Our vanilla syrup was simply begging to be made after a visit to an exquisite vanilla plantation in Uganda, and a truly baller cocktail in Zanzibar involving champagne and a whole vanilla bean as a garnish. Forget those insipid imitation vanillas and watery extracts; this is the real deal, with fistfuls of whole vanilla beans and mellow, rich palm sugar.
It starts with all-natural coconut palm sugar; unlike white sugar, this has lots of naturally occurring flavor that isn’t filtered out, with warm caramel and butterscotch tones that go hand in hand with black pepper. Coconut palm sugar is made from the nectar of coconut palm trees, is unrefined and completely natural, has a lower glycemic index, and is rich in nutrients and vitamins. Additionally, palm sugar is considered to be the most sustainable sweetener in the world.
We add lots of ground organic vanilla bean for a rich, authentic vanilla flavor. No artificial flavorings here – nothing but the highest quality, real ingredients. We also add a touch of organic citric acid, which helps to stabilize and preserve it, so that it won’t crystallize.
It’s Rich because we use twice the amount of sugar as in a standard simple syrup. What does this mean? Well to start, one bottle goes much further than a regular simple syrup. It also has a much deeper and more intense flavor from the palm sugar, which imparts rich molasses and caramel flavors instead of just sweetness.
What can you do with it? Anything you can imagine; it’s a tool to help unlock your culinary creativity. It’s hard to find something vanilla doesn’t go well with, but as a starting point, here are some suggestions, and recipes can be found at the bottom:
The not-so-fine print:
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