DarkRange55
We are now gods but for the wisdom
- Oct 15, 2023
- 2,082
Sometimes I like to make my own vanilla ice cream, with fresh fruit on top, mainly strawberries. Any type of fruit on top is fair game really. Bananas, blueberries, peaches, hell even cantaloupe that is cut in half and used as the bowl. Also good with mango on top!
I've used vanilla beans from around the world India, Tahiti, Madagascar, Mexico, Indonesia, Tonga.
Vanilla is the world's second most expensive spice after saffron. The price of vanilla has gone up a lot. People were certainly willing to pay a lot for spices in the past, and they made a lot of people wealthy and powerful.
Real vanilla's flavor is far more complex than pure vanillin, with over 250 aromatic compounds that give it its deep, layered character. Most of the world's vanilla from Madagascar is known as Bourbon vanilla, named after Île Bourbon (now Réunion), where large-scale cultivation began. Tahitian vanilla, a different species called Vanilla tahitensis, is softer and more floral, prized by pastry chefs for its delicate aroma. Vanilla even found its way to the United States through Thomas Jefferson, who brought it home after discovering it in France in the late 18th century.
But there's also "fake" vanilla that gets extracted out of wood: vanillin (at least it's called that in German), can be extracted out of wood and even a scientist in Japan managed be do it with cow manure. Vanillin (C₈H₈O₃ and spelled the same way in German actually) is the main molecule that gives vanilla its scent. it's often made from wood. The lignin in wood, a natural polymer that gives trees their structure, can be chemically broken down and oxidized to produce vanillin that's identical to the molecule found in real vanilla pods. Though true vanilla extract comes from the Vanilla planifolia orchid, most of the world's vanillin today is derived from wood pulp or synthesized from guaiacol.
The vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is native to Mexico and parts of Central America. In its native range, orchid bees (often cited as Melipona stingless bees) are believed to be natural pollinators of vanilla, though the exact pollinator(s) isn't completely settled. Outside its native habitat, those natural pollinators don't exist (or aren't effective), so every vanilla flower grown abroad, from Madagascar to Tahiti, must be pollinated by hand. The method used today was discovered in 1841 by Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old enslaved boy on Réunion Island, using a simple thumb-and-stick technique. The vanilla orchid has a thin membrane (called the rostellum) that separates the male part (the anther, which holds pollen) from the female part (the stigma). Albius discovered that by lifting the rostellum with a small stick or blade of grass, then pressing the anther and stigma together with his thumb, he could fertilize the flower manually
The Totonac people of eastern Mexico (in what's now Veracruz) were the first to cultivate vanilla, long before Spanish colonization. They considered it sacred and used it in rituals, perfume, and flavoring often mixed with cacao.
When the Aztecs conquered the Totonacs in the 15th century, they adopted vanilla as a flavoring for their royal chocolate drinks. Later, the Spanish brought both cacao and vanilla to Europe in the 1500s, where vanilla quickly became a prized luxury.
Madagascar produces around 75–80% of the world's vanilla supply, almost all of it Vanilla planifolia, the same species native to Mexico. The island's humid climate and volcanic soil make it ideal for cultivation, especially in the Sava region (Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar, and Andapa). However, the industry is volatile and prices swing wildly due to cyclones, theft, and labor-intensive hand pollination. When crops are damaged, global vanilla prices can skyrocket.
I also enjoy making my own vanilla bean custard from scratch.
I've used vanilla beans from around the world India, Tahiti, Madagascar, Mexico, Indonesia, Tonga.
Vanilla is the world's second most expensive spice after saffron. The price of vanilla has gone up a lot. People were certainly willing to pay a lot for spices in the past, and they made a lot of people wealthy and powerful.
Real vanilla's flavor is far more complex than pure vanillin, with over 250 aromatic compounds that give it its deep, layered character. Most of the world's vanilla from Madagascar is known as Bourbon vanilla, named after Île Bourbon (now Réunion), where large-scale cultivation began. Tahitian vanilla, a different species called Vanilla tahitensis, is softer and more floral, prized by pastry chefs for its delicate aroma. Vanilla even found its way to the United States through Thomas Jefferson, who brought it home after discovering it in France in the late 18th century.
But there's also "fake" vanilla that gets extracted out of wood: vanillin (at least it's called that in German), can be extracted out of wood and even a scientist in Japan managed be do it with cow manure. Vanillin (C₈H₈O₃ and spelled the same way in German actually) is the main molecule that gives vanilla its scent. it's often made from wood. The lignin in wood, a natural polymer that gives trees their structure, can be chemically broken down and oxidized to produce vanillin that's identical to the molecule found in real vanilla pods. Though true vanilla extract comes from the Vanilla planifolia orchid, most of the world's vanillin today is derived from wood pulp or synthesized from guaiacol.
The vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is native to Mexico and parts of Central America. In its native range, orchid bees (often cited as Melipona stingless bees) are believed to be natural pollinators of vanilla, though the exact pollinator(s) isn't completely settled. Outside its native habitat, those natural pollinators don't exist (or aren't effective), so every vanilla flower grown abroad, from Madagascar to Tahiti, must be pollinated by hand. The method used today was discovered in 1841 by Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old enslaved boy on Réunion Island, using a simple thumb-and-stick technique. The vanilla orchid has a thin membrane (called the rostellum) that separates the male part (the anther, which holds pollen) from the female part (the stigma). Albius discovered that by lifting the rostellum with a small stick or blade of grass, then pressing the anther and stigma together with his thumb, he could fertilize the flower manually
The Totonac people of eastern Mexico (in what's now Veracruz) were the first to cultivate vanilla, long before Spanish colonization. They considered it sacred and used it in rituals, perfume, and flavoring often mixed with cacao.
When the Aztecs conquered the Totonacs in the 15th century, they adopted vanilla as a flavoring for their royal chocolate drinks. Later, the Spanish brought both cacao and vanilla to Europe in the 1500s, where vanilla quickly became a prized luxury.
Madagascar produces around 75–80% of the world's vanilla supply, almost all of it Vanilla planifolia, the same species native to Mexico. The island's humid climate and volcanic soil make it ideal for cultivation, especially in the Sava region (Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar, and Andapa). However, the industry is volatile and prices swing wildly due to cyclones, theft, and labor-intensive hand pollination. When crops are damaged, global vanilla prices can skyrocket.
I also enjoy making my own vanilla bean custard from scratch.
