The Science of Spice

Spice Profiles

Region of cultivation

Vanilla is native to Mexico and Central

America, where it is still cultivated. It is

also grown in Madagascar, Réunion, India,

Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Tahiti.

The plant

Vanilla is the fruit of a

perennial, vine-like tropical

orchid that bears bunches

of green-yellow flowers.

Whole pods

Brittleness is a sign

of age, but pods can

keep their flavour

for up to 4 years.

Frosting is caused

by exposure to air.

Extract

This is made by macerating pods in alcohol.

Find labels saying “natural extract” and

stating around 35 per cent alcohol.

Dark, plump

appearance is

a sign of good

sweating and

maturing

BOTANICAL NAME

Vanilla planifolia

MAJOR FLAVOUR COMPOUND

Vanillin.

PARTS USED

“Pods” (which are really fruits).

METHOD OF CULTIVATION

Plants are trained up posts or trees

and the flowers pollinated by hand. Pods are

picked before fully ripe.

COMMERCIAL PREPARATION

Pods are scalded or steamed, then

sweated in sealed containers to make

them release defensive phenol molecules.

These react with the air and destructive

plant enzymes to disintegrate into dark,

flavourful compounds. Pods are then dried

until black and shrivelled to one-fifth their

original weight.

NON-CULINARY USES

In perfumes and cosmetics.

MEXICO

CENTRAL

AMERICA

VANILLA

Sweet | Musky | Woody

Vanilla was first cultivated for its scent

1,000 years ago on the eastern coast of

Mexico by the Totonac people. The

first recorded use as a flavouring dates

to the 15th century CE, when the

Aztecs conquered the Totonacs,

discovered the bean-like fruit, and

used it to flavour cacao drinks. The

Spanish conquistador Cortés was

served just such a drink by the Aztec

king in 1519 and took vanilla pods

and cacao beans back to Spain. But

Mexico retained a monopoly because

the pods would only form when

pollinated by native orchid bees.

That is until the 1830s, when a

Belgian botanist unravelled the

mystery and devised a technique of

hand pollination. In 1874, German

chemists created a synthetic

alternative to the natural flavour, and

now 97 per cent of vanilla-flavoured

foods are made with synthetic vanillin.

Spice story

Flowers

must be

pollinated

by hand

Fresh pods

are 15–25cm

(6–10in) long

and look like

French beans

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