November 07, 2016

A bottle of quality vanilla extract is a pantry staple of all good home bakers - but a lessor known gem that can be a great alternative, is ground vanilla bean powder.

Vanilla bean powder is simply vanilla beans, dried to zero percent humidity and ground into a fine powder. There are some powders on the market that have been sweetened with powdered sugar or filled out with synthetic fillers, but true vanilla powder, such as Heilala Vanilla Powder, is made from vanilla beans and nothing more.

Vanilla powder gives a really concentrated flavor, so if you're substituting powder for beans, extract or paste in recipes, use ½ teaspoon of ground powder for 1 bean, or ½ teaspoon of ground powder for every teaspoon of extract or paste.

Since vanilla powder is drier than extract and void of alcohol, there are some situations where vanilla powder can be an excellent choice for vanilla flavor.

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When you have a color sensitive recipe – there are a number of color free vanilla products on the market, but if you have a look at what's in it, there is no real vanilla at all. It's a synthetic colorless concoction which tastes a bit like vanilla. Real vanilla extract, which of course is always brown, can taint the color of food however. This is a problem if you're aiming for wedding-white vanilla icing. A better alternative to imitation colorless vanilla, however, is ground vanilla which, since it isn't a liquid, won't color icing the same way extract or paste might. 

When you want to flavor your coffee naturally – most flavored coffees use artificial synthetic flavors. For the best vanilla coffee add a teaspoon of dried vanilla powder to your ground coffee before brewing.

When you're making vanilla infused goodies - such as making your own vanilla sugar or vanilla salt. Use about a quarter of a teaspoon of ground vanilla powder per cup of salt or sugar and mix thoroughly. Store in glass jars with the lid on tight. 

When you're making dry mixes - to make your own dried oatmeal packets, pancake mixes or protein shakes to be made up later ground powder is an absolute must. Add it in to the dry mix and you've got all the vanilla flavor you want without any liquid.

When something just needs a sprinkle of vanilla on top – as an after school winter treat when we were kids, my Mum used to sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of buttered bread and grill for a minute or two until brown. It was the first thing i thought of when I saw the ground vanilla. How great it would be to sprinkle on buttered cinnamon toast! Ground vanilla powder is a perfect consistency for sprinkling, just as you might dust ground cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger to finish off a dish, try a sprinkle of ground vanilla powder on waffles, yogurt, fruit, protein shakes or smoothies.

When you choose to live a Paleo or Keto lifestyle - ground vanilla is also a big hit with Paleo and Keto communities as it is simply ground vanilla beans – and nothing else. While Heilala Vanilla Extracts do not contain any sugar, corn starch or fillers many other vanilla products.

Selecting the right ground vanilla powder

The Heilala Vanilla plantation in Tonga, was established as a trade aid project by a New Zealand family, in partnership with a local family from the village of Utungake in Vava’u. Not only is the company founded on principles of empowering grower communities and sustainable agriculture (all the beans are organically grown) but Heilala Vanilla is the only vanilla company in the world to control their entire supply chain, ensuring the vanilla is pure and authentic which has led to the Heilala vanilla range being the most awarded vanilla in the world. 

You can purchase Heilala Vanilla Powder in the USA from The Kiwi Importer. Within the USA shipping is free, super fast, and if you create an account you get $5 off.