I've been using a lot of vanilla beans lately and they are terribly expensive. I've had a look on ebay and can buy 1kg of 12cm vanilla beans for $101.70 or 1kg of 18cm vanilla beans for $110.00. Obviously I can buy smaller quantities, but it gets cheaper the more you buy. So, I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in splitting the cost of getting some vanilla beans. The price includes postage to one location, so I'd have to add a small price for postage if sending on smaller amounts (unless you live in Adelaide and want to collect). I'm not looking to profit out of it, just trying to find a way for us all to save a bit of money....

100g of 18cm beans: $10.17
100g of 12cm beans: $11.00

PM me if you're interested and I'll see what we can do.....

I've never used them, but recently had a couple of recipes that called for them - just couldn't get from the local IGA so went without! So, how many would you get in 100g and do they keep - are they like a 'dried herb' ?

I just weighed mine (it looks about 12cm long) and it was 3gm They do keep for a while, they're the seed pod (I think) of the orchid. I keep one in our dextrose (sugar sub), and others have been sliced down the centre, seeds scraped out and all added to milk (for custard or ice cream). I've put whole ones in the milk and washed it after and it's even kept then.

Depending on postage to you costs (about $10), some of the online stores may be cheaper? This one has 1kg of 16cm for $95 (it doesn't state full postage costs tho)

rudanetrading.com.au/index.php?option=co...cart&view=store&ck=3

Hiya Bel,
A lady I know did a vanilla bean order some time ago. We got Madagascan beans that are plump and fat and longer than any I've ever seen. I bought them off her for about 30c each. I'm not sure how that related to your pricing. I can give you her details if you fancy chatting with her.

suzi
x

You may have to watch out buying on ebay if they are coming from overseas. The folks at Quarantine may have some issues with them if you don't have the right import permits etc.

Closer to home, Honest to Goodness (www.goodness.com.au) sell them in bulk (100g or 1kg) quite cheaply through their wholesale section.

100g of beans is a LOT.

Cheers
Dave

Ebay!? Ok missed that bit, no, don't buy from ebay. Honest to goodness are great but the prices suck for vanilla beans. Even in bulk. I think they're also the Tahitian beans which are nice but not as plump as my Madagascan babies.
Once you'd bought direct and cut out the wholesaler it's hard to accept regular prices again.. then at the supermarket I get a total shock at the price of one!!
Anyway Bel, it's your choice :o)

Hmmmm. Some mixed feedback. I'll have a look at some of the other sites suggested and get back to you all. Suzi - if you could get back to me about that other lady you mentioned, that'd be great. I've never had too many problems with ebay, so couldn't imagine it being a major problem, but I'll do some more research all the same....

Airgead vanilla beans as long as they are processed and bug free are an allowed import into Australia. For personal use I didn't need an import permit. I got some recently through a friend in the US for 25c each + postage.

The Australian quarantine site has a database listing thousands and thousands of items and whether or not you can import them.

Fair enough. I know some people who have been caught out when importing foodstuffs and had items seized. Its something you need to think about before you buy rather than after...

In this case though, it seems you should be OK bringing them in from overseas.

Cheers
Dave

Here's a link to the AQIS database if anyone wants to check things out before ordering them. Airgead you're right there are a lot of things we can't import for good reason.

www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/icon-icd

I'd certainly be interested, Bel, if you can find a reliable supplier. Probably don't want more than 100g though, and even that sounds like alot! I paid $10 at the stupidmarket for 4 beans recently, can't do worse than that!!

I like making vanilla sugar with my vanilla beans, I got threw a lot of vanilla pods that way. I wouldn't even mind getting the 100gms of vanilla pods but I thought the best place to get them from was mexico?

I'm open to suggestions. The ones on ebay seem to be from PNG, India or Madagascar. To be honest, I was just looking for something quick, easy and cheap and the ones on ebay seem to fit the bill. If I can't get enough people together for a bulk order, I'll probably just order 250g or something and get them not quite as cheap. Either way, they're heaps cheaper than in the supermarket. Most of the ebay sellers are just on-line stores, so not really that risky. I'll keep the thread bumped for a week or so and then I'll assess how many people are interested, possible suppliers etc before I make an order. They do keep for ages...

I'm going to make vanilla essence with some of mine I have. Basically you just throw them in vodka and forget about them for a while.

I didn't know anything about vanilla beans so I just had a bit of a google thinking we should be growing our own, not that easy but I would like to have a go at it, anyway here's the link if anyone's interested;

www.orchidsaustralia.com/vanilla.htm

Sorry Bel, not what you were asking.

Kev