? Interesting.
Most cooking shows I've seen just add the pulp and put the husks aside
to make extract, or they will grind the husks prior to adding them
rather than fishing them out.

Might as well use the husks in the pudding, since they will add flavor to
it. If you want to make vanilla extract, then you can do as you say. Or you
can simply put the husks into a jar of sugar and shake the jar every once in
a while; over time, the sugar will become vanilla-flavored.

I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and they'd
also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought a meat
grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of vanilla
beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have on hand.

Bob

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob' virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz said:

Katra replied:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

you should slit the beans, scrape out the pulp, and add both the bean
husks and the pulp to the pudding when you start to cook it. At the
end of cooking, fish the bean husks out.

You add the husks too? Interesting.
Most cooking shows I've seen just add the pulp and put the husks aside
to make extract, or they will grind the husks prior to adding them
rather than fishing them out.

Might as well use the husks in the pudding, since they will add flavor to
it. If you want to make vanilla extract, then you can do as you say. Or you
can simply put the husks into a jar of sugar and shake the jar every once in
a while; over time, the sugar will become vanilla-flavored.

I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and they'd
also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought a meat
grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of vanilla
beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have on hand.

Bob

Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with fresh
rosemary and other fresh herbs.

I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even if it's
just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients I use, such
as canned straw mushrooms.

I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water to a
food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely chopped?

Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned chef's knife.
;-)

I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but I've never
tried it. How long does it take?

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

Quoted message said:

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http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra

Katra said:

Quoted message said:

I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and they'd
also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought a meat
grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of vanilla
beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have on hand.

Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with fresh
rosemary and other fresh herbs.

I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even if it's
just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients I use, such
as canned straw mushrooms.

I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water to a
food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely chopped?

Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned chef's knife.
;-)

I tell you what: YOU try grinding vanilla beans that way and let me know how
it works! I'm perfectly willing to believe you, just not willing to make the
experiment first. :-) I've also processed ginger that way, but I think
ginger is a lot less leathery and sticky than vanilla.

Quoted message said:

I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but I've never
tried it. How long does it take?

After a couple days, you can taste the difference, but it keeps gaining in
flavor for at least a month.

Bob

On Fri 01 Apr 2005 11:07:03p, Bob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Katra said:

Quoted message said:

I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and
they'd also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought
a meat grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of
vanilla beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have
on hand.

Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with fresh
rosemary and other fresh herbs.

I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even if
it's just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients I use,
such as canned straw mushrooms.

I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water to a
food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely chopped?

Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned chef's
knife. ;-)

I tell you what: YOU try grinding vanilla beans that way and let me know
how it works! I'm perfectly willing to believe you, just not willing to
make the experiment first. :-) I've also processed ginger that way, but
I think ginger is a lot less leathery and sticky than vanilla.

I find it works well if you put sections of the vanilla bean in with dry
granulated sugar - no liquid.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but I've never
tried it. How long does it take?

It obviously depends on how much your grinding. At most, a very few
minutes.

Quoted message said:

After a couple days, you can taste the difference, but it keeps gaining
in flavor for at least a month.

Bob

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob' virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz said:

Katra said:

Quoted message said:

I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and they'd
also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought a meat
grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of vanilla
beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have on hand.

Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with fresh
rosemary and other fresh herbs.

I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even if it's
just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients I use, such
as canned straw mushrooms.

I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water to a
food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely chopped?

Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned chef's knife.
;-)

I tell you what: YOU try grinding vanilla beans that way and let me know how
it works! I'm perfectly willing to believe you, just not willing to make the
experiment first. :-) I've also processed ginger that way, but I think
ginger is a lot less leathery and sticky than vanilla.

<lol> Probably!
I've got some vanilla beans on hand, but it's going to be awhile before
I bake anything on _this_ particular diet, but I'll report when I do
give it a shot.

I might just try it with some cream to add to some plain vanilla ice
cream.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but I've never
tried it. How long does it take?

After a couple days, you can taste the difference, but it keeps gaining in
flavor for at least a month.

Bob

Thanks! ;-)

Oh, sad news (OT) Dad was listening to BBC just now and it appears that
the Pope did indeed pass away today. I'd heard rumors off and on all day
but was not sure if he was gone yet.

Appears to be official now.

How sad!

