Quick answer: a Bourbon vanilla bean, properly split and scraped with the back of a blade, gives an amount of caviar proportional to its length: a short bean, grade S, gives little, a long bean, grade XL, noticeably more. The general rule: the longer and the more supple a bean is, the better the yield, because a well-cured bean releases its caviar easily, while a bean that is too dry holds part of it stuck to the inside of the skin.
These yields are those of our Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar, measured grade by grade.
What decides yield, bean by bean
A bean's caviar yield depends on several factors that vary from one bean to another, even within the same grade. Length counts first: an XL bean of 19 to 20 cm carries more seeds than an S bean of 10 to 12 cm, simply because it offers more internal surface. This is why our grades, S, M, L and XL, are priced differently per unit: they do not carry the same amount of matter.
Suppleness counts just as much. A properly cured Gourmet Grade A bean releases its caviar easily when scraped: the seeds come away cleanly, without excessive effort. A bean that is too dry, on the other hand, holds part of its caviar stuck to the inner walls, and the scraping becomes harder, with a visually less clean result. This is one more reason to store your beans well, a subject we detail on our page storing and preparing vanilla beans.
The right technique for maximum yield
Lay the bean flat on a board. Split it lengthwise with the tip of a well-sharpened knife, from one end to the other, without cutting through the skin on the far side, to keep the bean in one piece. Gently open the two halves, then scrape each side with the back of the blade, moving from one end to the other in a single continuous stroke rather than several small scrapes, which leave more seeds clinging on.
Using the back of a knife rather than the edge lets you scrape the pulp and seeds without cutting into the bean's skin, which gives a cleaner caviar and an empty bean you can reuse afterwards for a second infusion or a vanilla sugar.
Do not stop at the first scrape
Many people stop after a single pass of the blade, thinking they have recovered everything. In reality, a second, lighter pass over each half still recovers a meaningful share of caviar left clinging on. This is especially true on a bean that is a little less supple, where the first scrape removes most of the free seeds but leaves a thin layer of stuck pulp that a second pass picks up.
The empty bean is not waste
Once the caviar has been recovered, the bean's skin still carries real aroma, even without its seeds. Throwing it away straight off is a common mistake. Rinsed and air-dried, it can serve again to infuse a milk or a cream with a lighter result, or end up in a jar of sugar for a homemade vanilla sugar, described on our page making your own vanilla sugar. A bean bought for its caviar can thus serve twice before going to the compost.
Which grade to choose depending on the use
For a recipe where the caviar plays a mostly visual role, small black specks clearly visible in a pastry cream, a panna cotta or a flan, an M or L grade is very often enough and offers a good balance between amount of caviar and price. For a use where the caviar must dominate the recipe, high-end artisan ice cream, caviar alone in a jar for plating, an XL grade gives a higher yield per bean, which can reduce the number of beans needed for a large batch of preparation. Compare grades and their prices on our Bourbon vanilla beans page.
Ready-made caviar, in a jar
To avoid all the scraping work, or for regular use in small amounts, caviar already extracted and packed in a jar is a practical alternative, with an identical result in the kitchen. Find our selection in the vanilla caviar collection, useful in particular for preparations where you do not want to handle a whole bean, such as a vinaigrette or a dessert finish at the moment of service.
Understanding why the price follows the length
The higher price of an XL grade compared with an S does not reflect better aromatic quality per gram, but a larger amount of matter per bean, caviar included. To understand all the items that make up the price of a bean, from hand pollination to curing, our page what a vanilla bean really costs details every step.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my caviar stay stuck to the skin despite scraping?
This is often a sign of a slightly dry bean. Pass it through a warm liquid for a few minutes before splitting it, or scrape in two successive light passes rather than one firm one.
Does S grade caviar taste less than XL?
No, aromatic concentration per gram of caviar is comparable across grades from the same preparation. It is the total amount recovered per bean that differs, not the intensity of each grain's aroma.
Can you scrape a bean without splitting it fully?
Technically yes, by cutting only a small opening, but the yield will be noticeably lower: the full split, from one end to the other, is what gives access to the entire length of the bean, and therefore to all of its caviar.
