If you really want to impress a good cook, give them the best vanilla beans you can buy. Great vanilla bears no resemblance to the dark, sad, shriveled little pods you find in most supermarkets. The finest vanilla beans I’ve ever met were the organic pods sourced by Le Sanctuaire, which startled me with the intensity of their fragrance. They’re long - about half a foot - soft, and a deep mahogany brown, and when you split them open you find a profusion of plump little seeds nestled into a thick paste. They make everything they touch more complex and interesting.
Gift Guide on the Solstice
Gift Guide on the Solstice
Gift Guide on the Solstice
If you really want to impress a good cook, give them the best vanilla beans you can buy. Great vanilla bears no resemblance to the dark, sad, shriveled little pods you find in most supermarkets. The finest vanilla beans I’ve ever met were the organic pods sourced by Le Sanctuaire, which startled me with the intensity of their fragrance. They’re long - about half a foot - soft, and a deep mahogany brown, and when you split them open you find a profusion of plump little seeds nestled into a thick paste. They make everything they touch more complex and interesting.