Quoted message said:

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Fri 01 Apr 2005 11:07:03p, Bob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Katra said:

> I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
> they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and
> they'd also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought
> a meat grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of
> vanilla beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have
> on hand.
>

Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with fresh
rosemary and other fresh herbs.

I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even if
it's just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients I use,
such as canned straw mushrooms.

I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water to a
food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely chopped?

Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned chef's
knife. ;-)

I tell you what: YOU try grinding vanilla beans that way and let me know
how it works! I'm perfectly willing to believe you, just not willing to
make the experiment first. :-) I've also processed ginger that way, but
I think ginger is a lot less leathery and sticky than vanilla.

I find it works well if you put sections of the vanilla bean in with dry
granulated sugar - no liquid.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but I've never
tried it. How long does it take?

It obviously depends on how much your grinding. At most, a very few
minutes.

Now that is a clever idea!
The dry sugar would keep it from being sticky!

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Fri 01 Apr 2005 11:07:03p, Bob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Katra wrote:

>> I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It

seems that

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder,

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> they'd also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I

thought

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> a meat grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a

*lot* of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> vanilla beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I

generally have

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> on hand.
>>
>
> Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with

fresh

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> rosemary and other fresh herbs.
>
> I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
> whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even

if

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> it's just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients

I use,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> such as canned straw mushrooms.
>
> I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water

to a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely

chopped?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>
> Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned

chef's

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> knife. ;-)

I tell you what: YOU try grinding vanilla beans that way and let

me know

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

how it works! I'm perfectly willing to believe you, just not

willing to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

make the experiment first. :-) I've also processed ginger that

way, but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I think ginger is a lot less leathery and sticky than vanilla.

I find it works well if you put sections of the vanilla bean in

with dry

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

granulated sugar - no liquid.

Quoted message said:

> I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but

I've never

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> tried it. How long does it take?

It obviously depends on how much your grinding. At most, a very

few

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

minutes.

Now that is a clever idea!
The dry sugar would keep it from being sticky!

Yeah, clever... and novel too... now that it's written why don't yoose
copywrite vanilla sugar, right alongside cinnamon sugar.

Sheldon

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sheldon said:

ms. tonya said:

Going to make my first batch of homemade vanilla extract -2 fold-

very

Quoted message said:

shortly using organic vanilla beans & wondering if anyone who is a
master of this has tips or even their recipe they wouldn't mind

giving

Quoted message said:

out.

If they're good quality fresh beans and you intend to use the resultant
extract in a way that it will be subjected to high temperatures such as
in baked goods, then you are wasting your vanilla beans. Use your
beans for something not subjected to high temperatures, like ice
cream... for anything heated past boiling use vanilla flavoring, not
even extract. Modern vanilla flavoring is indistinguishable by humans
from even the most expensive extract if it will be subjected to high
temperatures. Save your real vanilla for desserts, like puddings, ice
cream, whipped cream, frostings, etc., not for cakes, cookies, or
anything where it will be cooked.

Sheldon

<shiver> Sorry babe, but there are many people, myself included, that
CAN tell the difference between "real" vanilla extract vs. the fake
stuff. I can't stand the fake stuff!

Actually, there aren't very many people who can tell the difference
between the various grades of extract or the synthetic flavorings. It's
perhaps within the realm of possibility you're one, but a rather
distinguished tasting panel put together by Cooks Illustrated came up
with some surprising results. They preferred the imitation vanilla to
the extract in everything tested. These were no rookies, but skilled
professionals with developed palates.

As usual, Sheldon is mostly full of [censored] when he pontificates about what
gets cooked and what doesn't and how hot they get. "Past boiling..." Right.

Quoted message said:

There are a lot of dessert chefs that I've seen on the cooking shows
(especially the ones on the stuff done at the teaching schools) that
don't use vanilla extract. They split the beans open and scrape them
out, and use the mush that is inside of the beans for direct flavoring.

There are just as many who will tell you that searing meat seals in the
juices. Science is coming to the kitchen, but slowly.

Quoted message said:

I've never tried that, but I scored a number of fresh and inexpensive
beans off of ebay that are residing in my refrigerator right now that I
intend to try that with. ;-d

If they're inexpensive, they're suspect. Vanilla and saffron keep
changing places to be the most expensive flavoring agent. As for fresh,
that's not what you want. You want dry, dark brown, almost crisp,
obviously dessicated beans. They should be stored in a cool, dry place,
not a fridge where they might get some condensation on them and grow molds.

