What Is Vanilla Sugar?

What Is Vanilla Sugar?

Have you ever stumbled across a recipe that called for something you hadn't heard of before? This happened to me recently as I was baking . . . a recipe called for vanilla sugar. I thought I had read a typo for a minute and needed vanilla and sugar. It turns out, I was wrong. Though we have talked about a lot of different flour varieties, there are far fewer sugar varieties out there, and I thought I knew them all. So if you have come across a recipe asking for vanilla sugar, never fear, I've done the research and created a little guide to help you through the vanilla sugar process. Keep reading to learn about what the heck vanilla sugar even is, how you should use it, and when it's okay to substitute for other ingredients you may have on hand!

What Is Vanilla Sugar?

During my momentary panic, a quick Google search showed me that vanilla sugar was actually just a mixture of vanilla and sugar (well, that seems pretty self-explanatory). It turns out that this is an extremely common ingredient in Europe, specifically in countries like Germany, Poland, and Hungary. Vanilla sugar is used in their traditional desserts, mostly in cookies and cakes. However, it can be a lot tougher to find vanilla sugar in the United States or other non-European countries, so this can make things a little more difficult! However, the important piece of note here is that vanilla sugar is not quite just a mixture of vanilla extract with sugar. That would be kind of mushy and gross, right? Vanilla sugar is actually sugar that has been infused with vanilla over a long period of time, so it still retains that nice granular texture that we love in sugar (and need for our perfect baked goods!), but with an added flavor of vanilla for a unique pop!

Where Can I Find Vanilla Sugar?

If you're in the United States, you're not entirely out of luck buying pre-packaged vanilla sugar. You may be able to find some at a specialty grocery store, and a few big box stores carry it as well. If you do find it, however, you may be a little concerned when you see the price tag, as vanilla sugar is going to be a good bit pricier than your typical baking sugars. The great news is that you can actually make your own vanilla sugar fairly easily. If you need it today, you may just need to splurge, but if you have a little time, then it is actually fairly easy to make at home. How, you ask? Let us see . . .

Making Your Own Vanilla Sugar

As mentioned above, making your own vanilla sugar is quite a simple process. The hardest part about it is that it simply takes time for the vanilla to infuse into the sugar. To start, you will need a vanilla bean and about 2 cups of sugar (feel free to up that proportionally to whatever quantity you need). Caster or superfine sugar should work best, and if you are not familiar with it, then feel free to read more about it here, but any sugar will do!
  1. Put all of your sugar into a glass or plastic air-tight jar.
  2. Slice open the vanilla bean carefully so that the seeds are facing up.
  3. Use the back of your knife to scoop out the tiny black vanilla beans (this is where the magic happens!).
  4. Place all of the vanilla bean seeds and the open vanilla bean into the jar with the sugar.
  5. Take a hint from The Beatles (or Ferris Bueller) and shake it up! Shake your sugar and the vanilla beans until everything is evenly dispersed throughout the jar. This will allow for the best infusion of odors and flavors from the beans.
  6. Store for anywhere between a week and a month before using. Nothing bad will happen if you use it earlier, of course, it will just have less time to infuse the vanilla into the sugar, so you will not get quite as heavy of a vanilla flavor in your dishes. (Dont forget to sift out the vanilla beans prior to use!)
There you go--voila! A delicious treat that is literally good enough to eat! Plus, as an added bonus, doing anything with vanilla beans will make your entire house, hands, and clothes smell delicious for days! Many bakers like to make a small batch of vanilla sugar whenever they are using vanilla beans. Old beans will work fine on their own, albeit potentially for a less strong sugar. If you are using beans in a different recipe, though, just buy one extra to throw in a jar of sugar--you won't regret it!

Different Types of Beans

If you (like me) were unaware that there are different types of vanilla beans, then you're in for a treat! There are a lot of different varieties, but three common ones are Tahitian, Madagascar Bourbon, and Mexican. They all have different flavor profiles, and any vanilla will work to make vanilla sugar, but our favorites are Tahitian and Madagascar Bourbon. These two have more delicate flavors that are perfect for baking! As to what type of bean is best, it will depend on what you are using your sugar for, and there is a decent chance that your local store will only carry one or two varieties. We dare you to try them all if you can find them!

