No tips, but a cute trick - store them in the cabinet with your water glasses and everything will smell like vanilla, it's super refreshing :)

Mine seem to keep well wrapped in foil and stored in the cupboard. No freezer, it does reduce the flavor of this tropical seed pod. Best place to store the beans is probably in a jar of vodka or sugar.

my chef friend gave me a bunch, she kept them stored in vodka, then wrapped in foil, and THEN wrapped in saran (to keep in my cupboard). she said they should keep pretty much indefinitely like that (and if you want to store them in vodka - you get bonus vanilla extract at the end) :)

You want to keep them very air-tight. The insert that came with my large batch recommended triple wrapping them in plastic bags.

I have a food saver so they are sealed up tight. And I will put them in packet of 4 so as to not open over and over. I have a large mason jar with Vodka steeping in the pantry for vanilla extract hope to have a new batch this spring....Happy canning

I'd split the batch up. Put some in vodka to make vanilla extract, some in sugar for vanilla sugar, and some in an airtight jar for cooking and baking with.

Although I imagine you could just use the ones stored in sugar for baking and cooking, right? I'm not 100% sure-- every time I've made vanilla sugar, I've given it away, and left the bean in.

Pack them in a jar full of white granulated sugar. The sugar will absorb the scent and keep the beans air-tight and preserved. When you're done you'll have vanilla sugar, which is delightful!

I just wrapped mine in plastic wrap a few times, then put them in a mason jar in the pantry. Seems to do the trick! Just make sure you keep them in a dark, cool place.

I agree with keeping them in a jar of sugar -fill a mason jar with sugar, pack in a few of the vanilla beans, screw the lid on (but not super tight), wrap the jar in bubble wrap, pack the jar up in a box and mail the box to me! *cough* or leave out the last few steps and just store the jar in a cool, dark cabinet...

I keep mine in double ziplock, and then in a tightly sealed glass jar in the pantry.

Agree with all the store-in-vodka comments. When you want to use the vanilla bean, just snip the end and squeeze out the seeds - instant vanilla paste.

my Tahitian friend gifted me some amazing vanilla beans and he had me store them in a mason jar filled with rum. the beans stay plump and the rum is delicious in drinks and in whipped cream too.

There are air-tight vanilla bean storage jars available on the market. Here are some from The Vanilla.COMpany: http://vanilla.com/shop/vanilla-bean-storage-jars/