Empty vanilla pods still hold plenty of flavour. Sarah Lemanski, owner of Nova Bakehouse in Leeds, puts them in her knicker drawer: “They scent it nicely, that’s for sure.” Culinarily, she chops the pod small, dry-toasts it with sugar for syrup (2:1 sugar-to-water ratio) to give it body. The Guardian’s Benjamina Ebuehi keeps vanilla syrup in the fridge for matcha: “I can’t be paying £6 for one every day.”
Compotes, Jams and Sugars
Ebuehi says even after scraping, seeds remain inside. She sticks a spent pod in fruit compote, leaving it in the fridge to seep flavour. Adam Sellar, executive baker at Toklas Bakery in London, dries pods and blitzes with caster sugar for vanilla sugar in brioche or shortbread. Lemanski grinds pods with smoked sea salt for chocolate chip cookies and freezes pods to make big batches of vanilla sugar or salt as gifts.
Kefir, Whisky and Tea
Sellar leaves pods in kefir while it ferments for gentle vanilla flavour. Jan Ostle of Wilsons in Bristol recommends adding spent pods to a mediocre bottle of whisky: “Then, when you do Christmas drinks, you can be one of those really annoying people who prepared months ago.” He also dries pods, mixes with orange peel and black tea for a beautiful brew.
Brown Butter and Olive Oil
Lemanski uses empty pods in brown butter to baste brioche buns or chill to solidify and scoop on pancakes or porridge. She also infuses good olive oil with vanilla to finish desserts like chocolate mousse or yoghurt with raspberries and honey: “It’ll make breakfast that bit more special.”
