Vanilla

[Ratatouille]

A lovely gift today - 12 plump, top quality vanila pods from the Isle of Reunion. Real vanilla is a prcious thing these days and the price is rising mostly because of disease and climate change in trecent years.

What do you do with vanilla and are your uses all sweet?

[Seatallan]

Vanilla sugar obviously, for all sorts of things, and vanilla ice-cream (I really love classic vanilla ice-cream ). Chocolate & vanilla marble cake is a favorite of mine too as is Madeira cake. Don't think I've ever used vanilla in anything savory. How lovely Rats! Bet they smell divine.

[karadekoolaid]

Strawberry and Vanilla Jam is good.
And fish is delicious with vanilla, a touch of orange, ....

[Ratatouille]

I do a rather odd, but delicious scallop dish with vanilla - just a hint bu that wonderful The somewhat hot climate smell and taste works rather well.

[Catherine]

It is good in a vinaigrette as a salad dressing. Vanilla mashed potato is also delicious.

[scullion]

Vanilla mashed potato is also delicious.

are you sure‽‽‽ have you really eaten it‽

[Seatallan]

Strawberry and Vanilla Jam is good.

Yes, that's true. I use vanilla in marmalade too (in the jelly bag with the orange pulp/pips and some other bits).

[TeresaFoodie]

I don't tend to use vanilla! I haven't had any 'in' for years, not in pod or extract form anyway, which just confirms. My last experience was making rhubarb and vanilla sorbet, which worked well, but the next time I made it I left the vanilla out and can't say it was missed. It isn't an ingredient I dislike! You can't beat vanilla ice cream. I've normally got that in. Lovely with hot strong black coffee poured over.

[earthmaiden]

I have only really used it in a traditional way though have used small amounts in casseroles and things where the kind of spices once only reserved for cakes are used.

I can see that the kind of savoury recipes which feel tropical would lend themselves to it - and yes to fish! The potato could work too.

How lovely to receive those pods!

[Catherine]

Vanilla mashed potato is also delicious.

are you sure‽‽‽ have you really eaten it‽

Yes with duck

[StokeySue]

I only use it in cakes and desserts really
I have had it with fish and not been taken

Real vanilla ice cream - i.e. something with a strong vanilla flavour, not something that is nearly tasteless, is one of my favourite sweet dishes

[Ratatouille]

I also adore a real vanilla loaded Riz au Lait - Frenc style rice pudding

[scullion]

Yes with duck

well, i think that's just quackers!

[Badger's mate]

I only use it in cakes and desserts really
I have had it with fish and not been taken

Real vanilla ice cream - i.e. something with a strong vanilla flavour, not something that is nearly tasteless, is one of my favourite sweet dishes

Same here. I love real vanilla panna cotta too. One of my pet peevs is the use of the word 'vanilla' to describe something bland. Solely as a result of decades of exposure to cheaply made ice cream.

[Ratatouille]

My mother used to call vanilla icecream "Plain icecream" I doubt if Walls vanilla had been anywhere near a real vanilla pod or cream come to that!

[StokeySue]

The ice cream carts on our beach used to offer two flavours - white or pink, described on the board as Strawberry and Vanilla, but they would ask you “Strawberry or plain?”

[Catherine]

Yes with duck

well, i think that's just quackers!

it was just a taste of someones to try it. The vanilla was used sparingly so was just a hint of it but it did work. I think knowing how much to use is key here

[Badger's mate]

The ice cream carts on our beach used to offer two flavours - white or pink, described on the board as Strawberry and Vanilla, but they would ask you “Strawberry or plain?”

I saw the opposite in Scotland last summer. I can't remember the (Scottish) brand, but the one that was neither fruit nor chocolate flavour was labelled 'Traditional'. I don't think it clamed any vanilla. However, the shop described it as vanilla.

[Prettykiwicrazy]

I absolutely love vanilla and agree that something which is properly vanilla flavoured is absolutely wonderful . I love custard in all it’s many forms , scented with vanilla . Creme brûlée is divine too . I’ve done the old trick of using a scraped out vanilla pod in a jar of sugar before and would definitely recommend for the smell alone !!

