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Reliable Sources for Vanilla Beans


Bond Girl

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I've bought tahitiensis beans off of Ebay that were moist, plump and smelled wonderful -- but had an incredibly mild flavor, and seemed to have almost no vanillin. I don't know if this is typical of tahitiensis beans or not.  The Nielsen Massey beans (the planifolia variety) you see in many stores in the US are crazy overpriced, but they have always been good.

I've never came across strongly flavoured tahitian beans.

It's true that they have robust flower smell but definitely not a strong vanilla flavour.

It's funny to see how two species from one genus can be so different.

- fanny

fanny loves foodbeam

pâtisserie & sweetness

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I haven't used Vanilla a lot, but will have to since I got a bunch at home. I got 4 oz (about 20+ beans) of bourbon vanilla for $22 to make truffles and caramels with. So far, I think I've only gone through about 5. The ones I got have a nice flavor that stands out in the caramels.

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I received half a pound of Organic Tahitians that I've gifted out to friends this holiday season.: 15 beans or so in a jar filled with coffee beans or sugar.

I've enjoyed grinding the whole bean and adding to my cookies or waffles.

Have noticed that steeping a split bean produces a sticky mucilage like property. First noticed this property when making hot buttered rum batter. Very similar to when one heats up flax seeds in water: gel producing.

flavor floozy

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I used to work at a homemade ice cream store, where we took our vanilla pretty seriously. We made it in quantities that were too large to make using the beans practical, but we used expensive, single origin extracts.

We had been told that vanilla lovers usually prefer mexican vanilla. but in side by side taste tests of the ice cream, the owner and I consistently liked the big, round flavor of the madagascar vanilla better. The tahitian vanilla was at the bottom of our list.

I don't know if you can generalize anything about this (we were only tasting ice cream, and only comparing a handful of diifferent extracts) but i thought it was interesting.

Notes from the underbelly

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Madagascar are definitely my favourite. I've tried Tahitian beans and extract and really wasn't fond of them. A pastry chef I took a short course with said they were good to use with chocolate though.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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Alton Brown (in the vanilla bean episode) says that Tahitian vanilla is fragrant, and he describes them as very "vanilla"; he prefers the Mexican vanilla, but most of the vanilla comes from Madagascar. The tahitian bean is a different variety from the Mexican bean, more commonly grown.

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The pastry section seemed the most appropriate place to share a fantastic site I found, detailing one of the cook's best friends, Vanilla.

It has some background on Vanilla, from the bean to grounds, flavourings and essences, along with some recipes.

I just thought you might want to have a look, it's always very humbling to explore in detail, an ingredient such as Vanilla, which is so often used but seldom looked at closely.

Please take a quick look at my stuff.

Flickr foods

Blood Sugar

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  • 2 months later...

Bumping this thread to ask specifically about Ebay sources for vanilla beans. There are quite a few companies selling vanilla beans on Ebay.

Which sellers have you bought from, and were you pleased with the quality? Which sellers are offering better quality beans? Are there non-Ebay (mail order) sources that are competitive in terms of price/quality ratio?

Thanks in advance.

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I have some from Penzeys and been happy with them for ice cream.

Guess the one that's been in my fridge for a year might be past its prime! D'oh! The top of the door seemed like a good place for that glass vial of goodness...

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We went to Mexico recently and also saw "interesting" types of vanilla. We were in search of the brand "Martha's" which is clear and exceptionally fragrant. A friend brought some back from Mazatlan last year, but we couldn't find it. All other pale in comparison. I've had more compliments in sugar cookies, cakes than ever before and the clarity doesn't compromise the color of vanilla buttercreams, mints, etc. Anyone know a source for Martha's? (Not Stewart!)

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  • 2 years later...
I need a good source for vanilla beans - my source has closed shop. Thanks.

I use L'epicerie www.lepicerie.com. They have always been pretty good and not excessively expensive.

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I need a good source for vanilla beans - my source has closed shop. Thanks.

I use L'epicerie www.lepicerie.com. They have always been pretty good and not excessively expensive.

Thank you!

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
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This is where I get mine.  Very nice beans and wide variety.

http://www.arizonavanilla.com/

You know, I was checking on Amazon for vanilla beans earlier today, and saw this company listed - Both the beans and the company itself had high ratings and great reviews. Thanks so much for your recommendation!

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
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