Magical Vanilla Sugar

I still remember the jar in my childhood kitchen cupboard that contained the vanilla sugar. I always found it somehow magical – it felt like it could just replenish itself, and it always had this amazing smell of vanilla. We used it for lovely sweet treats like the birthday cake or vanilla butter biscuits, and somehow the magic rubbed off onto them too.

Fast forward to my adult self going to the supermarket. I was a little confused, let’s say, to see that one could buy vanilla sugar in small packets. It had somehow never occurred to me that this would make sense, since it seemed such a simple thing to maintain at home. Why would one spend a small fortune on a small packet, that in fact did not seem to have the potential for the replenishing magic? Sure, I can see scenarios where this would be reasonable, but then again – I’m sure that many people do not realise how easy it is to make and maintain at home. After the initial cost, it is really just a matter of adding more sugar and you are good for a long time!

What you need:

1 clean, airtight, glass jar (I use an old honey jar)

1 vanilla pod (the long black ‘sticks’ that come in a thin tube)

Plain caster sugar

Then:

Place some sugar in the jar. Cut the vanilla pod (using a sharp knife) into approx. 2 cm lengths, place in the jar. Fill more sugar into the jar, allowing a little space at the top to shake the sugar. Give the jar a shake, then leave in a dark cupboard. Best to leave for 1 week before use, to allow the flavour to develop. When you need some, simple take out the amount of sugar you need, leaving the pods in the jar. When done, you fill more sugar into the jar and give it another shake, then leave for the next time you need some. After a year or two it is good to add some fresh vanilla pod to the jar, so it keeps its flavour.