Vanilla Bean

By Kristie | May 14, 2020 Angel food cake. White chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Vanilla ice cream. Fruit tarts.  You probably know that vanilla can bring these classic dessert recipes to life. But did you know that vanilla can elevate savory dishes, too? That’s right. And not just in fancy French recipes, either. Think mashed…

By Kristie | April 30, 2020 When it comes to vanilla, we may be tempted to assume: of course real is better. But you may be surprised to learn that in some cases, people — experts, even — can’t tell the difference between real and synthetic vanilla. In fact, when asked to choose between real…

By Kristie | April 14, 2020 When we think about the vanilla going into our coffee, cakes, or ice cream, we don’t often give it a second thought. We might even spoon in a little extra sometimes because it’ll make our food taste that much better. But the volatile vanilla trade is worth a bit…

By Kristie | April 14, 2020 Call it what you want — many people say “basic” — but you may be surprised to learn that at one point, all-natural vanilla was a more precious commodity than silver. In 2018, the price of vanilla per kilogram peaked at $600, $60 higher than the price of a…

By Kristie | April 10, 2020 If you remember the Madagascar film franchise from the early 2000s, chances are you recall the quirky yet inaccurate portrayal of wildlife in that country. (I myself was dismayed to learn that there are no penguins in the real Madagascar.) It shouldn’t come as a surprise, though; the island…

By Chad | October 1, 2019 Introduction Vanilla beans don’t start the dark, crispy looking form you normally get them as today. Before they even get close to that they go through at a 9-month process that gives them they’re black color and wonderful aroma.  The bean begins as a green color that fades into…

By Chad | October 1, 2019 Introduction Hello readers, and welcome to my learning corner of Lone Goose Bakery. My name is Chad, let’s have a little sit-down to talk about things you should probably pay a bit more attention to in life. For our first conversation on life’s small improvements, let’s talk about the…