Vanilla sugar

It is sugar flavoured with vanilla, traditionally by storing sugar with a vanilla pod or mixing sugar with ground vanilla. Some products use vanilla extract or flavouring instead, so the ingredients can differ.

Put a split vanilla pod in a tightly sealed jar of sugar, making sure it is covered, and leave it for at least a week. Shake the jar now and then; the pod can stay in the sugar and continue flavouring it.

Yes: use it as part of the sugar in cakes, biscuits or sweet pastry, and reduce the recipe’s plain sugar by the same amount. Its vanilla flavour is most noticeable in simple bakes such as shortbread or sponge cake.

For each spoonful of vanilla sugar, use a spoonful of ordinary sugar and add a little vanilla extract or vanilla paste. If you have neither, use plain sugar; the recipe will be sweet but lack the vanilla aroma.

Vanilla sugar is flavoured with vanilla, while vanillin sugar is flavoured with vanillin, the main aroma compound associated with vanilla. Vanillin can be made without vanilla pods, so the two products do not have the same flavour complexity.

Keep it in an airtight jar in a cool, dry cupboard, away from strong-smelling foods. If it contains a vanilla pod, make sure the pod stays buried in the sugar to help prevent it drying out.

Stir it into porridge, yoghurt, whipped cream or tea, or sprinkle a little over pancakes and fruit. It also works in crumble toppings and biscuits where a gentle vanilla flavour is wanted.