[Ratatouille]

Good way to use up vanilla pods which have been used and then washed. There's always a big jar on my cupboard.
Ive been looking at savoury recipes using vanilla. Most seem to come from Tahiti !

[Zosherooney]

I've used the real stuff in a pan cotta There's a distinct difference from pod to fake. Yes 'nilla (in our house hold) is great with strawberry jam.

[PatsyMFagan]

I love the smell of it in my sugar jar and use it in recipes, but can't stand 'Vanilla' scented candles

[Seatallan]

I love the smell of it in my sugar jar and use it in recipes, but can't stand 'Vanilla' scented candles

I have a close friend like that. Unlike me she can't abide vanilla scented anything. She's not keen on lavender as a scent either.

[scullion]

She's not keen on lavender as a scent either.

i can't stand the scent of lavender, either; my partner loves it - good job i'm the one who choses the soap flavour etc.

[Ratatouille]

I love the smell of it in my sugar jar and use it in recipes, but can't stand 'Vanilla' scented candles

I can't stand scented candles full-stop! The only ones I tollerate are the Prices cooks candles - they do dispell fishy and curry whiffs.

[StokeySue]

I used to have a cat who would sit next to the lavender sniffing it, if I crushed a sprig for him to inhale he would enter the zen state - feline aromatherapy

I like the smell of lavender but I’ve gone off scented candles and I don’t like air “fresheners” apart from a parsley based kitchen one no longer available. The smell of most fragrances household products is nasty - can anyone convinced the manufacturers that, by and large, cleanliness is odourless?

[Seatallan]

Some scented candles are lovely. I have one on the go at the moment that was given to me by a friend of mine, who has a friend who makes them. This one really does smell of pine (as opposed to toilet cleaner ).

[earthmaiden]

I don't mind some scented things - as long as the scent is subtle and not synthetic (and is something which appeals to my personal taste). I am wary of vanilla scented things whether candles or toileteries. They seemed to come over here from the USA a few years back and are often both synthetic and overpowering. Rather different to a real vanilla pod!

[liketocook]

A small vanilla pod, 1/2 a lemon, some orange or satsuma peel, a small piece of root ginger and some boiling water popped in a lid off slow cooker on low create a lovely smell that is great at absorbing fishy or curry whiffs etc.
Apart from that I only really like a very small amount of vanilla in ice cream, custard etc.
Lavender, I love and have sachets in my linen cupboard, wardrobes and clothes drawers. One of the nicest scones I've ever had was a lavender infused one spread with salted butter and topped with a lavender, elderflower and damson jam, it was scrumptious

[Catherine]

I used to be sponsored by the Body Shop in the early 90's when their Vanilla range was one of their biggest sellers. I hated it, but had to pretend it was all I used, along with the dewberry and white musk which I did like thankfully

[KC2]

A small vanilla pod, 1/2 a lemon, some orange or satsuma peel, a small piece of root ginger and some boiling water popped in a lid off slow cooker on low create a lovely smell that is great at absorbing fishy or curry whiffs etc.

That's brilliant, ltc - must give it a try. We only have one large room downstairs and cooking smelly food can linger on for ages. It's fine in the summer when doors and windows are open but not so fine in the winter! We use the Ikea apple tea lights and my cousin gave us a very expensive Jo Malone candle that does a very good job!

[Busybee]

Jo Malone candles are fabulous, never overpowering. We buy the eucalyptus one every Christmas. It lasts all year.

I also have a green tomato leaf one designed for kitchen use. Gets rid of any cooking whiffs.


An expensive brand but worth it for their longevity and natural aromas.

BB

[Seatallan]

Jo Malone candles are fabulous, never overpowering.

Oooh yes! I love Jo Malone cologne too.

[Ratatouille]

I am surrounded by lavender. Every garden, no matter how small had at least one bush. Our cats go crazy about it too Sue - even mor than catnip! I have bunches of last year's flowers and the scent lasts for a year. I have bucnhes in muslin hanging in all the wardrobes and the linen drawers to perfume the clothes ever so slightly and keep the moths away. I buy a bottle of lavender essential oil from a local distillery whenever I need it. Just a couple of drops on the front door mat gives a lovely though subtle something when you enter the house.

