The other day I spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning the pantry. I like to periodically take inventory of what exactly we have collected over the past several months. Typically there is some type of flour we use so infrequently, its gone stale. Or the beans the I know I purchased on a vacation 4 years ago. Out of there. Clean shelves. Organized and tidy.
One thing I found was a vanilla bean. Pretty dry. But, I just couldn't throw it in the compost. Instead I broke it into pieces and soaked in a saucepan with a cup of hot water. After about an hour it was pliable. I added a cup of sugar and heated it on medium low, until the temperature reached 180 on a candy thermometer. Let it cool and bottle it.
I now have some delicious vanilla syrup. It can be used in cocktails or coffees, to brush over a nice pound cake. to drizzle over strawberries, to poach fruit. The options are endless.
nice save on the vanilla bean...
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