Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Sherbet

I don't know what terminology to use when describing vanilla beans. Is the whole thing a bean or a pod? Are the little black specks the beans? I forget. Anyway, I had used 3 whole beans/pods in the syrup for the persimmon sorbet, and then chucked them in a jar of apricot preserves for a couple of days. Yesterday I used them to make vanilla sherbet. And it was good. Buttermilk sherbets have brought great joy the last few months, I wasn't sure if just vanilla would be interesting enough, so would have added something else if needed, but I quite liked it as is. The recipe is very simple, buttermilk, vanilla pods, sugar. Mix it with a stickblender to pulverize the pods, making cool brown flecks throughout. I used vanilla sugar, not powdered sugar, I wanted maximum vanilla flavor and wasn't sure the pods would have alot of life left. Also, blending allows the sugar to dissolve well enough without it having to be heated; this is a technique advocated by David Lebovitz who wrote 'the Perfect Scoop.' I've followed the Jamie O school of syrup making for sorbets (fruit + sugar syrup), but I don't like to heat cultured milk products, so all of the sherbets I've done have involved dissolving sugar in buttermilk. A worthy addition to the sorbet chronicles.
Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Sherbet:
3 bourbon beans
1Q buttermilk
10 oz vanilla sugar (granulated sugar stored in a jar with a couple of vanilla beans)
pinch salt

blend it all up. it blends less messily when it is partly frozen. freeze, stickblend, freeze.