Method One:
Once you've scraped out the seeds of a vanilla bean for a recipe, set the pod aside. Do not throw it away - it is full of flavor and aroma that shouldn't go to waste. Instead, place the pod into a food processor with roughly two cups of granulated cane sugar. Pulse until the pod is well incorporated into the sugar and very fine. You may need to scrape the sides down a couple of times.

The resulting product will be moist, packable (like the texture of brown sugar) and aromatic, and it will be ready to use instantly.

Method Two:
In an airtight container, combine turbinado sugar (aka "sugar in the raw') with one or two whole vanilla beans. A good rule to follow here is that you should use one vanilla bean per every two cups of sugar, so if you have a larger jar, adjust your vanilla bean count accordingly.

Let the jar sit for two to three weeks, lightly shaking the contents every couple of days or so. When ready, the sugar will be infused with the essence of vanilla. The vanilla beans can then be removed and reused for other purposes because they will have remained whole and undamaged in the container.