In Search Of… Madagascan Vanilla Paste
Kuidaore is one of the most visually impressive food blogs that I follow; the photographs are stunning but the writing too is entertaining. One recent post enthusiastically mentioned the use of a Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla bean paste.
This Nielsen Massey godsend should be a staple in any avid baker’s pantry. While there is nothing to compare with the fragrance and flavour imparted by a freshly split quality bean, still pliant and moist, this bottle of genius has many things going for it - it is dead-consistent from bottle to bottle so you know what you’ll get, you can measure precisely how much you need right down to the last drop so there is never any wastage, and the flavour is so good you might even feel guilty (well, just a tad) that it’s spooned right out of a jar and ridiculously convenient to use.
Kuidaore is an American blog, so naturally all the ‘buy this here’ links went to American sites. Is it available in the UK? It took a bit of work but I have tracked down one UK stockist:
Cucina Direct list the Vanilla Paste at £11.95. The delivery charge is good at £4.95 per order but allowing 14-28 days for delivery is a bit steep in this day and age.
Perhaps though you prefer to use vanilla pods - Seasoned Pioneers lists 1g of pods at £2.25 (no indication of origin though). Tropical Whole Foods list Ndali Vanilla a Fair Trade pod from Uganda at £4.62 for 2 pods. Pods from Papua New Guinea are stocked by Vanilla Pods by Post 4 large Vanilla pods are £5.53 with 42p p&p.
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Comments
hello, if you check out this website:www.vanillabazaar.com (based London UK), you will see that they have a huge range of Madagascan vanilla products. I have tried a few like the pods, powder and extract and I will recommend to anyone as their products are excellent and their service is great.
by Pille on December 6, 2006 @ 1:08 pm
I saw both the Nielsen Massey vanilla paste and extract were quite widely available in Edinburgh - both in upmarket delis and department stores, but also even in some of the ‘ethnic corner shops’. I’ve used the extract for years, but haven’t had a chance to try the paste yet. And it’s definitely not available here in Estonia:)