To get mileage out of a vanilla bean it really needs to steep: the flavour in vanilla is in the pod, not the seeds themselves.
I think you'd end up with less of a vanilla accent with a bean, but if it's all you have on hand, steep the pod in hot water for 20 minutes or so, then add the sugar/cocoa powder/salt & proceed.
Given the option, I'd stick with extract. Also agree with ChefOno that the seeds may be off-putting for a smooth gelato.
No reason you couldn't. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a scraped bean however. I'm not sure finding little crunchy bits in the sorbet would be optimal. Or do you mean a bean devoid of seeds because they were used previously for another purpose?
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I think you'd end up with less of a vanilla accent with a bean, but if it's all you have on hand, steep the pod in hot water for 20 minutes or so, then add the sugar/cocoa powder/salt & proceed.
Given the option, I'd stick with extract. Also agree with ChefOno that the seeds may be off-putting for a smooth gelato.
No reason you couldn't. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a scraped bean however. I'm not sure finding little crunchy bits in the sorbet would be optimal. Or do you mean a bean devoid of seeds because they were used previously for another purpose?