Vanilla beans smell Note
AskCulinary

Vanilla beans smell

Hi, I bought a pack of 7 vanilla beans from amazon. They are Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans "Grand Cru d'Exception", with an oily skin and soft texture, but my concern is their smell. I haven't cut them yet, but they smells woody, smoky and like tobacco, they don't have any vanilla fragrance whatsoever. Is this normal? I don't see any sign of mold or defects. submitted by /u/DriestLearner