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This is the second part of my conversation with Maryse Mounier, a hard-working French woman growing bourbon vanilla on the Réunion island.

Maryse will tell us in details about the process vanilla beans go through from the harvest until they are ready to be sold on the market. You’ll probably be surprised by how precise each stage is! (temperature, time, etc.). Vanilla from La Réunion is unfortunately on the decline despite its excellent quality as it suffers from competition from Madagascar.

Maryse will share her best tips on how to tell a good quality vanilla from a mediocre one – if steps are skipped in the process, the end result won’t be as good. Pods looking big and fleshy can actually be deceptive: they’ll be attractive to the customer who may think that they’ll get more out of the pods but these pods haven’t been dried properly and may just rot before you use them!

How best to store your vanilla pods? What’s the difference between vanilla extract and vanilla essence? How can you use vanilla more creatively in your kitchen? Vanilla is often associated to sweetness because it is traditionally used for baking desserts. However, vanilla itself is not sweet and can be used in your next carbonara or mayonnaise recipe! Let the expert tell you more about this!

affinage (nm) = maturing ; refining (sugar)

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The post FV 088 : (Part 2) How to tell a good quality vanilla? With Maryse Mounier from plantation Vanilla Bourbon appeared first on French Your Way.