Organic Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Grade A Whole Pods, Cook's, 10 Count

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was a little skeptical about ordering these because the price seemed almost too good to be true, but I'm so glad I gave them a try. The vanilla beans were fresh, plump, and full of flavor. They made an excellent vanilla extract, and the taste is fantastic. The quality exceeded my expectations, especially for the price. I'll definitely be ordering these again when it's time to make my next batch.

I use this for extracts and baking. They smell so good. The vanilla extract is straight fire! The cost difference from the supermarket is astronomical!

I wanted to give it a while before reviewing to make sure my extract had time to develop. That way, I feel I can provide feedback that was more complete than just saying that the caviar tasted great (which, it did). Now that it's been a couple of months, I think I can say that without a doubt, these beans are great no matter how you use them. They arrived vacuum sealed; all air had been evacuated to prevent oxidation of the vanillin and other components that make up a vanilla pod. Even before breaking the seal, the smell of vanilla was very strong. I opened the package and was immediately surrounded by that distinct aroma of fine Madagascar vanilla. I threw the bundles on my scale and was pleased to find that I had received a slight excess of the 16 ounces ordered. These were predominantly long pods Very few of the little 4-5" baby pods and lots of the 7-8" ones. They were plump and you could tell they were appropriately dried to the correct amount of moisture. We immediately sliced one down the middle and ran a knife edge across the flattened pod to scrape off the caviar, of which there was plenty. Crème brulee was the ultimate test and no one was disappointed. There's nothing like being able to tell your guest that you used actual vanilla pods in your recipe instead of store bought extract. It works wonderfully in vanilla ice cream as well. Just be sure to save the pods for making your own extract. In my case, I wanted 2x vanilla extract. So into 3.5 liters of inexpensive grain neutral spirits (cheap vodka) we added the partially scraped pods, all 16 ounces of them. This was placed in a cool dark spot to age. We will of course allow it to age longer but so far, after 2 months, the extract is fantastic. The color is rich, the aroma is heavenly, and the taste, even early, is already beyond any store bough extract I've ever had. Knowing that it can only get better is an added benefit. I could go on but for now, Ill leave it at... yes, we are satisfied. I might be easy to please but I'm also fairly critical and tend to write detailed reviews when I am very happy or very unhappy. You wont go wrong here if you order the full pound of pods. I cant speak for ordering by the bean...

Very fresh and fragrant, and equally flavorful.

High quality, great price! These are wonderful. Plump, aromatic. Used them to make vanilla extract and they were just want I was looking for.

This vanilla been is good, could have stronger flavor. For the price a good buy. I use it to make vanilla extract, it works lots of seeds if you open.

The moment I opened the package, I was hit with that rich, sweet vanilla aroma and could see the quality of the beans. The beans were fresh, pliable, and not dried-out little twigs. I used them to make homemade vanilla ice cream. The flavor was incredible! Deep, warm, and noticeably better than anything from a bottle. The packaging kept them well sealed, and all 10 beans arrived in great condition.

Absolutely gorgeous, plump, moist pods. My Christmas gifts of homemade vanilla are brewing. I also used some of the pods in custards, ice cream and baked goods. What a difference!

Well packed, big vanilla beans

Very good quality vanilla beans for daily use of make your own vanilla extract at home. Recommended.