— Melissa Bryant

Okay, so, you know, generally speaking, pure vanilla is relatively expensive. That's sort of the, the nature of the beast. Um, based upon what I've seen over the years. Now, uh, I would say first of all, do some, some reading, right? Do, do the homework or the due diligence, you know, as it goes so that you can understand where vanilla comes from and maybe what goes into the, the production of that and why some of these high prices, um, are, you know, generally expected, uh, or justified, although there are a lot of other, um, issues in there around transportation and, and, and, uh, you know, other factors that influence the, the supply chain. Okay? But, um, you know, also in terms of quality, uh, you know, take a look at again, um, reviews online. You know, uh, Massey is a big company, probably the biggest one out there. They get a, uh, a lot, if not all, their product from Madagascar, which is the, the, the major producer globally. Um, but as you take a look at other countries that have a warm climate or tropical climate that's conducive to the cultivation of this vanilla orchid, then, uh, you can probably find some sort of a, a, a local or, you know, domestic industry, albeit much smaller than what you might find in Madagascar. So, you know, as I have traveled to, you know, India or Mexico, for example, you know, I will find these products at much lower prices than I find in the United States. And part of that, of course, is just buying it at the source. And that's the big difference. And so if, if you have the, uh, opportunity to travel to some of these places that are, uh, vanilla producing regions of the world, then you can consider picking up, uh, you know, whether it's vanilla extract, you know, in a bottle. Um, what I like to do is, is just buy vanilla beans and I'll buy as much as I can get away with. And, um, um, we'll, uh, just use those things over a whatever period of time it, it might, might take. And we also make our own, uh, vanilla, you know, extract, uh, here by soaking vanilla beans in vodka. And, um, you know, it's, um, it's close, um, maybe not exactly the same, but it's pretty close to, you know, what you might get out of a bottle from the store. And then the other thing is, um, if you're blending or can, you know, use a mortar and pestle to process vanilla beans, then you're gonna get a beautiful effect, um, without the, uh, from vanilla beans, the, the pod without the need for vanilla extract. Okay? And when using vanilla pod, use the whole thing, um, a lot of recipes, you know, we'll talk about slitting them down the middle and scraping out the tiny little seeds, and then using that in, um, some preparation. And there's a place for that, for example, if you wanna add that to a custard so that, um, those little vanilla flex are visible in the finished product, then there's a, there's a, uh, a reason right to do that. But if you want the, the general aroma and flavor of vanilla, then go ahead and use the entire pod, because the whole thing is aromatic and therefore flavorful. And, uh, again, if you can, um, blend it or crush it right to, uh, increase the surface area and then also to, to break down any chunks, then, uh, you're gonna be heading down the right path. I think. So, uh, you know, those are some thoughts that come to mind. Uh, when it comes to considering vanilla and, and handling it within your own, your own house, you can sort of bla blaze your own trail, right, on the way that you use this product. Um, but again, uh, I'm gonna go back to, you know, the, the premise of trying to source it, um, at its source, you're gonna get the best prices, uh, in that case. Otherwise, you're sort of, um, stuck. Um, you know, you're at the whim of the, the suppliers and all of these, um, you know, market forces that, uh, that, that affect food prices, you know, whether it's tariffs, uh, or something else. Um, you know, I haven't, I'll tell you just a quick story here while I, I don't know what the tariffs are doing to vanilla prices right now, uh, here in the us. Um, I, I will go back a number of years ago when, um, the cost of, um, of fuel, the, the cost of oil, you know, was over $200 a barrel, and therefore the price of diesel fuel and gasoline had gone up. So that transportation, um, costs had gone up. And, um, and within a very short period of time, I remember a gallon, this is when I was working in, in kitchens and in culinary schools, a gallon of vanilla extract had gone from a hundred dollars to $200, uh, just in a matter of months. And so these external forces, not nothing happening in, in Madagascar, but these other factors that affect the, um, the, the distribution, um, of the, the products, um, will take effect. So, um, if you can bypass all that by going to the source, then you're at an advantage.