I really don't like what I call "Food flavours" in perfumes though of course lavender is also used in food.

Vanilla is extraordinarily expensive these days after a series of disastrous harvests due to conflict and climate. Our best local patisserie has stopped making some of their gateaux because it would put up the price by so much and they refuse to use artificial stuff. The pods I was given are magnificent very long, plump and moist. Francoise told me the very top quality ones are fetching over €10.00 each. To keep them moist they are now safely in a special tube with a tsp of rum in the bottom.

[Seatallan]

I am surrounded by lavender

Oooh, deeply envious!

[Ratatouille]

I think that's one reason why the locals are so laid back!! Most of the time

[scullion]

i have lavender in the garden - best place for it.
i do have a vanilla orchid that lives in a propagator but i think it'd be a few years before i get any seed pods - if it survives.

[Zosherooney]

Yes, it was only recently that I discovered that 'nilla pods are of the orchid family.....

We have lavender in the garden, must try the cats on it. I do buy and snaffle cat nip for them.....Then they are in 7th heaven.

[StokeySue]

The other one for cats is valerian - Sam Cat used to get intoxicated on valerian

[Seatallan]

Ollie is another cat partial to lavender as well as catnip so I grow both. He likes most herbs actually. His current favorite garden nest (when it isn't too cold/wet to go out for a bit) is under the wormwood bush.

[Zosherooney]

Sounds like a book title Sea.

under the wormwood bush.

[Seatallan]

Yes, I thought that when I typed it! Pa Larkin would be there too wouldn't he?

[WWordsworth]

I prefer natural ice cream, without vanilla.
My favourite everyday brand is Mackies, it's lighter and fresher tasting than those with the added vanilla.

[liketocook]

I prefer natural ice cream, without vanilla.
My favourite everyday brand is Mackies, it's lighter and fresher tasting than those with the added vanilla.

I'm not a huge ice cream fan but do enjoy Mackies, similiarly I'm not a tablet fan but like their tablet version . Their crisps are good especially the haggis & black pepper ones

[OneMoreCheekyOne]

Jo Malone candles are fabulous, never overpowering. We buy the eucalyptus one every Christmas. It lasts all year.

I also have a green tomato leaf one designed for kitchen use. Gets rid of any cooking whiffs.


An expensive brand but worth it for their longevity and natural aromas.

BB

Agreed! I love the lime, basil and mandarin candle the most. I get some of the Jo Loves candles too which are wonderful...the Christmas one and I also like ‘log fires’ and ‘smoked plum and leather’ ones. Just as gorgeous as her original Jo Malone branded stuff.

The Byredo and Diptyque brands also make some of my favourites...I don’t usually like vanilla candles but the Diptyque version is an exception. I have too many scented candles

[suffolk]

Not wanting to criticise so please don’t think I am ... but I just can’t believe the prices of those candles ... more than many folk have to spend on food for a week ... the world seems totally bonkers ... no wonder this nation is so split into haves and have nots.

[Seatallan]

Not wanting to criticise so please don’t think I am ... but I just can’t believe the prices of those candles ... more than many folk have to spend on food for a week ... the world seems totally bonkers ... no wonder this nation is so split into haves and have nots.

I know. There was a range of designer scented candles in local John Lewis before Christmas that were £45 a pop .

I tend to pick them up in sales or from places like Homesense, where you can get something that would be north of £30 for well under a tenner.

[suffolk]

Look at the Jo Malone site ... there are candles for nigh on £100 ... it’s obscene ...

just seen one candle costing £350 ... I don’t care how big or gorgeously perfumed it is it seems so wrong when there are folk I know who work long hours and get little more than that a week!

[scullion]

wow, just looked at the site - money to burn!
you could make enough scented candles to last you the rest of your life for that amount! my daughter made a crateful for her wedding and made some more as part of our christmas presents. really lovely.

just seen one candle costing £350

hahaha, i have recently paid fifty quid more than that for a cooker hood to take smells away - that's somewhere in the realm of irony, if you ask me.

[Ratatouille]

If anyone wants a scented candles I have a drawer ful of the things people who don't know me have given me.