As others added, you definitely need to increase the amount of beans per bottle. Between 6 and 10 is good. You get the best results if you expose as much of the interior of the bean as possible. Give the beans a couple of whirls in a small food processor after you split them open for optimum results and allow the mixture to sit for at least 4 months, shaking about once a week, for best results. You will never get vanilla as good as you get from the store out of it (you would have to shake the bottle every waking moment to do so), but it makes a great addition to stir fry or as a topping for desserts.

Reviewed On: May 15, 2007

As everyone else said, remember to seed your tomatos! A food processor will save you a lot of time here, too. I omitted the chiles (my mom is not a fan of spicy food), halved the cilantro and added basil, parsley, and some garlic. Delicious.

Reviewed On: May 15, 2007

There is nothing 'traditionally French' about this bread. Traditional French bread has a very crisp outside with a very airy, light inside- there's barily anything to it. While this bread browned beautifully and LOOKED like a French loaf, the inside was way too dense for any good bread, tasted a little too much of yeast and leaves a very unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth. It was more like a low-quality bagel in loaf form. Less than 15 hours after it was made, it was practically inedible. The dense center was barily chewy when it came out of the oven and was even less chewy now. The only reason I give it 2 stars instead of 1 is that slices of it toasted and with cream cheese, like a bagel, are pretty good. Overall, though, it was not good at all.

Reviewed On: Jan. 1, 2007