Want to include both the flavor of Tahitian vanilla extract and the beauty of thousands of tiny vanilla bean seeds in your recipe? Here is a tip from professional pastry chefs and cooks. Use Tahitian vanilla bean paste and get the best of both worlds.  What is vanilla bean paste? Essentially, vanilla bean paste is made from vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds scraped from the bean, and a binder. It has a thick viscosity more akin to a syrup than a paste, actually. Some producers include sugar in some shape or form, so watch out for that if you don’t want...

Chef Roberto Cortez believes there are no limits to how food can be experienced.  His new book, Senses in Sucrose: The Art of Emotions in Sweet Form, uses breathtaking desserts and photography to express the depth of human emotions.  Chef Cortez says there are two common denominators that impact and connect every single one of us—emotions and food. “We feel at every given moment. And we all need to eat. My book is about how these denominators connect. This is not a cookbook, but a photographic journey of things we have all felt, and even some we hope to never feel. “In...

The cost of vanilla has always been volatile but now is positively soaring. Six years ago prices for vanilla beans were hovering at about $20 a kilogram, wholesale. Today, the price of Madagascar vanilla beans is close to $500/kg according to a recent market report. Tahitian beans prices approach $600/kg because they are more rare, comprising less than 5% of the vanilla market. Tahitian vanilla is usually 3-5 times the cost of Madagascar vanilla. Why has the price risen so dramatically? The vanilla supply tightened and prices are skyrocketing because of a poor harvest in Madagascar last year. After the Madagascar...