Sorry, That Vanilla Bean-Flavored Sugar Hack Doesn't Really Work
It can be disappointing when a hack doesn't work quite how you expect it to; to be excited about the hyped results, only to have them fall completely flat. With that in mind, you can totally save yourself a big letdown by skipping the vanilla bean-flavored sugar hack — which is supposed to transform regular sugar into vanilla-flavored sweetener by simply adding used vanilla bean pods to sugar and letting them marinate together for a while. The sad truth is that it just doesn't work the way that so many people hope it does.
Those spent bean husks just aren't capable of infusing any creamy, delicious vanilla flavor into the actual sugar. So unless you're satisfied with sugar that just smells like vanilla but doesn't actually taste like it, there's no point in wasting your time on this failed hack, especially considering that the aroma isn't stable enough to carry over through any kind of high-heat preparation such as baking. A much more honest description would be the vanilla bean-scented sugar hack. By referring to it more realistically, at least people would know exactly what to expect instead of getting their hopes up for the impossible. Still, you might wonder: Why doesn't it work?
The reason why this hack won't result in flavored sugar
Simply plopping a vanilla bean pod into a canister of sugar won't be enough to cause any of the flavor to leech out of it and into the sweet granules — whether that bean is whole and still has its seeds or it's just the leftover pod. Dry ingredients like sugar just don't have that kind of power. And while you can definitely combine the contents of the vanilla bean with sugar in a food processor to get vanilla-flavored sugar, if you want to extract and absorb the flavors from either a whole vanilla bean or its husk, it's going to take a liquid to do so. Water can work for this process, but the final product won't absorb the sugar without dissolving it. When it comes to extraction, alcohol is the better choice of the two anyway. The alcohol-based extract can be combined with sugar to get that vanilla bean-flavored sugar you're after. As a bonus, you can keep topping the mixture off each time you use a little; just replenish the pods as you acquire them.
As you can see, it's perfectly possible to make vanilla-infused sugar. But if you want the flavor and not just the aroma, then you'll have to put a little more work into it than just adding the empty pods to a sack of sugar.
Other ways to make the most out of those empty vanilla bean pods
Just because vanilla-flavored sugar isn't as easy as the hack promises doesn't mean you should toss those empty pods in the trash or compost bin just yet! Fortunately, there are plenty of other effective ways to get the most out of them after you've scraped out the seeds. In addition to making your own homemade vanilla extract, the empty pods can be added to an entire bottle of alcohol and left to steep. This is a great way to create vanilla-infused vodka, bourbon, rum, or whatever other kind of liquor you want to give a boost of flavor.
Additionally, milk and cream work especially well to pull the remaining flavor from the empty pods. Just give them a simmer, and you'll have some delicious vanilla milk or cream to use in any number of recipes. Yet another option is to grind the pods up with your morning coffee beans for an extra flavorful pot of joe. It can't hurt to combine the two uses and add a splash of that flavored cream to the infused coffee for a rich vanilla experience. And if you made the extract-based vanilla sugar? Then add that, too!