Vanilla . . . . A Delightful and Powerful Flavoring

 

Rachel McNamee

 

March 13th, 2007

 

 

Term Paper

Botany 328

Dr. Wilson

  
Vanilla bean – (4)   
Vanilla flower – (4)

 

        Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) is a member of the Orchid family (Orchidaceae), which is the second
 

largest family of flowering plants (2).  Vanilla planifolia is sometimes referenced as Vanilla fragrans (6). 

 

Like other members of the Orchid family, vanilla seeds will not germinate without the presence of certain

 

mycorrhizal fungi.  Cultivated orchids must be pollinated by hand as less than one percent of blossoms

 

are naturally pollinated.  Each flower in a plantation must be pollinated every morning during the

 

blossoming season (6).   The fruit of the vanilla vine is actually a capsule, but in trade it is referred to as a

 

“bean” or a “pod”(5).  The Orchidaceae family is one of the four families in the order Orchidales.  The

 

others are Burmanniaceae, Thismmiaceae, and Corsiaceae (1).

 

Vanilla planifolia is the main species harvested for vanillin, which is used as a flavoring agent. 

 

Additional sources include Vanilla tahitiensis and Vanilla pompona (4).  V. pompona is a lesser known

 

species, grown in the West Indies (6).  Vanilla is native to Mexico, but is now grown throughout the

 

tropics (4).  Madagascar is currently the world’s largest producer.  There is about 110 species that have

 

been catalogued since its discovery (3). 

 

There are five stages of production in making vanilla.  Step 1 is the harvesting of green and

 

immature beans.  Step 2 consists of killing the vegetative tissue of the vanilla pod to prevent if from

 

further growth.  Step 3 is known as sweating.  The beans are held for a week under humid and hot

 

conditions.  This allows the enzymes to process some compounds into vanillin and others important to the

 

vanilla flavor.  Step 4 includes the drying of the bean usually by laying them out in the morning sun.  The

 

fifth and final step is grading.  The vanilla must be fully cured and sorted by quality before it is graded

 

(4). 

 

There are three types of vanilla:  Bourbon vanilla (produced from Vanilla planifolia), Mexican

 

vanilla (also produced from Vanilla planifolia), and Tahitian vanilla (Vanilla tahitiensis).  Mexican

 

vanilla is produced in much less quantity.  It is important to note that sometimes the vanilla sold in tourist

 

areas of Mexico are not really made of the actual vanilla extract.  Instead the imitation vanilla contains the

 

extract of the tonka bean, a member of the Fabaceae family, which contains coumarin.  Coumarin has

 

been shown to cause liver damage in laboratory animals and is banned by the United States Food and

 

Drug Administration (4).   There are three main commercial preparations of vanilla:  whole bean, extract,

 

and powder (4).  Vanilla is used to flavor beverages and foods.  One major use of vanilla is in flavoring

 

ice cream, as the most common flavor of ice cream is vanilla.  Vanilla is also used to scent perfumes and

 

candles, can be used as an aprodisiac, or even be used to reduce nausea and anxiety (3).  “The fragrance

 

of heliotropin, a sweet vanilla-like scent has now been shown to reduce anxiety in patients undergoing

 

medical procedures such as MRIs and CAT scans” (3). 

 

In ancient Mexico, the Totonacs were thought to be the producers of the best vanilla (4).  The

 

Aztecs were the first to use vanilla as a flavoring in chocolate and the Spanish conquerers carried it

 

back to Europe where they used it for the same purpose (4).

 

The price for vanilla rose in the 1970’s due to a typhoon.  In the 1980’s the price stabilized as a

 

result of recently introduced vanilla, but in the mid 80’s the cartel that controlled vanilla prices disbanded. 

 

Prices dropped over the next couple of years, but changed due to a typhoon that occurred in 2000.  As a

 

result, the prices of vanilla in 2004 were astonishing.  A year later, the combination of a good crop along

 

with decreased demand pushed the price of vanilla dramatically down.  The world’s largest customer of

 

vanilla is the Coca – Cola Corporation (4).   A United States biotechnology firm has figured out a

 

method to obtain vanilla by culturing plant cells.  This technology is thought to be able to greatly reduce

 

the cost of growing vanilla beans.  While this might seem positive, this knowledge could seriously effect

 

the economy of countries who produce vanilla (6). Orchids are extremely important in horticulture as they

 

are used as an ornamental in many occasions (4). 

 

 

LITERATURE CITED

 

 

(1)  “Orchids and their kin.”  Orchidales.  11 March 2007.

 

< http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/monocots/lithiflorae/orchidales.html >.

 

 

(2)  “Plantations at Vanilla County.”  Vanilla County Plantation Villa.  12 March 2007.

 

< http://www.vanillacounty.in/html/plan.htm >.

 

 

(3) “Tahitian Vanilla Beans.”  Live Superfoods.  12 March 2007.

 

< http://livesuperfoods.com/tahitian-vanilla.html >.

 

 

(4) “Vanilla.”  Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  11 March 2007. 

 

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla>

 

 

(5) “Vanilla Botany.”  Botany.  2006.  Vanilla Plantations of Australia.  12 March 2007.

 

< http://www.vanillaplantations.com/botany.htm >.

 

 

(6)  “Vanilla Orchid (Vanilla planifolia).”  Wayne’s Word.  12 March 2007. 

           

< http://waynesword.palomer.edu/ecoph26.htm >.

 

 

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