Here is the recipe for Pete’s fantastic vanilla syrup. It works brilliantly in milkshakes, for poaching fruit, or as a drizzle over oat porridge or icecream. Because he used our homemade extract, the syrup has a clean, almost crisp, vanilla flavour and a flotilla of small black seeds. It’s an easy recipe to prepare, providing you remembered to make extract three months before, but tricky to get just right. Pete has a particularly fine palate when it comes to syrups and jams – he always manages to produce a perfect balance of flavours and textures.
- 2 litres filtered water
- 1 kg white sugar (possibly more)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 or more fresh vanilla pods
- 2 Tbsp homemade vanilla extract (plus a couple of vanilla pods that were soaking in the vodka)
1. Scrape out the fresh vanilla pod and add the seeds, plus the pod into a large pot. Add the water, sugar, soaked vanilla pods and brown sugar and heat gently until the solution boils and the sugars dissolve.
2. Add the vanilla extract and bring back to the boil briefly. Allow to cool a little, then check that the syrup has thickened slightly (otherwise you’ll just end up with sugary water). The thickness of the syrup is related to the amount of sugar – if you’d like greater viscosity, simply add more sugar until it reaches a consistency you’re happy with. Taste for vanilla – you want to add as much vanilla extract as you can whilst still keeping the syrup in balance. This recipe is all about tasting as you go to ensure the flavour is smooth and well-rounded.
3. Ladle the syrup into sterilised bottles and seal well. Place the used vanilla pods in a small jar and top up with a little syrup. Store this in the fridge and use it as a “starter” for your next batch, by putting it into the pot with the other ingredients. The starter can be used several times before the macerated beans lose their oomph.
