[July 06, 2009] Ask a cook Tweet Jul 06, 2009 (McClatchy Newspapers - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- Q. Vanilla beans are so expensive. Is there a way to save a little money on them? A. When you read descriptions about the work that goes in to finding and curing vanilla beans, the cost is understandable. Those are mighty precious pods. On the bright side: Vanilla packs so much flavor, a little goes a long way. Even if a recipe calls for a whole vanilla bean, you don't necessarily have to use the whole thing. The long pod often is folded in half in the container, so you can cut it into two lengths and just use one section. If you use a vanilla bean to infuse something like a syrup, you often can rinse the pod, let it air-dry and use it a second time. If the recipe calls for slitting open the pod to scrape out the tiny seeds, such as when you flavor a vanilla ice cream or custard base, you also shouldn't throw away the leathery pod. Bury it in sugar in a closed canister or jar and let it sit for a couple of weeks. You'll end up with vanilla sugar, lovely stuff for sweetening tea or sprinkling on baked goods as a finishing touch. ___ (Kathleen Purvis answers questions in her Ask a Cook Q&A at www.charlotteobserver.com/food. Or contact her: 704-358-5236; [email protected]) ___ (c) 2009, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.). Visit The Charlotte Observer on the World Wide Web at http://www.charlotte.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]