sorensen Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Where can you get vanilla beans in Bangkok? I know they have vanilla extract at Villa, but looking for real vanilla beans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuian Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Never came across any in Thailand, in Bali/Indonesia, they are growing "wild" on the roadside at many locations... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesthailand Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 In the past, I have bought them both at Villa Sukhumvit and in food hall of Central Chidlom (Waitrose branded). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaigerd Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Never came across any in Thailand, in Bali/Indonesia, they are growing "wild" on the roadside at many locations... They don't grow like this, it's a long process until the are like in the picture. Gerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjay Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Considering how much vanilla beans cost and that the demand for them is worldwide. I'm surprised they are not grown here in Thailand and exported? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Have you tried the food hall in Siam Paragon, didn't specifically see vanilla beans but they had a lot of unusual stuff there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkofdavid2 Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Considering how much vanilla beans cost and that the demand for them is worldwide. I'm surprised they are not grown here in Thailand and exported? Or better yet, why hasn't Thailand declared itself Asia's vanilla "hub" ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorensen Posted December 5, 2009 Author Share Posted December 5, 2009 Considering how much vanilla beans cost and that the demand for them is worldwide. I'm surprised they are not grown here in Thailand and exported? Or better yet, why hasn't Thailand declared itself Asia's vanilla "hub" ?? Yeah, Then we could also have a "sweet" Vanilla crackdown! I will do a good check at Paragon, Chitlom and Villa Soi 33 and see what I can find. It is time for some X-mas cooking and baking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterisbetter Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Considering how much vanilla beans cost and that the demand for them is worldwide. I'm surprised they are not grown here in Thailand and exported? Actually, they are beginning to grow them in thailand. They were being sold at the Royal Project Exhibition in Chiang Mai several months (maybe 1 year) ago. They were charging 80 aht per bean which is about what you pay for them in the supermarkets here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
languageexpress Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Considering how much vanilla beans cost and that the demand for them is worldwide. I'm surprised they are not grown here in Thailand and exported? Actually, they are beginning to grow them in thailand. They were being sold at the Royal Project Exhibition in Chiang Mai several months (maybe 1 year) ago. They were charging 80 aht per bean which is about what you pay for them in the supermarkets here. They definitely had them in Sukhumvit Villa ( Soi11) before they rearranged the shelves a couple of months back. I stop by at least twice a week so will check them out for you…if I remember L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfchandler Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 A friend of mine swears that the Foodland Market at Suk Soi 5 has real vanilla extra in small bottles, whereas most of the other markets have the imitation vanilla flavoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb86 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 ok so i import vanilla for wholesale, pm me if you need any info 80 baht per bean is verry pricy, connsidering the quality and bean type commonly avaliable here in thailand, as for beans being grown in the north i am suprised, generaly one needs a rich volcanic soil for quality production as well as constant tempratures. ie bali, reunion, tahiti, ect... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterisbetter Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 ok so i import vanilla for wholesale, pm me if you need any info 80 baht per bean is verry pricy, connsidering the quality and bean type commonly avaliable here in thailand, as for beans being grown in the north i am suprised, generaly one needs a rich volcanic soil for quality production as well as constant tempratures. ie bali, reunion, tahiti, ect... I did see them just the other day at Rim Ping Supermarket in Chiang Mai under the Doi Kham label which is the brand name for agricultural products of the King's Project. They were 70 baht each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderpuff Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 The only "real" Vanilla extract is sold by Foodland. It is not a "small bottle" Winners Brand - 450ml so just under 1/2 liter. price = 132.00 baht. If you find bean it is gonna be expensive. Ever try shopping on the net? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterisbetter Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 The only real brand of vanilla extract that I have found in the supermarkets is McCormick. Last time I checked the 1 ounce size s for 119 Baht and the 2 ounce size sells for 199 Baht. Other brands are just solutions of vanillin, which is the main, but not the only, flavor element in vanilla. What's more, vanillin comes in 2 forms, methyl vanillin and ethyl vanillin. Supposedly, ethyl anillin, which is more expensive, has a stronger flavor. Don't know what kind of vanillin is commonly available for sale her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugocnx Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Nothing beyond real vanilla beans. So called real essences don't have that same smooth flavour and there are no black 'pixels' if you use extracts. Carrefour must have them. I presume there is a Carrefour In BKK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderpuff Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Carrefor has a boatload of Thai food & not a lot else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderpuff Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Vanilla extract is a solution containing the flavor compound vanillin. Pure vanilla extract is made with an extraction from vanilla beans in an alcoholic solution. Imitation vanilla extract is usually