Vanilla FAQ

How do I store vanilla?

Storing Vanilla Beans

Vanilla beans should be stored in a closed, but not air-tight, container in a cool, dry, relatively dark place, away from your stove or another heat source. Do not store vanilla beans in the refrigerator or freezer. The beans may dry out or rot, depending on the humidity in your fridge. In the freezer, vanilla may dry out excessively.

We have recently been recommending that the best practice is to store your beans wrapped in wax paper, and kept in your food pantry (or even a closet) in a closed, but unsealed, cardboard box.

Properly stored, vanilla beans can last a couple of years. If a bean is dry & brittle when you’re ready to use it, you can rehydrate in hot water or milk for 15 minutes.

Vanilla beans prefer temperatures that range from 60 degrees F (15.5 C) to 85 degrees F (29 C). Ideally the temperature is relatively constant and the air can circulate around them a bit. We do not recommend vacuum-packing, as that can result in the beans getting somewhat phenolic, leading to a highly unpleasant, acrid smell.

If you live in an area that is both hot and humid, your vanilla beans can be stored in a glass jar without any plastic packaging.

Reminder: Do not store vanilla beans in the refrigerator or freezer.

Storing Vanilla Powder

Vanilla Powder lasts a very long time (3-5 years), as long as it is stored in a closed container away from heat, light, and moisture.

How do I choose which vanilla bean to buy?

Vanilla is similar to wine and coffee, in that its flavor depends on the vanilla variety and where it’s grown. Experimenting with different kinds of beans will lead you to the ones you love best.

Broadly speaking, Madagascar vanilla beans (V. Planifolia) have a rich, classic vanilla flavor. The other V. Planifolia beans we carry have variations on those flavors, adding notes of chocolate, dried fruits like cherries and figs, spices, caramel, wood, leather, and more.

Tahitian vanilla beans have floral or spicy overtones, and are often used in custards and fruit-forward desserts.

Check out the descriptions of our vanilla beans for more details.

What's the difference between Gourmet and Extract-Grade vanilla?

Gourmet (Grade A) Vanilla Beans:

Higher Moisture Content: This leads to a more pliable and aromatic bean, with a richer, more complex flavor.
- Chefs find it easier to split a gourmet bean and scrape the seeds out of the pods
- You can keep the opened pods for other uses (the pod itself can still be used to impart a subtle vanilla flavor. It can be used to infuse liquids like milk, cream, or even alcohol for vanilla extract. The pods can also be dried and ground into a powder for baking, or added to sugar or salt to create flavored infusions.
Visual Appeal: Often used when the vanilla bean is visible in a dish, like in custards or ice cream.
Workability: plump and pliable beans can be easier to split and scrape out the seeds.
Versatile: Ideal for direct culinary applications, such as pastry, baking, premium desserts, artisanal chocolates, ice cream, infused spirits, and gourmet cooking.
- If you’re making home-made confections such as chocolates, truffles, fudge, toffee, caramel, nougat, marshmallows, and dairy-based desserts like flan, custard, pudding, pot-de-creme, creme anglaise, you can use either Gourmet or Extract Grade vanilla beans, taking Workability of the bean into account.
More Expensive: Due to their higher quality and versatility.

Extract Grade (Grade B) Vanilla Beans:

Lower Moisture Content: The flavor is more concentrated and requires more time to infuse into a dish.
- More concentrated = deep, intense flavor
Appearance: May be split (like our Red Splits) or, have other minor imperfections in appearance.
Workability: Grade B beans are drier and sometimes brittle, which makes it harder to split a vanilla bean to scrape out the seeds.
Ideal for Extract and Infusions: Their lower moisture content makes them well-suited for extracting the flavor into alcohol or vegetable glycerin. Also great in homemade syrup infusions for cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks.
Cost-Effective: Generally more affordable than Grade A beans.

How do I use pure vanilla bean powder?

Pro bakers love using vanilla bean powder for its pure, deep vanilla flavor. Unadulterated, pure vanilla powder is the secret ingredient used by a lot of professional bakers for scones, cakes, cookies, granola, and more. Substitute 1:1 for vanilla extract.

Spice mixes and rubs, where it adds depth and complexity to savory dishes.
FYI, in hot beverages, pure vanilla bean powder does not fully dissolve. It’s like adding cinnamon or cardamom to your drink – by adding flavor but not truly dissolving.

What does the term "Bourbon" mean?

Bourbon vanilla or Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, produced from V. planifolia plants introduced from the Americas, is from Indian Ocean islands such as Madagascar, the Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, Mayotte, and Réunion, formerly named the Île Bourbon. It is also used to describe the distinctive vanilla flavor derived from V. planifolia grown successfully in tropical areas of countries such as India. There is no Bourbon whiskey in Bourbon vanilla. The name comes from the dynasty of kings who ruled France in 1642 and gave their name to Reunion Island (Bourbon Island).

Are supple, pliable gourmet vanilla beans better than drier, extract-grade vanilla beans?

Nope. Gourmet and extract beans are generally used for different purposes.

You can use gourmet and extract-grade vanilla beans interchangeably in some recipes and for making vanilla extract, they are not identical in quality and usage. Gourmet beans (Grade A) are typically more moist, plump, and aromatic, making them ideal for dishes where the visual appearance and flavor of the bean itself are important. Extract-grade beans (Grade B) have a lower moisture content, are often less visually appealing, but can be more concentrated in flavor for extraction purposes.

We only sell the highest grades of Gourmet and Extract beans. We select our vanilla for its vanillin content and its aroma, flavor and visual appeal.

Why don't you vacuum seal your vanilla beans?

Vacuum packing is a good way of preserving certain foods like dried coffee or other dried foods like seeds, which have no live organisms. It’s a great form of preservation to prevent oxidation and drying. When done correctly, it prevents contact with the outside air.

Vanilla beans, even after professional and careful curing, still carry microorganisms because they are a natural product coming from the soil. The curing process does not heat the vanilla beans to the higher temperatures required for coffee to be roasted or all microorganisms to be killed.

While in a vacuum, mold cannot grow because it requires oxygen to do so. However, any spores (a stable form of mold) that were brought from the soil are still present. When a vacuum pack is opened, the vacuum draws air in to activate any fungal spores that can spread mold growth. Ick, you don’t want that.

Our beans are grown until they reach maturity, then they are properly cured over many months. Well-cured vanilla beans are naturally resistant to mold.

Your best approach to keep your vanilla ready to use is to purchase high quality vanilla like ours, and store it properly. We recommend storing it in wax paper inside a box, away from heat, light, and excessive moisture. You can store it in a jar or plastic container as well. Those methods require that you open the container to the air from time to time.