Vanilla beans aesthetic

A complete guide to vanilla beans; how they're grown, processed, how to use them, store them and make the most of them!

Exactly how to make do with what's in your pantry.

Photographer JESS KOPPEL My photography is a collaboration between Lyn Rutherford the food stylist and myself. We are known for showing food up close, taking the ordinary and making it look extraordinary, showing the natural beauty and details of food without artifice. We shoot from my fully equipped studio in Angel Islington N1.

Vanilla | Photography Colin Campbell

Mexico is where the story of vanilla beans begins. These beans are rich and dark, with spicy and smokey tones, perfect for baked goods, sauces and other desserts. It's also fantastic when a teaspoon is added to seared or glazed salmon or chicken. Almost every vanilla bean in the world is, sort of, a Mexican vanilla bean. Here's why...

If I’m honest, vanilla ice cream never really floated my boat growing up. The use of real, live vanilla pods crammed full of tiny, heavily-scented specks of deliciousness sure changed my mind on the whole darn vanilla-is-dull thing. Will you just look at all those adorable little black speckles? I still won’t choose a dish of vanilla on its own, but it is a heaven-sent addition to any number of other desserts, or simple bowl of ripe, fresh berries. Yay, vanilla pods!

I recently decided it was about time to update the vanilla variety guide which I originally wrote back in 2006. You'll find that I've now ad...

Tonka Beans | by Le Petrin

Cultivating a quality vanilla bean is an arduous process. It is so labor intensive, that the vanilla bean is the second most expensive spice in the world, just behind saffron. Vanilla beans are grown in tropical regions around the world, where year-round warm temperatures and sufficient rainfall create soil conditions and climate that are suitable for proper growth.

Relish the timeless classic: Root Beer Float. Creamy, fizzy, and nostalgic – a sip of memories!