Indonesian Planifolia Vanilla Beans are sweet and creamy like their cousins from Madagascar, with a more complex flavor profile that finishes with unique earthy/woody undertones. They are bold, with slightly fruity, fig-like notes reminiscent of Tonga vanilla beans. They stand up well against stronger flavors like chocolate and caramel, but can also be used in any application that calls for Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, to add a bit more sophistication to your favorite dessert.
Indonesian beans are hefty and plump with plenty of caviar inside. Indonesian beans have a rustic, even slightly fermented flavor reminiscent of dried fruit. Expect scents of raisins, prunes, and dried figs. This homestead flavor makes Indonesian beans perfect for pies, compotes, and jams.
After you’ve used the bean once or twice dry it out and use it as a component for making homemade bitters or liqueurs. When dried we also love to grind this fruity bean up and add it to homemade granola.
Vanilla beans are one of the most unique, cherished, and utilized spices in the culinary world. In fact, one might say it well beats out saffron in each of these categories when you consider how nearly every home baker would fall into a state of collapse if their vanilla suddenly vanished.
Vanilla beans are actually derived from orchid plants. The vanilla orchid flower isn’t a fancy one; it’s rather skinny, with no inflorescence, and a pale yellow pallor that can hardly be considered appealing. Yet the orchids of the genus Vanilla aren’t prized for their looks but the seed pods they produce. These seed pods are packed with vanillin – the fragrant organic compound responsible for vanilla flavor.
Vanilla orchids require exhaustive effort and attention. To begin, they only grow in very specific climates and are notoriously sensitive, even with years of selective breeding to toughen them up. The plants are carefully grafted and trellised, then the flowers pollinated by hand. It then takes the seed pods six months to form and mature before they can be harvested. The pods then go through a complicated and extensive curing process that lasts another six months before being graded for quality based on size, appearance, moisture content, and aroma before being sold.
Vanilla bean fans that we are we only sell the highest quality vanilla beans. You’ll find each one to be fat, black, fragrant and wet. In other words: perfect.
To use a vanilla bean, cut each end off from the vanilla bean and slice through the vanilla bean lengthwise, remove the paste from inside the vanilla bean and use as needed.
Recommended Applications
Use in a variety of cooking and baking applications, including vanilla sugar, sweet sauces, ice cream, cakes and cookies, and homemade vanilla extract
