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Vanilla purchasing


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My daughter is wanting us to bring her back a jar of vanilla.  On a previous cruise I had a jar in my luggage that was removed.  Are you not allowed to bring vanilla back?  If so, where are the best places to find it? I know some are better than others.  What would be a fair price to pay?  We are sailing out of Galveston in November to Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel.  

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For good Mexican vanilla get the bottle with the blue top in Cozumel. The others are fine but we have found the blue bottle top to be the best. You can find it at the cruise port or downtown depending on what and where you are going that day. I do not understand why they would remove the vanilla from your luggage. We have brought plenty back for us and our families and never had an issue.

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4 hours ago, CrznTxn said:

For good Mexican vanilla get the bottle with the blue top in Cozumel. The others are fine but we have found the blue bottle top to be the best. You can find it at the cruise port or downtown depending on what and where you are going that day. I do not understand why they would remove the vanilla from your luggage. We have brought plenty back for us and our families and never had an issue.

Do you pay the asking price for it?  I will certainly shop for the vanilla with the blue top on it.  Thanks for the info!

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1 hour ago, Sharla said:

I make vanilla at home. I'm no help! 

That is a lot of work... I will just buy mine.  All that growing, picking, drying and then the boiling and getting the extract just right, not to mention the cost of all the equipment needed. Might as well have a meth lab for more profit. lol

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19 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

That is a lot of work... I will just buy mine.  All that growing, picking, drying and then the boiling and getting the extract just right, not to mention the cost of all the equipment needed. Might as well have a meth lab for more profit. lol

i'll bake from scratch for special occasions but this is one step I'm okay skipping. 

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21 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

That is a lot of work... I will just buy mine.  All that growing, picking, drying and then the boiling and getting the extract just right, not to mention the cost of all the equipment needed. Might as well have a meth lab for more profit. lol

It is so simple to make it homemade!!!  Just buy a few vanilla beans, at least 2 but I use 4 to 6 per 8 oz.  Split them open and scrap out the seeds. Put the pods and the seeds into a small bottle.  Add vodka (I am told that some use rum).  Sit back and wait. The longer you wait, the darker and more flavorful the vanilla will be .  Anywhere from 3 moths to 1 year.  There is a difference between the vanilla beans: Madagascar, Mexican, and Tahitian.

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15 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

It is so simple to make it homemade!!!  Just buy a few vanilla beans, at least 2 but I use 4 to 6 per 8 oz.  Split them open and scrap out the seeds. Put the pods and the seeds into a small bottle.  Add vodka (I am told that some use rum).  Sit back and wait. The longer you wait, the darker and more flavorful the vanilla will be .  Anywhere from 3 moths to 1 year.  There is a difference between the vanilla beans: Madagascar, Mexican, and Tahitian.

But that is buying the vanilla and adding more to it. And you only have to wait an additional 3-12 months??... No thanks!

I will just buy it in the bottle all ready to use when I am in port thank you.

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1 hour ago, Jolly Ogre said:

That is a lot of work... I will just buy mine.  All that growing, picking, drying and then the boiling and getting the extract just right, not to mention the cost of all the equipment needed. Might as well have a meth lab for more profit. lol

Nope, not at all. You just purchase vanilla beans and vodka. Score or chop the beans and drop them into the vodka. Shake up about once a week, and in 3 months you have tons of vanilla. It's super easy, I give it away as Christmas gifts.

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We just got a couple of bottles last month while in Coz and yes we did haggle.  Once we determined what brand Barb wanted we ended up taking a taxi downtown and found it for a good price...Way cheaper then the port shops.  Had to go to downtown anyway...We were craving a few banana daiquiris from Fat Tuesday's.   Couldn't get one on the ship for some reason.

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1 hour ago, Sharla said:

Nope, not at all. You just purchase vanilla beans and vodka. Score or chop the beans and drop them into the vodka. Shake up about once a week, and in 3 months you have tons of vanilla. It's super easy, I give it away as Christmas gifts.

Well then.  Put me on your Christmas list!  🙂

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3 hours ago, Psycho and Barb said:

We just got a couple of bottles last month while in Coz and yes we did haggle.  Once we determined what brand Barb wanted we ended up taking a taxi downtown and found it for a good price...Way cheaper then the port shops.  Had to go to downtown anyway...We were craving a few banana daiquiris from Fat Tuesday's.   Couldn't get one on the ship for some reason.

Would you mind emailing me?  I had some other questions about the vanilla and also about downtown.  Thanks for sharing the information.  

[email protected]

thanks

 

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6 hours ago, Sharla said:

Nope, not at all. You just purchase vanilla beans and vodka. Score or chop the beans and drop them into the vodka. Shake up about once a week, and in 3 months you have tons of vanilla. It's super easy, I give it away as Christmas gifts.

I have also read, that most extracts that use a vodka base, the higher the proof of the vodka the more flavor is extracted.

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6 hours ago, CruiseGus said:

I have also read, that most extracts that use a vodka base, the higher the proof of the vodka the more flavor is extracted.

More importantly how does the vodka taste afterwards 🤔 🤣

You have to admire anyone who does things such as home baking, knitting or anything that has an end result! These skills that are passed down from older generations are being lost as most youngsters are only interested in unsocial media nowadays which is a shame 

 

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