Vainilla

Split it lengthways and scrape out the tiny seeds with the back of a knife. Stir the seeds into the mixture; simmer the emptied pod in milk or cream too, then remove it before using the liquid.

Yes. Use vanilla extract for a quick flavouring in cakes, biscuits and custards; add it towards the end of cooking so its aroma is not lost. A pod is especially useful when you want to infuse milk or cream.

Keep them in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard, away from heat and sunlight. Don’t refrigerate them: condensation can encourage mould and make the pods dry out.

Put a split vanilla pod, or the scraped-out pod left from another recipe, into a jar of sugar. Seal it for at least a week, shaking the jar occasionally; the sugar will take on the vanilla aroma.

Vanilla comes from the long seed pods of an orchid. The pods are picked before they are ripe, then cured and dried over several weeks, which develops their familiar aroma.

Vanilla sugar is flavoured with vanilla pods or extract, while vanillin sugar is flavoured with vanillin, a single compound that gives vanilla its characteristic note. They can both sweeten baking, but vanilla sugar has a more complex aroma.

For a similar sweet, fragrant note, try a little almond extract or finely grated citrus zest, though neither tastes exactly like vanilla. In custard or a cake, you can also leave it out if the other ingredients provide enough flavour.

Vanilla is often used to flavour custard, ice cream, panna cotta and sponge cakes. It also works in porridge, fruit compotes and hot chocolate; infuse it into the liquid base before adding other ingredients.