Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Homemade Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream

homemade Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream, ©2015 Vanilla From Tahiti
We haven’t read a scientific study, but we’re willing to wager that more ice cream is consumed during the month of August than any other month. What better way to cool off on a hot summer day.

Nothing beats the flavor of homemade Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream. That’s right folks, while vanilla extract works just fine for most recipes, the seeds from the Tahitian vanilla bean make a huge difference in aroma, flavor and appearance when it comes to ice cream. We love to see thousands of tiny black vanilla seeds, also known as caviar, in vanilla ice cream. They’re beautiful!

Before making your ice cream, be sure to make room in your freezer for an extra quart or two. When it comes time to make ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cake, ice cream bars, fried ice cream, or simply serve with a fresh-baked berry pie, chocolate brownies or cake, you’ll already be a step ahead.

homemade Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream, ©2015 Vanilla From Tahiti
There are many recipes for vanilla bean ice cream online, but our all-time favorite is by acclaimed pastry chef and cookbook author, David Lebovitz. This recipe is adapted from his book, The Perfect Scoop. Basically, it’s milk, cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla beans, and a pinch of salt. When it comes to great ice cream, less is more.

What to do with the spent pod, you ask? Scraped vanilla beans can be rinsed, dried, and stored in a jar of sugar where the flavor of vanilla will infuse the sugar. Vanilla sugar can be used for baking and, of course, for future ice cream making. Here are 15 more ideas for what to do with spent vanilla bean pods.

Get premium Tahitian vanilla beans online.

Bake with Love. Bake with Vanilla From Tahiti.