Takrai’s field notes
The vanilla guide
What we are learning as our vines grow, written down for anyone who cooks with vanilla or just wonders where it comes from.
Understand vanilla
Where it comes from, how it grows and why it tastes the way it does.
- On our farmHow vanilla growsFrom cutting to cured bean, including hand pollination and the four stages of curing.
- The flowerThe vanilla flowerAn orchid that opens for one morning. What it looks like, and how to grow one.
- Where it growsTypes of vanillaMadagascar, Mexican, Tahitian, Bourbon, and what “French vanilla” really means.
- Before you buyVanilla beans and gradesGrade A vs Grade B, spotting a good bean, and how to store them.
- The scienceWhat is vanillin?The molecule behind the smell, real vs synthetic, and the beaver question.
Cook with vanilla
Five things to make at home with a few vanilla beans.
- Pantry No. 1Vanilla sugarWhat it is, a simple recipe, and what to use instead.
- Make it at homeVanilla extractWhat it is made of, how to make your own, and whether it goes bad.
- Make it at homeVanilla bean pasteThe speckles of a fresh bean with the ease of extract. How to use it and make it.
- RecipeVanilla syrupFor coffee, iced tea and cocktails. Ten minutes and one bean.
- RecipeVanilla bean ice creamA French-style custard ice cream, the way we will make our pints.
Episode 1 is being drawn
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Get the first episode when it is out, Vanillin’s diary from the farm once a month, and first pick of the first jar of vanilla sugar.
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