The newest spice on the Australian market.

Over the last few years, most of Europe's and USA's top restaurants have been using Tonka beans somewhere on their menu, whether on savoury or on dessert!

Tonka beans come from Central and South America and have been used in perfumes for many years as well as in local South American cooking and traditional medicine.

Tonka beans strong aroma is most amazing and often described as vanilla and bitter almonds with hints of caramel, pepper, straw, tobacco or cinnamon! Check this article " The Tonka Bean: An Ingredient So Good It Has to Be Illegal [in the US]" www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2010/11/the-tonka-bean-an-ingredient-so-good-it-has-to-be-illegal/65616/ . Such a flavor is best released by infusing the beans or by grating them like a nutmeg.

And just like nutmeg and many other spices too, consume Tonka beans with moderation. It’s a spice not a food, so despite its name, do not consume several beans per person!

Tonka beans are used in both savoury and sweet dishes, here are a few examples:

• Honey, Flower, Pistachio ice cream, Tonka Bean – El Bulli, Spain
• Baked pear, Tonka bean wafer, salted toffee ice-cream – Le Meurice, Paris.
• Lime Sabayon, Tonka bean, macaroons – Varietal, New York.
• Foie gras Crème brûlée and Tonka bean – Taillevent, Paris.
• Butternut, sweet cicely and Tonka – L'enclume, UK.
• Almond panna cotta, vanilla poached pear and Tonka bean ice cream – Petrus/Gordon Ramsay, London.
• Duck foie gras, fresh figs and Tonka bean – Robuchon, Paris.
• Sponge cake with sour cherry, Tonka Bean and vanilla – Alinea, New York

But also with monkfish, pumpkin soufflé, chocolate tart, crème brûlée, etc.

2 yrs shelf life. Storage in a cool and dry place.