There's nothing plain about this vanilla

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 16, 2005 | by TERESA J. FARNEY Staff Food columnist

I recently made my annual trip to the Savory Spice Shop in Denver to get the secret ingredient for my cranberry sauce recipe: a Tahitian vanilla bean.

I learned about the magic that vanilla can work on cranberries from my husband's grandmother, Nana Bassett. The first Thanksgiving I shared with my new family, I was helped with the dinner preparation.

The day before Thanksgiving, Nana was busy making cranberries, following the recipe on the bag of cranberries for whole berry sauce, just like my family always did. But her sauce tasted better.

Her secret ingredient was a teaspoon of vanilla extract. From that year forward, I always added the vanilla extract to cranberries.

Then last year, I discovered the Savory Spice Shop, at 1537 Platte St. After the owners introduced me to the variety of scents in the vanilla bean family, I decided to buy some. I got a couple of Mexican beans, a couple of Madagascars and a couple of Tahitians.

The Tahitian quickly became my favorite. It's more plump with seeds and has a stronger vanilla flavor than the other varieties. When I added the seeds from one bean to my boiling pot of cranberries, the aroma was amazing. It certainly elevated the flavor of my sauce, which quickly became the star of my holiday table.

On the down side, Tahitian vanilla beans are the most expensive. They're about $5 per bean, compared to about $3 for the Madagascar and $4 for the Mexican. But trust me, the flavor of the Tahitian is worth the extra price.

The Tahitian vanilla bean has a rich, fruity flavor with floral notes and slight vanillin with a touch of rum or bourbon-like notes. It's perfect for flavoring chocolate, coffee, ice cream, cookies and most sweet dishes, and is good with certain savory dishes like lobster, veal and cranberries.

The flavors of Mexican and Madagascar beans are similar with a spicy, woody fragrance. They have a softer vanilla flavor than the Tahitian vanilla beans, with less of the rum note. Their milder flavor is great for rich baked goods like crme sauces, ice cream, sweet breads, custard and cheesecake.

Never refrigerate or freeze vanilla beans. Keep them in an airtight container, out of sunlight and away from heat. Vanilla beans sometimes are speckled with a pale, whitish dust. This is crystallized vanillin, the substance that gives them their flavor, and is nothing to worry about.

Use pods whole or cut and remove the inner seeds. The easiest way to get to the inner seeds is to split the bean lengthwise, open the bean up flat and scrape from top to bottom with the edge of a knife. One vanilla bean is equal to a tablespoon of extract.

Sure, I could have ordered my favorite vanilla beans online instead of making the drive to Denver, but then I'd have missed all the other new things I found on my visit to Savory Spice Shop -- like the Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar, a blend of Madagascar vanilla beans, pure vanilla extract, white sugar, cinnamon, allspice, mace and cardamom. It's great in coffee or hot cocoa.

I think I'll use it on Christmas sugar cookies, too. I bought a pound for $13.

As I was getting ready to check out, I noticed baskets of Mexican and Mayan cocoa blends. I bought a bag of each. The Mexican blend contains Dutch-process cocoa, powdered hazelnut, Ceylon cinnamon and vanilla powder. The Mayan has the same ingredients, with the addition of ground dry chiles that give it a spicy, delicious kick. Both can be used in hot cocoa or for baking.

I especially liked using the Mayan cocoa blend in brownies. The spicy flavor of the chocolate and chiles is sweet and savory.

I think of them as grown-up brownies, which will probably make them this year's Christmas gift for foodie friends. I'll make the brownies and include a bag of Mayan cocoa with the following recipe, which has been tested for our altitude.

If you don't have time to drive to Denver for a spice fix, you can order online at www.savoryspiceshop.com, or call 1-888-677- 3322.

Teresa J. Farney's column appears Wednesdays. Reach her at 636- 0271.

INDEPENDENCE PASS BROWNIES

Yield: 16 brownies

Butter-flavor nonstick vegetable spray

1/2 cup cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or coarsely chopped chocolate

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, or white chocolate chips

Procedure: 1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Spray 8-by-11/2-inchsquare baking pan with butter-flavor nonstick spray.

2. In large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, sugar and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla and melted butter. 3.

Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add egg-butter mixture and work in flour-cocoa mixture, chocolate chips and nuts or white chocolate. Beat hard until everything is incorporated (batter will be thick).

4. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-27 minutes, or until brownies look dry on top and are just beginning to pull away from sides of pan. Do not overbake. A cake tester inserted in center should have a few moist crumbs attached.