07.17.2012

Vanilla Honey

What is vanilla honey?

If you can’t tell, I made vanilla honey. Oh, this stuff is just the BEST!

I cannot wait to share this with you! I made this a week ago and I don’t know why I waited this long to share it! I think it’s because I didn’t get around to taking pictures that day, and by the time I wanted to..it was all eaten! My mom and sister LOVE vanilla and honey, so this quickly turned into their favorite.

Vanilla honey is simply honey infused with vanilla seeds and the pod. It is ok to eat the little seeds but please don’t eat the pod…Ha! That would be a little crunchy!

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Vanilla honey nutrition:

Raw honey is a super food. It contains raw enzymes because it is not heated. These enzymes are needed to digest the sugars in your body. Raw local honey is also a amazing remedy for allergies, sore throats, fatigue, anxiousness, coughs, burns, and the list goes on! Even better, raw honey is GAPS friendly! The vanilla beans are packed with the b-complex vitamins. B-vitmains help relate you metabolism and nervous system. It also contains small amounts of trace minerals. I think vanilla and honey were destined to be together!

Where did I get my vanilla beans?

The recipe can’t get much easier. The hardest part is finding good quality vanilla beans for a decent price. Pure vanilla extract is quite expensive at the store and fresh vanilla beans go along way, so I think this is the way to go. I am planning on making vanilla extract in the future too! I got 54 Vanilla Beans through amazon for $27.69 (free shipping with a prime account). That is about $0.50 a bean!

I took a lot of pictures to make it easy for you to follow. I love the look of pure tiny vanilla pod seeds, they are so delicate. Have fun using the vanilla honey in anything you would normally put honey and vanilla in! Yum!

How to store vanilla beans

After I opened mine, I put them in a plastic bag in the freezer to keep them fresh. I had a few start to mold when I kept them in the cabinet. oops! That is because the kind I got are not dried.  Just deforest them in the fridge before you use one.

The “vanilla honey song”

I think its so good that it deserves a song… oh I ♥ vanilla honey, oh yes I do, yes it do. Vanilla honey is the best, it is above all the rest..oh ♥ vanilla honey 🙂

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint of raw honey (2 cups) <— local is best!

1 vanilla bean <— This is the brand I choose.

 

DIRECTIONS:

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Here are my 54 vanilla beans. 

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A healthy vanilla bean should be plump, slightly soft and have a strong vanilla scent!

1. Cut open 1 vanilla bean. You will have to push firm to open the skin, but not too firm that you cut the whole thing in half!

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2. Peel away the sides of the vanilla bean with your knife and fingers.

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Take a closer look at those gorgeous vanilla seeds. They are packed with flavor and B-vitamins!

3. Scrape out the vanilla bean seeds with your knife. Don’t worry if you can’t get all of them out, because you are putting the whole pod in the honey jar anyways.

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I got my pod all hollowed out.

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I love this picture!

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4. Set your scraped vanilla pod seeds off to the side. I got about 1/2 a tsp out of 1 plump vanilla bean.

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5. Chop or cut (with kitchen scissors) your hollowed vanilla bean into thirds.

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Hehe! Sorry about my messy fingers. The vanilla seeds got all over and into my nails 🙂

6. Drop your hollowed chopped vanilla pods into your honey jar. I used and old (pint size) honey jar for this recipe.

7. Pour 2 cups of honey into your honey jar.

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8. Carefully drop your pile of vanilla bean seeds into your jar filled with honey.

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 The honey looks so gourmet, because you can see the little seeds suspend in the honey. mmm.

9. Stir, stir, stir. I stir my honey and vanilla with a kabob stick. I use an up and down motion because the seeds like to float to the top.

10. To get maximum flavor, infuse your honey in the sunlight for 1-2 weeks. After 1 week, the flavor and scent will be much stronger. When the vanilla flavor is strong enough for your taste, put it back where you usually keep the honey. It will keep just as long as a jar of regular honey will.

*Before using, stir because the vanilla pod seeds tend to migrate towards the top.

11. Use  vanilla honey in anything you would normally use honey and vanilla in. Get creative! We put ours in…

 

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BAMILLA

~Stay Gutsy, Caroline

 

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Comments

  1. Beautiful photos! That looks delicious – bet it would make a great honey candy!

  2. That sounds amazing….I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the tip. I also love the idea of getting the vanilla on amazon — that is a great price. Thanks!

  3. That looks so delicious. I have some vanilla beans around here somewhere. I know what I’ll be using them for.

  4. Love this! Thanks for sharing…I’ll be making up a jar later this afternoon for sure. 🙂

  5. Hey, just wanted to stop by and let you know that I featured you over at Sugar Bee Crafts! I’ve been trying to come up with an excuse to buy a bunch of vanilla beans….

  6. What an interesting idea. I found this through Turning the Clock Back’s What’s Cooking Wednesday. I have linked in an attempt at meatballs. Have a lovely week.

  7. WOW!! That looks so yummy! I have never had vanilla honey before. It sure looks good.

    You are planning on sharing this over at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality.. right? 🙂

  8. homesteadsimple.com says

    This was a great tutorial/recipe. I enjoyed the pictures. I love honey and have had vanilla honey before “bought from the health food store” but I have yet to make my own. Thanks for the motivation! I love honey in my tea! Please come share this at our link party – “Home is Where the Heart is” Homesteading and Homemaking http://www.homesteadsimple.com/home-is-where-the-heart-is-link-it-up-wednesdays-2/
    Please feel free to link any other posts you’d like to share!

    • Yep honey with vanilla is my older sisters favorite! She loves to make GAPS friendly tea lattes. Her favorite right now is blueberry green tea with coconut milk and vanilla honey in it! I linked to your bog party! Thanks

  9. ok- YUM. This sounds soooo good. Would also be a great substitute for cane sugar in recipes. Would loev for you to link up at my Pin It Thursday Party http://www.sweetbellaroos.com/2012/07/19/pin-it-thursday3/

  10. Yummy!!! My youngest daughter LOVES vanilla and honey too, so I have to make this for her!

  11. This looks so good! What a great idea.

    I would love it if you would share this at the Smart Solutions linky party. You can link up here:

    http://theprudentpantryblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/prudent-projects-and-smart-solutions.html

    Have a great day!

  12. Wow, this looks amazing! I need to order more vanilla beans!

  13. Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.

    Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂

  14. Your post was featured on this week’s Traditional Tuesdays! 🙂 This recipe looks awesome!

  15. I just happened upon your site and love it!! Lots of great tips!! I love Honey… I love Vanilla… and I am going to do this TO-Day!! Funny how things just don’t ever occur to us!! So I am so glad it occurred to you and you decided to share – I can’t wait!! Thanks!!

  16. I have Diverticulitis and Diverticulosis I can not have seeds how much pure vanilla extract would I use.
    Thank you I miss out on so much stuff.

Trackbacks

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