25/02/2021
Vanilla - Queen of Spices
Vanilla is second to the most expensive spice in the world, next only to saffron. It is one of the most delicious food flavor appreciated in the whole world.
Here’s what you need to know about this flavorful spice.
Vanilla is a versatile and flavorful spice used in desserts, main dish, drinks, alcohol and cosmetics. In today's food industry, vanilla plays an important role in any culinary experience.
What is Vanilla Plant?
Vanilla belongs to the orchid genus and is a climber. It can grow more than ten meters long and has more than 100 species, but only a few varieties are used for spice production.
Vanilla's pale yellow flowers develop after about three to five years. The elongated fruit is usually referred to as "vanilla beans" or “vanilla pods”. The plants were originally native to Central America and the Caribbean, and are also grown in Africa and in Southeast Asia.
History of Vanilla
The Totonacs of Veracruz, Mexico are credited as its first cultivators. They considered vanilla a sacred herb and used it in ritual offerings, as a perfume and for medicine, but rarely as a flavoring. By the early 1400s, the Aztecs added to the mystique of vanilla by combining it with cacao.
When the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez first met Emperor Moctezuma, during a religious ceremony, Cortez was offered a very exotic, special and original drink, which was named ""Xocohotl"". The drink was basically Chocolate and Vanilla. It so pleased Cortez that he inquired as to its special original flavor and fragrance; he was told it was Vanilla (Little Sheath) which describes the shape of the Vanilla pod. Cortez was so impressed that he returned to Spain with a supply of Vanilla beans to add this special flavor and fragrance to the palate of the Spanish King commodity.
After the Europeans arrived in South America, it still took decades for vanilla to be used in Europe. At the time only the rich could afford vanilla, because vanilla was very expensive.
Vanilla was so expensive then because Spain strictly guarded its monopoly on the spice. The illegal export of vanilla plants was punishable by death. Only with Mexico's independence in 1810 did the plants make it to other parts of the world – including the Philippines. However, since hummingbirds and a specific type of melipona bees are the natural pollinators of vanilla plants, plants that live outside of their native regions must be pollinated by hand.
Growing
Vanilla plants today are grown in plantations on poles. The pods are harvested after they turn yellow at the tip. After harvesting, an elaborate curing process begins. For this purpose, the pods are treated with hot water cured slowly slowly over a period of four to 12 weeks.
During this process, the chemical precursors to vanillin are converted. The final product, the black-brown, leathery vanilla – a characteristic of a good vanilla bean emerges with a delicate and incomparable flavor.
Due to the very complex growing and curing process and the manual pollination, vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Its price is always subject to strong fluctuations.
Use
Together with cinnamon, vanilla is the most frequently used spice for desserts. Vanilla flavors cocoa, chocolates, desserts, bakery products and ice cream. One even finds vanilla in sausages. Thanks to its unique, mild taste, it is also excellent with fish and white meat. Because of this versatility, it is of great importance for the culinary industry.
There is not enough vanilla grown in the world to meet the demand. This means that a lot of the vanillin today is artificial, made of cheap wood waste generated by the paper industry. Synthetically produced vanillin cannot compete with real vanilla, because the plant also contains a variety of other unique flavors. With the move towards natural food, the demand for real vanilla has grown year on year.
Oh, and by the way, vanilla is said to have a positive influence on your mood and could even help with fatigue and anxiety. Try it!
