Taking place on 17th October each year, International Real Vanilla Day brings together the voices of vanilla from all over the world.
From the farmers and the communities who protect and nurture the fragile ecosystems on the equatorial belt, to the professional chefs, home cooks and bakers who use real vanilla in their creations.
So Why Use LittlePod?
LittlePod was the first provider of real Vanilla to commission a squeezy tube for its Natural Vanilla Paste to make real vanilla as convenient as possible to use, while helping to conserve this extraordinary crop.
Founder of International Real Vanilla Day and the MD of LittlePod, Janet Sawyer MBE BEM, is one utterly amazing woman!
Janet is on a very important mission to save the vanilla pod from the very real threat of extinction. With 97% of vanillin used in the west being artificial, the vanilla pod was at risk of being lost within just one generation.
Most vanilla is grown in Madagascar, which puts it at a high-risk due to environmental factors like storms, droughts, etc.
Having won a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development, Little Pod also produce vanilla pods from their own collaborative orchard which is in Indonesia.
They encouraged the Indonesian government to restart their vanilla industry again by planting vanilla vines for reforestation in peat bog areas that were unfortunately made barren from palm oil planting.
LittlePod's products are a vehicle to allow the company to work on community projects in Madagascar and Indonesia, supporting farmers and families in these areas.
LittlePod Natural Vanilla Paste 100ml is vegan, kosher and gluten free, available from littlepod.co.uk. RRP £15
So, how can you use LittlePod Real Vanilla? Here are some recipes:-
Peter Gorton's Honey Mousse With Port Jelly and Fresh Strawberries
Ingredients
Mousse
4 large eggs yolks
100g castor sugar
320 ml milk
50g honey
1 tbsp LittlePod natural vanilla paste
2 ½ gelatine leaves
250 ml double cream, whipped to stiff peaks
Port Jelly
90 ml port
90 sugar syrup
2 gelatine leaves
2 tsp LittlePod pure chocolate extract (optional)
Sugar Syrup
90ml water
80g sugar
Boil until dissolved and set aside to cool, refrigerate when cold
Method
Honey Mousse
Bring the milk to a simmering point in a saucepan.
Whisk the egg yolks and castor sugar in a bowl until pale and frothy, then add the honey, vanilla paste and slowly whisk in the warm milk.
Stand the bowl over a bain-marie and gently cook, whisking continuously until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Soften the gelatine leaves in a little cold water, wring out the excess water and stir the gelatine into the custard until dissolved.
Pass the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cool over ice in the refrigerator.
When the custard is almost set (about an hour) fold in the whipped cream.
To Make The Jelly
Bring the port and sugar syrup and pure chocolate extract up to the boil in a saucepan.
Soften the gelatine leaves in a little water and wring out the excess water and stir the gelatine into the hot liquid until dissolved.
Pass the jelly through a fine sieve into a bowl and allow to cool but not set.
To Assemble
Spoon the mousse into the desired ring moulds leaving a gap at the top for the port jelly.
Refrigerate until set (about 45 minutes) and pour the jelly on top of the mousse.
Refrigerate until set (about 1 hour).
To Serve
Suspend the moulds in hot water for 10 seconds then carefully turn out onto shortbread biscuit in the middle of the plate.
Place a few strawberries on top of the honey mousse and drizzle a little honey over the top. Delicious!!
Cooking Tip
Peter Gorton - You can use raspberries or figs instead of strawberries if you prefer.
Peter Gorton's Twice Baked Goats Cheese & Vanilla Soufflés
Ingredients:
Soufflés:
80g butter
60g plain flour
350ml warm milk
75g goats cheese
1 tbsp LittlePod natural vanilla paste
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan.
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley or chives.
3 egg yolks
Salt and pepper
4 egg whites
250ml double cream
Tomato Vinaigrette:
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic – minced
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
150mls dry white wine
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp LittlePod natural vanilla paste
125ml passata
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tbsp softened butter (optional)
Method:
The Souffle:
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºc.
Melt 2 oz of butter and grease 6 – 8 ramekin moulds.
Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook over a medium heat, stirring for 2 minutes.
Add the warmed milk and vanilla paste little by little until the mixture is a smooth white sauce and the flour has cooked out. Remove from the heat.
Mash the goats' cheese until soft then add to the sauce with the parmesan and fresh herbs. Cool for 5 minutes. Fold the egg yolks in thoroughly and taste for seasoning.
Beat egg whites until ribbon stage and fold quickly and lightly into the cheese mixture. Divide the mixture between greased ramekins and smooth the surface of each.
Place in a baking dish and pour in hot water to come two-thirds up the sides.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until firm to the touch and well puffed.
Remove the soufflés from the oven. (they will deflate and look wrinkled).
Allow to rest for a minute then gently ease them out of their moulds.
Place on a plate and cover with cling film.
When you are ready to serve place soufflés in a buttered ovenproof shallow dish.
Pour the double cream equally over the top of the souffles.
Sprinkle with extra parmesan and return to the oven for 12-15 minutes fan-assisted oven 200c until the soufflés are puffed and golden brown.
Tomato Vinaigrette:
Place the shallots, garlic and olive oil into a small saucepan over a low heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the vanilla paste, white wine. Increase the heat, cook and reduce by half.
Add the tomato passata, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Bring the mixture to the boil and remove from the heat.
Slowly whisk in the softened butter and a tablespoon of good quality balsamic vinegar
Peter Gorton's Poached Pears In Filo Pastry, Filled With Amaretti, And A Caramel Coffee Sauce
Ingredients
Poaching Liquid:
700ml water
225ml red wine
115g granulated sugar
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 LittlePod natural vanilla pods, seeds scraped out
Amaretti Filling:
125g amaretti biscuits, crushed
(mix all the ingredients below to form a firm paste)
125g ground almonds
4 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons butter
Pastry:
450g package of filo pastry de-frosted in the refrigerator overnight
225ml melted unsalted butter
Caramel Sauce:
250g double cream (& a little extra cream to thin the sauce)
250g sugar
150ml water
1 tbsp LittlePod natural vanilla paste
1 tbsp LittlePod organic coffee extract
Method
Pre-heat oven 200°c/gas 6
Choose firm pears that still have their stems attached.
Peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler and cut a thin slice off the bottom to create a flat surface so that the pears will stand upright during poaching.
Combine the poaching ingredients together, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, remove from the heat and add the pears, return to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the pears from the liquid so they don't continue to cook. When they have cooled completely, core the pears from the bottom & fill them with the amaretti filling, dry any excess liquid from the pears.
To prepare the pastry:
Allow 3 sheets of filo per pear.
Brush each sheet with melted butter, layering them on top of the next sheet, place 1 pear in the centre of each pastry square and pull the four corners up towards the top and pinch around the stem leaving as much stem exposed as possible.
Bake the pears until golden brown, while the pears are baking prepare the caramel sauce.
Caramel Sauce:
Bring the water and sugar to the boil and boil until a nice golden brown
Remove from the heat and add half of the cream and allow for the sauce to combine to a smooth texture
Add the rest of the cream, the vanilla paste and coffee extract, return to the heat and allow the sauce to reduce to the desired consistency.
Presentation:
Place pears in the centre of six plates and pour the caramel sauce around the pear, serve with an ice-cream of your choice or clotted cream.
Cooking Tip
Peter Gorton - The pears can be prepared up to three days in advance. When adding the cream to the caramel be very careful as the mixture tends to splatter.
(Editor: I think these recipes will be ideal for your Christmas festivities. Maybe an addition or as an alternative to the more traditional Christmas Pudding, perhaps?)
