I recently received my order from an herb wholesaler. With the price I was paying at the grocery store, I figured two packets of spices and herbs from the grocery store would be about equivalent to the price I'd pay for a whole pound from this wholesaler. So even if some of the spices got old and went to waste, I'd still be ahead financially.
I go through a lot of dried parsley. The minimum order for most items is a pound. I figured I'd go with two pounds instead of one because we use so much parsley. So I open up the box.... Do you know how much a pound of parsley is? It's like a gallon! Turns out that those huge jars of parsley I was buying at the store are only an ounce. Well, I won't need to buy parsley in 2007 any more. Maybe not in 2008 either.
I also bought a few pounds of dried apples. When we tasted them, they were a little bland. My guess is that the dried apples from the grocery store are spiked with sugar or corn syrup. I know they douse the dried pineapple and dried bananas with all sorts of sugar. These unsweetened apples may not entice the kids into snacking on them as I'd anticipated, but they'll be good for putting in oatmeal or cookies.
Now to the point of the post. Is there anybody we see in Real Life who needs a vanilla bean or two or three? Vanilla prices have gone up. Last time I started a batch of extract, the cost of one vanilla bean was $6, and two of them were $10. Shoot -- I liked paying $2 per bean at the health food store. (I can't imagine what they cost now at the grocery store. The grocery store used to charge three times as much as the health food store. I bet the price-difference between the two has narrowed.) So from this wholesaler, I ordered the minimum allowable amount of vanilla beans: 1/4 pound. I figured if I got four beans, I was already saving money; anything more would be a bonus. Turns out that I got 29 vanilla beans. 29! So Laura, Anthea, Leila, Katie, Mom, Wolfs? Anybody have a use for a couple of beans? I'd planned to start some more vanilla extract going, but this is a lot of beans for that. If nobody wants beans, we're going to grind some up in ice cream and have reeeeeally delicious vanilly ice cream. Yummmmmmm!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hmmm - so how do I go about making vanilla from beans? Do you offer the recipe with the beans? I'll see you in June - will they be all gone by then, or not so good then? If you still need to get rid of them then, and will tell me what to do, I'd try it, sounds like an interesting thing. You know, science project for the kids. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGlenda
How to make vanilla? You unscrew the lid of a vodka bottle. (Brandy would work too.) You drop in one or two whole vanilla beans, depending on the size of the bottle. I'd probably put one bean in a 750ml, two beans in a 1.5L. Then you screw the lid back on the liquor bottle, set it in the cupboard, and wait a few months. When the vodka starts to take on a brownish tinge, you unscrew the lid, and sniff. If it smells like vanilla, you stick it in the baking cupboard. If it still smells like liquor, you wait another month.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I'm pretty sure the beans will still be fine this summer. Probably for a year or two -- they're dried. Remind me in June, Glenda!
If you really need to get rid of a couple, I would condescend to take one or two off your hands ;)
ReplyDeleteI learned something new today! ;-) I didn't know that is how you make vanilla extract?! Wow! I am going to have to try it for myself. Now to find vanilla beans here in our little town. Thanks for sharing that with us all.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have any use for beans personally, but I would be more than willing to help you consume some of that homemade vanilla ice cream! ;)
ReplyDeleteYes! I would take a few....let me know the cost. Hopefully we will see each other soon! I have thought about trying this before, but the beans were really expensive at Outpost. I am so excited....but that means I have to eventually do some baking too...thankfully Hannah likes making cookies! Laura
ReplyDeleteThat's a neat tip I'll have to try it too.
ReplyDelete