

The Totonac people, who live along the eastern coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, were among the first people to domesticate vanilla, cultivated on farms since at least 1185.

Vanilla planifolia traditionally grew wild around the Gulf of Mexico from Tampico around to the northeast tip of South America, and from Colima to Ecuador on the Pacific side, as well as throughout the Caribbean.

1580) and description of its use and properties written in the Nahuatl language Nevertheless, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume production, and aromatherapy, as only small amounts are needed to impart its signature flavor and aroma.ĭrawing of the Vanilla plant from the Florentine Codex (c. Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice (as measured in terms of average price by unit of weight) after saffron because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive. Madagascar's and Indonesia's cultivations produce two-thirds of the world's supply of vanilla. planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia. The majority of the world's vanilla is the V. pompona, found in the West Indies, Central America, and South America. tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific and V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean V. Three major species of vanilla currently are grown globally, all of which derive from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern-day Mexico. By the end of the 20th century, Albius was considered the true discoverer. Noted French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand-pollinated. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from which the vanilla spice is obtained. The scent substance of clove mainly consists of the oily liquid eugenol, which can be converted into vanillin.Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily obtained from pods of the species, flat-leaved vanilla ( V. planifolia). This includes the use of lignin from wood (usually wood waste from the paper industry) or clove oil. Because real vanilla is quite expensive and the world production of natural vanilla is not nearly enough to cover the need, vanillin is artificially counterfeited. Quality vanilla has a strong tasting / fragrant aroma, but synthetic vanillin or vanilla of poorer quality is usually added to foods, because this is much cheaper.Īlthough there are many different substances in vanilla, vanillin is the most important aroma substance that produces the strong odor. A stronger aroma can be achieved by cutting the beans open, so that the very tasty marrow is released from the inside of the pods. The aroma of vanilla in cream, cake, cake and other foods can be obtained by adding some vanilla or by cooking with vanilla beans. Madagascar is one of the largest producers of vanilla. The plant is originally from Mexico, although it is now grown almost everywhere among the tropics. The vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) supplies the spice vanilla pods, which is not only used in food, but also in tobacco and perfume (it is an aphrodisiac). The name comes from the Spanish word vainilla. Vanilla beans are a flavoring from the fruits of the climbing orchid of the Vanilla genus. For € 3.50 you can buy a vanilla bean from the herbs king. Vanilla beans 17 a 18 cm from Madagascar Vanilla beans are ideal for giving dishes an authentic vanilla flavor.
