I believe in the "nose to tail" movement, when I was at Marco Cucina Romana in Boston's North End we practiced it. Nothing went to waste, we made stocks, amuse bouche, and salumi from offal. Applying these practices when baking brownies is quit different. When we bake brownies we don't have any waste! Accept for one thing, spent vanilla bean pods. And since the vanilla bean is the second most expensive spice just behind saffron we thought of a couple of ways on how to use spent vanilla beans highlighting some of its natural characteristics.
Make home made vanilla extract. We love making our own vanilla extract, we know whats in it and we know its quality. So what we do is: Get 1 cup of amber rum and add 3 - 4 pods and bring to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer remove from the heat and let it stand for 30 - 40 mins. Remove the vanilla beans and you can use it just like that or you can reduce it to a honey like consistency. Its great for baking and cocktails. The next you have a margarita add a little, you'll love it.
Another favorite is Vanilla Sugar. Take your beans and 2-3 cups of sugar, place them in a ziplock bag and let them sit for a few days. The long they sit the more vanilla flavor you'll get. A nice addition to your morning coffee or another layer of flavor for when you bake.
Vanilla Liquor! Take 4 - 6 pods add them to a bottle of tequila (my favorite), vodka and or rum. Enhances cocktails amazingly.
So these are just a few ways you can use left over vanilla beans. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading
Happy Eating
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