Pastorio

Sheldon said:

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Fri 01 Apr 2005 11:07:03p, Bob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>Katra wrote:
>
>>>I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
>>>they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and
>>>they'd also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought
>>>a meat grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of
>>>vanilla beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have
>>>on hand.
>>>
>>Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with fresh
>>rosemary and other fresh herbs.
>>
>>I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
>>whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even if
>>it's just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients I use,
>>such as canned straw mushrooms.
>>
>>I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water to a
>>food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely chopped?
>>Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned chef's
>>knife. ;-)
>
>I tell you what: YOU try grinding vanilla beans that way and let me know
>how it works! I'm perfectly willing to believe you, just not willing to
>make the experiment first. :-) I've also processed ginger that way, but
>I think ginger is a lot less leathery and sticky than vanilla.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I find it works well if you put sections of the vanilla bean in with dry
granulated sugar - no liquid.

>>I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but I've never
>>tried it. How long does it take?

It obviously depends on how much your grinding. At most, a very few
minutes.

Now that is a clever idea!
The dry sugar would keep it from being sticky!

Scrape the inside of the pods very well to get out as much of the paste
as possible - it should feel almost dry. When that's done, chop the pod
into pieces, add the sugar (or flour or cornstarch or whatever dry
ingredients seem appropriate) and whirl it in a processor or spice mill.
Do it until the pieces are small enough to suit you. It can run from
seconds to minutes. You'll have better results doing it with dry
ingredients than wet. In water or milk, the pod pieces will just be
pushed around through the liquid. They'll eventually be broken down a
bit, but nothing like with the dry materials. There's more resistance to
their being pushed, so they break down more quickly.

Quoted message said:

Yeah, clever... and novel too... now that it's written why don't yoose
copywrite vanilla sugar, right alongside cinnamon sugar.

<LOL> Poor, sulky, intransigent Sheldon. Has to keep on and on about
what he's so dead wrong about. Proven wrong, demonstrated to be wrong,
refuted at every turn... so he takes little shots from the periphery...

Poor, defeated Sheldon who *still* doesn't understand what copyright is
and isn't. He can't seem to grasp that you don't have to *do* anything
for copyright to accrue. It's automatic, like sunrise and Sheldon's
vulgarity.

Pastorio

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob (this one) said:

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Actually, there aren't very many people who can tell the difference

I can. :-P
There is just a certain "fake-ness" about fake vanilla!
It's gross.

Do you drink flavored coffee's? Can't STAND the damn things and even the
smell of the vanilla flavored coffee brewing makes me nauseous!

If I want vanilla in my coffee, I'll add some of the "real stuff" after
it's brewed! The real extract just has that certain flavor. The fake
stuff is just insidious. :-P

Quoted message said:

between the various grades of extract or the synthetic flavorings. It's
perhaps within the realm of possibility you're one, but a rather
distinguished tasting panel put together by Cooks Illustrated came up
with some surprising results. They preferred the imitation vanilla to
the extract in everything tested. These were no rookies, but skilled
professionals with developed palates.

Ok, so, send me two unmarked vials in the mail. ;-)
This e-mail works for me and I'll even pay for it.

Quoted message said:

As usual, Sheldon is mostly full of [censored] when he pontificates about what
gets cooked and what doesn't and how hot they get. "Past boiling..." Right.

<lol>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There are a lot of dessert chefs that I've seen on the cooking shows
(especially the ones on the stuff done at the teaching schools) that
don't use vanilla extract. They split the beans open and scrape them
out, and use the mush that is inside of the beans for direct flavoring.

There are just as many who will tell you that searing meat seals in the
juices. Science is coming to the kitchen, but slowly.

So you feel that vanilla extract is just as good as pure vanilla pulp?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've never tried that, but I scored a number of fresh and inexpensive
beans off of ebay that are residing in my refrigerator right now that I
intend to try that with. ;-d

If they're inexpensive, they're suspect. Vanilla and saffron keep
changing places to be the most expensive flavoring agent. As for fresh,
that's not what you want. You want dry, dark brown, almost crisp,
obviously dessicated beans. They should be stored in a cool, dry place,
not a fridge where they might get some condensation on them and grow molds.

Sorry, I mis-spoke myself. These look like long slender raisins and are
currently residing in a closed glass spice jar in the 'frige. Guess I
should take them out of there. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Pastorio

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra