Okay, next question: Who sells...

[Really Nice!]

Who sells the lowest priced vanilla beans?

I checked at my local gas station and they were out.

What prices are you paying for this these days, and where?

[MsRamsey]

If you can do mail order, there's a good thread over on Pastry & Baking right now:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=60452

If you need to buy locally, one suggestion is Trader Joe's. It's been a while, so I can't remember prices.

[CaliPoutine]

I started that vanilla thread over at pastry and baking because I was looking for reasonably priced beans.

If you can do a mail order, this seems to be the way to go. The price has even dropped since I ordered.

[Jim Dixon]

New Seasons (here in Portland) sells them in the bulk section...I don't remember how much I paid for single bean, but it was very reasonable.

Jim

[ScorchedPalate]

Locally, the best price I've found is at Whole Foods' bulk section. QFC also sells them in the bulk sections of some of the nicer stores (UVillage, etc) but they're not as fresh. Sorry I don't have the exact price, but I was making a huge batch of vanilla bean cream cheese icing a while back, and I priced them for a week everywhere I went before buying 4 beans!

Sounds like the mail-order price is soopa, if you can wait.

~A

[little ms foodie]

Grab the next flight to French Polynesia, Mr Toast can give you some directions on the vanilla plantations once you land!

[Mr. Toast]

Grab the next flight to French Polynesia, Mr Toast can give you some directions on the vanilla plantations once you land!

←

Being on his honeymoon, Mr. Toast was focusing on items other than vanilla beans while in Tahiti last year. At the end of the trip Ms. Toast collected all our remaining foreign currency and spent it on vanilla products (including fresh beans) in the airport. Very nice, indeed.

[miulang]

Grab the next flight to French Polynesia, Mr Toast can give you some directions on the vanilla plantations once you land!

←

Being on his honeymoon, Mr. Toast was focusing on items other than vanilla beans while in Tahiti last year. At the end of the trip Ms. Toast collected all our remaining foreign currency and spent it on vanilla products (including fresh beans) in the airport. Very nice, indeed.

←

If price is no object but taste is, you might want to try Hawaiian vanilla beans. You can get them via mail order (http://www.hawaiianvanilla.com/flavor.htm), $9.00 for a single bean and 3 beans for $25.00. These beans are grown on the Big Island of Hawai'i, along with Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate.

Miulang

[Nana_Kat]

I was just at Trader Joe's last week and they sell vanilla beans for either $2.99 or $3.99 for 2. Sorry I can't remember which one was the exact price, but either way it's still pretty inexpensive.