Splitting a vanilla pod and scraping out its seeds is one of the simple pleasures of pastry, and the flavour it gives a custard or an ice cream is hard to beat. Our Madagascan vanilla pods come ten to an airtight tube, so you can take out one at a time and keep the rest sealed.

Each pod measures around 17 to 20cm and weighs about 5g. They are plump, moist and dark, and soft enough to open with the tip of a knife.

What Makes a Good Vanilla Pod? 

Chefs judge a pod on three things: length, moisture and vanillin. A long pod holds more seeds, a moist one gives up its seeds and flavour readily, and vanillin is the compound behind most of vanilla's taste. These are Madagascan Planifolia pods with a moisture content of 35 to 40% and vanillin of 1.5 to 2.2%, cured by traditional methods of sweating and then drying in sun and shade.

How to Use Vanilla Pods 

Cut a pod open lengthways and run the back of your knife along each half to collect the seeds. Put the seeds and the empty pod into warm milk or cream and leave them to infuse before you make your crème anglaise, panna cotta or ice cream base, then lift the pod out. Once it has dried, a spent pod buried in a jar of caster sugar turns it into vanilla sugar for baking. Keep the tube tightly closed between uses so the pods stay moist.

Pairings and Ideas

Whole vanilla goes with cream, eggs, stone fruit, rhubarb, rum and dark caramel.

• Vanilla custard tart
• Poached pears in vanilla syrup
• Rhubarb and vanilla fool
• Vanilla panna cotta with summer berries
• Rum and vanilla caramel sauce
• Homemade vanilla sugar