How to Use Vanilla Sugar

You may be wondering why people do not just add vanilla to their recipes instead of going through this entire process of making vanilla sugar, and that is a great question. The truth is, vanilla extract reacts very differently in recipes than vanilla sugar straight from the bean, and if you use vanilla bean in your recipes, the infusion process will not take place quite as much. Thus, vanilla sugar serves its own unique purpose in giving your recipe the lightest touch of vanilla flavor without changing the overall texture profile. There are several great uses for vanilla sugar that are unique and could not work well with vanilla extract or simply adding fresh vanilla beans. Many people love to keep vanilla sugar around for sprinkling in various moments. Try vanilla sugar in your coffee for an extra touch of (natural) flavor, or sprinkle it on your morning cereal or fruit to bring in the warmth of the vanilla. It is perfect to have on hand for these little touches, and we challenge you to use vanilla sugar in a new, unexpected way! Of course, you can actually bake with this sugar too! Vanilla sugar is in no way limited to sprinkling over other dishes. Various recipes will call for vanilla sugar, like the one I was working on earlier this week! The vanilla flavor will be present in your end product, so it follows that this is a popular ingredient in cakes, cookies, and other decadent treats! Vanilla sugar is sold in Europe in small sachets, which can be added to many different recipes in place of vanilla extract. If you made your own vanilla sugar, make sure that you are using it in a recipe that calls for the type of sugar you used to make it: fine, regular, or powdered, for instance. If you use the wrong sugar accidentally, your texture could be off in the end, even though it will still smell and taste delicious!

Shelf Life

It is always important to consider the shelf life of new ingredients, especially those you are making at home yourself. If there is no date to read, then how will you know when it is bad? We always recommend trusting your nose and eyes: if something looks or smells bad in any ingredient, then play it safe and chuck it out! Vanilla sugar is actually a pretty simple one, in that it should theoretically never go bad. Neither sugar nor vanilla contains any ingredients that will go rancid or bad, in a traditional sense, so if nothing else creeps into your storage container then you should be safe to eat vanilla sugar forever! However, sugar can harden and vanilla beans can lose their flavor after about two years, so we would advise whipping up a new batch at that point--I mean, cmon, it has been two years, it is about time! If you have never used vanilla sugar before, we promise you will not regret it! With its delicious aroma and flavor, your entire home will appreciate you baking with a little extra vanilla infusion. Many people like to give vanilla sugar jars as a gift--doesnt the smell of fresh vanilla just remind you of the holidays? Plus, it is probably something your friends have not used before! We recommend trying out all the cake and cookie recipes you can find with vanilla sugar, and we are happy to taste test if you need some help!

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Bob's Red Mill
February 20 2018

Comments

Sherin

I found the post to be highly good. The shared information are greatly appreciated

Reply
Prakash

Your site was very informative and interesting as well. Thanks a lot and good luck.

Reply
Authentic Homestay in Uttarakhand

Thanks for sharing about vanilla sugar.

Reply
mannu

Thanks for sharing its like mouth watering situation for me. will surely gonna try this one.

Reply
Emily Vinson

Thank you for sharing this topic with us. I have never seen articles like this before. This is very useful for me!

Reply
Ricky

Thanks for sharing about this vanilla Sugar, great to know about this one.

Reply
Stella

Love to know about Vanilla Sugar. I never this before , thanks for sharing this one with us.

Reply
Girish Jha

some thing new and unique , this vanilla sugar recipe . Thanks for sharing this one .

Reply
suzan

Thanks for sharing about this vanilla Sugar, great to know about this one

Reply
Ajay

Found some thing new "Vanilla Sugar " , will love to try this one. Thanks for sharing this one .

Reply
Rishika

Never heard before about this " vanilla sugar" , nice to know about some thing new. Thanks for sharing this with us .

Reply
Sachin

I will definitely try it . its mouth watering situation for me and specially vanilla its amazing!!!

Reply
AG

If there is a Kosher section in your local chain supermarket, or a local kosher grocery store you will almost always find it there.

Like the article says, this is a very common ingredient in Poland and Hungary. That is where many of the current traditional Jewish Foods in America emanate from.

Because of the above, I had the opposite experience to the writer when I went to the local chain supermarket looking for Vanilla Sugar in the regular baking section. I asked one of the managers and he didn’t know what it was (to my shock!), but when the manager of the kosher section walked by he mentioned that that is where I can find it! A learning experience for me too!!

Reply
Martha F. Chenault

When using it in a recipe does it also replace the normal sugar or just the vanilla called for? I was given some and not clear.

Reply
Whitney BarnesMartha F. Chenault

Hi Martha - You can use Vanilla Sugar in place of Cane Sugar in a recipe where you'd like to bump up the vanilla flavor. It does not replace vanilla extract.

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sue

Vanilla sugar is great in all sorts of cakes and shortbread-type butter cookies. I took a Viennese pastry class and one of the first things we learned was to use superfine (or "baker's sugar") in the recipes, and to make vanilla sugar. Today I'm making Vannilekipferl (almond shortbread crescents) and will use the vanilla sugar to dredge the warm baked cookies. It's far less messy than using confectioner's ("powdered") sugar, and the delicate vanilla scent is intoxicating.

Reply
Gail jones

IKEA sells vanillin sugar. I use it to make aSwedish cookie called Brunakaker.

Reply
Hitesh Patel

Interesting facts about vanilla sugar.I come across this article when i search vanilla.

Reply
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