Earlier this year my father spent a month in India. When he came back he sent us a package that had some wonderful scarves, fabric and dresses for the girls.
He also sent a vial with two vanilla beans.
I LOVE vanilla, but I've always been scared to work with vanilla beans. They are so expensive and what if I mess it up??
I recently was looking at recipes on pinterest and one caught my attention. I can't even remember what the recipe was for but in the article they mentioned that you can buy vanilla beans in bulk and save money.
Needless to say I was googling within minutes. I found www.beanilla.com and immediately ordered 25 beans. (They take paypal, that's something I can really appreciate.)
Finally today I decided to try making a simple vanilla syrup. This stuff tastes AMAZING. Waiting for it to cool I've come up with several things I want to try it with.
In my coffee, tea or hot chocolate?
Rootbeer + vanilla syrup + vodka?
Vanilla syrup as the invert sugar in my homemade granola?
Without further ado, here is the recipe:
Vanilla Syrup
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups water
2 vanilla beans
Combine the sugar and water over low heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Split the vanilla beans in half the long way. Scrap out the black paste on the inside and stir it into the syrup, add the bean itself. Keep over low heat to encourage the steeping but DO NOT BOIL. (You don't want to reduce the water too much or your syrup will be too thick.) Steep for 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally (I stirred far more than that because I couldn't pry myself away from the fragrance.)