made by soaking alcohol into wood, which contains vanillin. Vanillin is chemically treated to mimic the taste of vanilla. I'll take the extract. For the purposes of making vanilla extract, we want to use Grade B beans whenever possible. "Why?", you may ask. "Isn't gourmet always better?" NO. •Grade B beans have less water weight. You get more bean for the buck because you're not paying for water. This also means that less water ends up in your extract. •With Grade A you pay for appearance, which doesn't matter to us. •We get the same beans as Grade A, but at a fraction of the cost. So it's not the actual beans we want but the whole pods, properly cured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterisbetter Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Vanillin was not made by soaking wood in alcohol. One of the ways vanillin used to be made was by converting lignin, which is one of the chief components of wood and a waste product in wood pulp manufacture, into vanillin. But that was done by a chemical process. It may still be done a little that way, but not much, because the process generates a lot of pollution. Most vanillin is currently made from something called guiacol, the chemical in smoke that gives smoked food its smoky flavor. As for the difference between grade a and grade b beans. I believe that it is mainly a matter of appearance. The pods in grade b beans are off color, or have a non standard shape, or have some combination of these traits. I think it is Grade C beans that were being referred to as suitable for use in making extract. They do tend to have a lower moisture content. All vanilla beans are processed more or less the same way. During the day they are dried in the sun, and at night wrapped and sweated. This process accomplishes 2 things: it changes the fresh odorlessless vanilla pod into the aromatic pod we call the vanilla bean and it extracts moisture form the bean. Top quality beans have a moisture content of 30-40 percent and lower quality beans have a moisture quantity of 10 percent. While this would seem to favor the use of lower quality beans for vanilla extract, it doesn't take into consideration vanillin content in the bean. Higher quality beans tend to have higher levels of vanillin and related flavor compounts. (Vanillin content also depends on provenance) So you would need more low quality beans to make an extract of equivalent strength. And then it might not have the subtlety of an extract made from high quality beans On the other hand, Cooks Illustrated, a magazine which accepts no advertising and is entirely funded by subscribers, once did a blind taste test using vanillin and vanilla extracts. In baked goods,they were ashamed to report that their tasters couldn't tell the difference. But for products such as ice cream where heat isn't applied to the vanillin or vanilla, the difference was notable and in favor of the natural extract. Regardless of that, I still won't use vanillin on principle. What that principle is precisely, I can't say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderpuff Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Little background on extract which is what I use. Vanilla is an essential cooking ingredient for which there is no true substitute. The flavor of real vanilla is made up of over 250 organic components, which gives it great depth and complexity, compared to only one flavor component in artificial vanilla. There are three main types of vanilla: Madagascar Bourbon (named after the Bourbon islands not the liquor), Tahitian (fruity),and Mexican (spicy). Vanilla extract is the most common form of vanilla used today. Mexican, Tahitian, Indonesian and Bourbon vanilla are the main varieties. Bourbon vanilla does not contain bourbon -- it is named for the period when the island of Reunion was ruled by the Bourbon kings of France. Vanilla extract is made by macerating/percolating chopped vanilla beans in ethyl alcohol and water for approximately 48 hours. The mixture is then aged for several months then filtered. The FDA specifies that pure vanilla extract contain 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon during extraction and a 35% alcohol/65% water mixture. The resulting amber liquid is clear and richly fragrant. There are double and triple strength vanilla extracts, as well as a vanilla essence -- so strong that only a drop or two is needed. Imitation vanilla is composed of artificial flavorings (most of which are paper-industry by-products treated with chemicals) and it often has a harsh quality that leaves a bitter aftertaste. Vanilla originated in Mexico, and it was once the producer of the finest vanilla, but almost all the extract from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean is now synthetic, and NOT pure vanilla extract. Product packaging can be confusing: Natural vanillin is a substance intrinsic to the vanilla bean, but artificial vanillin is made from wood-pulp by-products. Vanilla flavoring is a blend of pure and imitation vanilla. Vanilla extract should be added to cooked mixtures after they have been briefly cooled so the flavor does not dissipate. These guys sell powder (not cheap) 500 g = $90.00 http://vanillaplantations.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorensen Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 I found the vanilla beans at Tops Chitlom and Villa Soi 33. Chitlom is a bit pricey at 340 baht and Villa has two different types at 180 baht and 120 baht for 2 beans. Time to cook.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needforspeed Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I found the vanilla beans at Tops Chitlom and Villa Soi 33. Chitlom is a bit pricey at 340 baht and Villa has two different types at 180 baht and 120 baht for 2 beans. Time to cook.... For good Vanilla bean (Bourbon) 340 Baht isn't expensive, one tip: After using the vanila marrow by splitting it in two, keep the bean(s) in a container with sugar the flavour of the vanila will go into the suger after a few days. Sugar is nice to make cake's, bavarois and puddings. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeus23 Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 We are importer of Vanilla Beans from Madagascar ( Bourbon ) and Indonesia. www.lavanille.co.th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needforspeed Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 We are importer of Vanilla Beans from Madagascar ( Bourbon ) and Indonesia.www.lavanille.co.th Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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