#vanlla

I love vanilla beans. I simply adore them. They're the best thing that's ever happened in the world of baking, and probably just the world in general. But my venture into the world of vanilla didn't begin very pretty. I didn't know the difference between one type of bean and another. I bought some Tahitian vanilla beans since they were only $4 at World Market, which is a fantastic price seeing as everywhere else they're $14 and up. But Tahitian was all they had, and I hadn't done my research. I used them in some frosting, and it didn't taste like the vanilla I was used to. I thought the butter had gone off. So I tried again, with a different butter. I got the same results. It just didn't taste quite right, and since I expected one flavor and got another, I thought it tasted awful. In retrospect, it didn't. I just thought it was supposed to taste one way and when it didn't, I didn't know what to think. It's like when you eat yogurt thinking its pudding, and though you love yogurt, it tastes really sour for pudding so of course you think it's just gross pudding. 

Anyway, I started this post with the intent of explaining vanilla beans. The story was just there to explain why knowing the different types are important I guess???

Well, let's get started then. We'll begin with Madagascar beans, which are the most common and sought after beans. They're the sweetest, and have the most "pure" traditional vanilla flavor. They're my favorite to use, great in cakes and frosting, ice cream and pretty much everything else. But again, they're very sweet. 

Tahitian vanilla beans have more floral tones to them. This is what confused me when I used them in my frosting. I would definitely suggest using these if you're making a vanilla cake with lavender or rose frosting/filling, or the other way around. They're good in cheesecake, and cooking. These are probably my personal least favorite, but they're still good because you can't really go wrong with vanilla. 

And then there's Mexican, which doesn't get a lot of reception compared to the other two. However, Mexican vanilla beans are DELICIOUS. They have a more nutty, earthy flavor and it's fantastic. They're good in cookies and cakes, and pretty much anything you could use vanilla in. If you want a light vanilla cake, use Madagascar. If you want a flavorful, nutty vanilla cake, use these! They are so good and sadly underrated.