Vanilla

Group: Spices

Vanilla is a wonderful and tasty flavoring obtained from the orchids of the genus Vanilla. This aromatic delight is primarily derived from Mexican species, and it has been known to Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican much before it became available in the Old World. The Indians of Middle America have used vanilla much before the discovery of Americas. It was introduced to Europeans together with cocoa and other until then unknown treats from the New World, in the 1520s, immediately winning the hearts of gourmands.

Mayas, and later on Aztecs, called vanilla "tlilxochitl" or "black flower", and used it mainly for their royal chocolate drinks. According to Totonac mythology, the Vanilla orchid was born with Princess Xanat, forbidden by her father from marrying a mortal, run to the forests with her lover. When they were captured and beheaded, and their blood was spilled on the ground, the vine of the orchid grew. Europeans used vanilla as an additive to food and drinks, as well as a powerful natural remedy for many ailments. This flavoring was also, for a good reason, considered a powerful aphrodisiac among the people of the Old World.

Vanilla is a climbing plant of many different sorts. Vanilla planifolia is perhaps the most popular variant, and it originates from Mexico. This species grows in tropical climates of Mexico, South America, Carribbean, on the islands of the Indian Ocean and in Indonesia. However, the Mexican sort is considered the best, even though the production of vanilla in this country isn’t very significant. World’s major producer is Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean, where 1000 tons of Vanilla Bourbon pods are produced each year. This sort of vanilla is actually Vanilla planifolia, named by the locals after the former name of the Reunion Island, Bourbon, in honor of the royal house.

There are no less than hundred variants of vanilla, but only two of them are used in wide commercial production. The smell and taste of Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla tahitiensis, makes it highly distinguished from the rest of their relatives.

The scent and taste of vanilla are now spread all around the world. However, the vanilla we’re using today is mainly synthetic. The genuine vanilla extract is very expensive and its production isn’t profitable at all. Therefore, the characteristic scent of vanilla is being obtained by blending various aromatic ingredients, the main of which are vanillin and piperonal (heliotropine). Natural vanillin is derived from Vanilla Bourbon and accumulated on pods in a crystallized from, during the process of drying. However, the production of natural vanillin is a long and expensive process that lasts for a couple of months. In natural conditions, green vanilla pods are forming and growing from beautiful yellow flowers. They remain on branches for 8-9 months, until they are picked by hand. After picking, they are being dried for another half a year to produce white crystals of vanillin.

Tahitian vanilla is a more rare and expensive variant that grows on the islands of French Polynesia (Tahiti). It contains less vanillin and more heliotropine, which makes its taste much milder and the scent much stronger. Tahitian vanilla has a distinctive fruity nuance.

Perfume ingredient lists may sometimes mention French vanilla as one of the notes. However, this is not any special kind of vanilla but rather a quality label of its taste and scent as intensive and more or less identical to natural vanilla. This name originates from a French ice cream recipe.