Then reverse the bean and place your thumb/fingers on the other end of the bean and again draw the knife away from your hand towards the other end of the bean splitting the remaining uncut portion. The bean should now be completely split lengthwise, exposing the ‘caviar’ seeds inside the bean. Never draw the knife toward your hand.

Pry open the split side, remove the seeds from the bean with a knife and chop the pod into small pieces. Infuse the complete bean pod and caviar in the cold or warm infusion liquid that you have selected (such as water, milk or your other choice). This will make your ‘custard’.

After infusing for at least 15 minutes, filter out the pieces of the outer pod using a spoon or small mesh, such as a tea strainer. This will leave only the tiny black ‘caviar’ seeds in the remaining liquid.

Some recipes call for a clear (but not necessarily colorless) liquid, in which case you may desire to remove the small seeds. This is done by filtering the infused liquid through a coffee filter. However, removing these seeds will also remove a crucial flavor source; so ensure that the liquid is fully infused prior to filtering if you follow this procedure.

Use the custard for all your cooking needs, as vanilla extract cannot be used for baking because its flavor components will dissipate at about 300°F (150°C).

Discard the filtered residue, as this cannot be used for any other food purpose. However, the residue is very effective for odor control when added to cat litter.

 

Yield
A large vanilla bean weighing 4 - 5 grams and will yield about 1 gram (less than a teaspoonful) of caviar (vanillin or heliotropin seeds). This is sufficient to flavor a recipe for 10 people. Therefore, adjust the size of the bean or infusion according to the recipe being prepared (eg. Use ½ a bean for a recipe for 5 persons).