Okay, so I imported

…a few tonka beans. I orderd them in April, they just got here today. They came from France. I don’t detect much smell, and little bite on the end of it didn’t tell me much except it was bitter.
What can I do with these tonka beans? Any suggestions?

I haven’t cooked with them, but the internet seems to suggest they are good for infusing liquids with their flavor and then that liquid gets used in recipes (think custards, panna cotta, etc.): https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/how-to-cook/how-to-cook-with-tonka-beans

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I had crêpes with tonka bean ice cream in Brittany years ago.

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That right there is the answer.

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In the US, Tonka beans are prohibited from use in human food, aren’t they?

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2006-title21-vol3/xml/CFR-2006-title21-vol3-sec189-130.xml

Really? They’re the newish, hip ingredient here in Germany, and are everywhere. Mostly sweet applications like ice cream, as others have mentioned.

But then Kinder eggs are illegal in the US #SMDH

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Wikipedia states:

Tonka beans have been used as a source of natural coumarin, and, after its synthesis in the 1940s, artificial coumarin became one of the first artificial flavoring agents as a vanilla substitute.[8] The FDA has considered foods containing tonka beans adulterated[9] since 1954[10] because coumarin has shown toxicity in extremely high concentrations. Despite the ban on its use in foods, the product has been frequently imported into the United States by gastronomic enthusiasts.[8][11] There have been calls for removing the restrictions on the use of tonka beans in food in the US similar to the successful deregulations of mangosteens and absinthe in the early 21st century;[11] the regulations are criticized as unreasonable due to the unlikelihood of consuming enough coumarin to cause ill effects and due to the presence of coumarin in unregulated foods.[10] Coumarin is also present in lavender, licorice, strawberries and cherries.[12]”.

Not too dangerous then, I guess.
Eileen is clearly a gastronomic enthusiast!

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They could just as well ban almonds :roll_eyes:

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Impossible. California accounts for 57% of the word production of almonds :money_mouth_face:

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Thank you!

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As are lungs. How am I supposed to make haggis sans lungs?

To the shame of my Scottish ancestors, I personally have no farking idea.