Use vanilla beans to add pure vanilla flavor to any of your recipes. Cut the bean and use a portion at a time or you can use the whole bean, depending on the strength of vanilla flavor you desire. Cut your bean on a cutting board lying flat. Hold one end of the bean and carefully slice it open lengthwise, which you will see thousands of tiny seeds exposed. Cutting the bean open before placing it in a liquid exposes more of the surface of the bean, which will create a stronger vanilla flavoring.