On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 09:53:19 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>On 2018-03-17 9:03 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
>> On 3/17/2018 8:36 AM, Janet wrote:
>>
>>> *Now fill the bottle to the top with any
>>> left-over spirits you have; I favour brandy or sherry or a mix. Cap
>>> bottle, shake it well, store it in a cool dark place and shake it once a
>>> week or when you remember. After six months it's ready to use (leave the
>>> pods in, no need to take them out as you use up the liquid).
>>> **** I should go and start a new batch.
>>
>> Great idea, but I thought perhaps vanilla beans would have risen in
>> price similarly to the extract?* I haven't looked for them lately.
>
>
>I just posted that I had not seen them for a while, but had not been
>looking. I just checked on line. Holy cow..... about $9 each.
>
>I used to make my ice cream and my deluxe vanilla recipe called for
>about a tablespoon of extract plus a vanilla bean. The vanilla used to
>be a considerable cost factor when it has half the price of the cream,
>but now it is more than twice as much as the cream.

I bought a little packet of 5 vanilla beans last week for $18 at Ten
Thousand Villages. I should go back and buy some more - that price is
starting to look pretty good.

I don't know if you would have one of their stores near you, but if
you do, you could get them there.

My DH also makes vanilla ice cream, and we make our own vanilla. The 5
beans noted above plus 500 ml of either vodka or bourbon. And when the
vanilla is finished, I freeze the spent beans and use them in things
like rice pudding.

Doris