Chef Gale Gand
"Vanilla is the underwear of the baking world; it makes everything look good and plays well in the sandbox with others. Vanilla is like a friend who prefers to stay in the background and just help out," says Chef Gale Gand, James Beard Award winner, co-owner of Tru Restaurant in Chicago, Osteria di Tramonto and Tramonto's Steak & Seafood in Wheeling, Ill., and author of "Chocolate and Vanilla."
"There are 350 flavor components to vanilla. Scientists have been able to replicate the first 80, but they can’t find substitutes for the other components, which is why artificial vanilla falls short," Gand says.
Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer
Jacquy Pfeiffer, the cofounder of French Pastry School in Chicago, says stay away from anything with vanillin in the ingredient list.
"That’s a chemical made in the lab – totally synthetic. I like to use the whole bean because I know nobody has messed with it," Pfeiffer says.
He advises never freezing vanilla beans. And, if kept away from light and heat, they should last five years or more.
"Once you scrape the beans, you can put the pods in sugar to make vanilla sugar. Or dry the pods out and put them in a food processor to make vanilla powder," Pfeiffer says.
Chef Tim Foley
Tim Foley, owner with his wife Pat Foley of Bit of Swiss Pastry Shop in Stevensville, Mich., says he prefers Madagascar vanilla for the desserts in his artisan bakery, which also supplies Tosi’s Restaurant in Stevensville.
"If you want a dessert with strong vanilla flavor, choose 'creme brulee' or fresh fruit tarts with vanilla pastry cream or something with a custard sauce," Tim Foley says.
Foley managed the U.S. baking team that won first place at the 2005 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, the World Cup of Baking that takes place every three years in Paris. He is on this year's team, set to compete March 30-April 1, as a consultant.
