Food & Wine USA - (11)November 2018

NATASHA PICKOWICZ,

PASTRY CHEF AT CAFÉ

ALTRO PARADISO AND

FLORA BAR IN NYC

36

HANDBOOK

1

On a clean work

surface, use a paring

knife to split the vanilla

bean in half lengthwise.

2

Using the dull edge

of the knife, scrape the

seeds from the cut

sides of each half of

the bean.

One vanilla bean,

scraped, equals about 1

tablespoon vanilla

extract. Use seeds right

away. Save the empty

pods to infuse sugar,

cream, or milk.

HOW TO SEED A

VANILLA BEAN

NOVEMBER 2018

AS THE PASTRY CHEF at New

York’s Café Altro Paradiso and

Flora Bar, Natasha Pickowicz

knows vanilla is anything but

plain—the long, oily pods have

a heady, sweet aroma and a

complex fruity-floral flavor.

But the way they’re produced

is just as complicated:

Harvesting vanilla is labor-

intensive, and its production

is rife with labor and

sustainability issues. hose

problems led Pickowicz to

Heilala, a small partnership of

sustainable growers in Tonga

who are producing some of

the best-tasting vanilla beans

in the world. “I love the

aromatic and nutty-sweet

quality of their beans,”

Pickowicz says, “but also that

they empower women to

provide for their families or

send their children to school.”

In addition to whole beans,

Heilala makes a super-fragrant

extract, which shines in

Pickowicz’s Vanilla–Brown

Butter Sablé Cookies (recipe

p. 38). Find Heilala Vanilla at

heilalavanilla.com. KELSEY

YOUNGMAN

Magic Beans Pastry chef

Natasha Pickowicz shares

her ultimate holiday

baking upgrade.

THE INDULGENCE

PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHNNY MILLER; FOOD STYLING: MARIAN COOPER CAIRNS; PROP STYLING: HEATHER CHADDUCK HILLEGAS. (PORTRAIT) GLEN ALLSOP