There's Nothing Vanilla About Vanilla

Sometimes I feel like vanilla is a very underappreciated ingredient so this blog I feel will help give vanilla a little moral boost! Next to saffron, vanilla is one of the most expensive flavoring that you can purchase. Why you may ask? Well, the bees that once pollinated the vanilla flowers are now extinct and people now pollinate them by hand. I will give a brief explanation as to how they are harvested just to give you an idea as to why they are so expensive.

 When it comes time to harvest the bean pods, they are pretty difficult to prepare. First you have to kill off the tissue inside the bean pod, this can be done by letting the pods dry out in the sun, freezing them, blanching them in hot water, or scratching the pods. Next the pods must go through a sweating process where they are placed under blankets and placed in the sun in a high humidity environment. This sweating process helps the bean pods become flexible and helps turn their pods that familiar brown color. This process also allows the vanilla flavor in the pod really begin to develop and concentrate. Next the pods are dried because they have to be shipped all over the world so any excess moisture has to come out. Next the beans are conditioned by being placed in boxes for a few months and this is where the bulk of their flavor develops. From there they are sorted by grade, things like bean length, aroma and color determine their grade.

There are only a few countries in the world who’s conditions allow for proper vanilla bean growth. There’s the “Bourbon Vanilla” aka Bourbon-Madagascar Vanilla from none other that Madagascar, Mexican Vanilla, Tahitian Vanilla from the Philippines, and West Indian Vanilla that grows in Central and South America. Out of all of these countries Madagascar is the largest producer and most popular.

When it comes to using vanilla you really want to use the real thing. When you buy real vanilla extract you will find 2-3 main ingredients: Vanilla, some kind of alcohol and maybe a preservative. Real vanilla is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol like vodka or bourbon. This process is called steeping and home made vanilla extract is fantastic for gift giving. You can read online how to make it and how much of each ingredient you need. Making your own vanilla extract is not only cheaper but it gives you a better sense of what exactly is going into your food. If there is one thing that I can give anyone who wants to use vanilla it’s this!! Measure and use vanilla as close to the time you need it in the recipe because it will evaporate. You don’t want to pre-measure vanilla to far ahead of when you really need it because it will evaporate just sitting out and can ruin a recipe. Another tip I can give is, when you use vanilla in a recipe get the most out of that bean pod. Steep the pod in milk if milk is being used, scrape the vanilla bean seeds out for the best flavor and use home made vanilla extract.

I hope this blog helps out anyone who is a little unfamiliar with this ingredient. It is very expensive to harvest but it totally worth the price. A lot of times you can buy the bean in bulk for a great price and they will keep for a long long time in your kitchen. Oh, did I forget to mention that the people pollinate these pods by HAND? That’s insane right? I hear that the men who harvest them, sleep in the trees with guns to prevent anyone from steeling them because they are so precious. Kinda makes you reevaluate that shriveled brown pod huh?