How To Make Tahitian Vanilla Salt or Sugar

The holidays are upon us! Tis the season to visit with friends and family—but arriving empty-handed just won’t cut it. Looking for an easy, do-it-yourself, host/hostess gift you can make in minutes? Homemade Tahitian Vanilla Salt or Sugar couldn’t be simpler. All you need is salt or sugar, a vanilla bean and a minute or two of time. Tie a ribbon on the jar and call it good!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of salt or sugar. Any salt will do, from a coarse Pink Himalayan salt, to Fleur de Sel, to fine Kosher salt. Likewise, any sugar will work nicely; white sugar, brown sugar, or raw sugar. 
• 1-2 Tahitian vanilla beans*
• 1 airtight container such as a canning jar, or any clean, dry, glass jar with a screw top.

Procedure

• With a sharp paring knife, split the bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. We call this vanilla caviar! Save the spent bean pod for another use. Here are some ideas on what to do with spent vanilla bean pods.
• Once the caviar is in a bowl, add in the salt or sugar. Rub the mixture together, being sure to spread the seeds around. Eventually the seeds will dry, so you want them to be evenly distributed.
• Optional: Add a portion of the split vanilla bean pod for looks.
• Seal the jar tightly and wait a week or so. 

Vanilla salt and sugar lasts indefinitely when kept cool, dry and airtight.

Homemade Tahitian vanilla salt or sugar makes a great DIY gift. 
Get your premium Tahitian vanilla beans here: 

*Note: Tahitian vanilla beans are larger, more moist and more plump than other beans. If you can’t use Tahitian vanilla beans, then use 2-3 times as many of the other types of vanilla beans.

Not sure what to do with it? Add a little vanilla salt and/or sugar to:
chicken
pork
shrimp
lobster
scallops
salmon
watermelon
corn on the cob
candied carrots
butternut squash
sweet potato fries
french fries
any green vegetable
bread pudding
chocolate chip cookies
cupcakes
brownies
blondies
caramels
macarons
cinnamon toast
fresh fruit
pretzels
rim your cocktail glass with it
coffee or tea
smoothie
yogurt