Katra wrote:

>> I'm curious as to what might be used to grind the husks. It seems that
>> they'd be too damp and sticky to work well in a burr grinder, and they'd
>> also be too sticky to work in a blender-type grinder. I thought a meat
>> grinder mechanism would work, but you'd have to have a *lot* of vanilla
>> beans to make that worthwhile, much more than I generally have on hand.
>>
>
> Well, I "grind" fresh ginger in the food processor along with fresh
> rosemary and other fresh herbs.
>
> I just add enough liquid to it to get a good slurry going. I use
> whatever "flavored" liquid I plan to add to the final dish, even if it's
> just a little bit of liquid from the few canned ingredients I use, such
> as canned straw mushrooms.
>
> I imagine that you could add milk or cream, or even sugar water to a
> food processor with the vanilla husks to get them finely chopped?
>
> Then of course, there is mincing with a good old fashioned chef's knife.
> ;-)

I tell you what: YOU try grinding vanilla beans that way and let me know how
it works! I'm perfectly willing to believe you, just not willing to make the
experiment first. :-) I've also processed ginger that way, but I think
ginger is a lot less leathery and sticky than vanilla.


> I've heard of making vanilla sugar the way you describe, but I've never
> tried it. How long does it take?

After a couple days, you can taste the difference, but it keeps gaining in
flavor for at least a month.

Bob