THE FLOWER: A vanilla orchid. Until the late 19th century, Mexico had the monopoly on growing vanilla plants, but now Madagascar and Indonesia grow the majority of the world’s crop. A 12-year-old slave named Edmond Albius came up with a hand-pollination method on the island of Réunion in 1841 to enable it to grow in places other than its native region.
By Aney Mathew
When you think ‘vanilla’ the mind may immediately picture a delicious cone of vanilla ice cream, with a dollop of chocolate sauce drizzled above, topped with crunchy nuts and scrumptious caramel chips. But the point is, we can as easily come up with several other delectable desserts and appetising savoury dishes, which include vanilla as the main flavouring ingredient, regardless of the country we hail from. It’s become such an indispensable flavour that there can’t be too many spice cupboards of serious cooks in any part of the world, which don’t contain vanilla flavouring in some form.
What’s more? The popularity of vanilla is not limited to just food and beverages or even the perfume industry. From vanilla-scented garbage bags that promise to neutralise the stench of rubbish, to perfumed tennis balls, light bulbs and bug spray, you can even find vanilla-fragranced pacifiers that claim to help comfort new-borns.
Vanilla has even found its way into the world of comic books — most kids will be familiar with Vanilla the rabbit — a ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ character; and guess what Obelix’s mother (of Asterix fame) is called? That’s right – Vanilla!
Despite the rich variety of competing choices out there, vanilla still reigns as the most preferred flavour in ice creams, beating even chocolate to second place; in fact it is the ‘default’ flavour. Besides being a prized flavouring agent on its own, it is also used to enhance the taste of other flavours, to which its own essence is often complementary — such as chocolate, custard, caramel and coffee.
Its use is so widespread and universal that the term ‘vanilla’ has come to be used as an adjective to signify something that’s considered common, regular or even plain. But there’s nothing plain-Jane about vanilla; in fact there are quite a few superlative aspects to this mundane-looking bean. Dating back to Cortez’s conquest of the Aztec Kingdom in 1519, it’s one of the most ancient flavours known to man. Moreover vanilla is the second costliest spice in the world — next only to saffron.
In Madagascar, the largest producer of vanilla, extraordinary measures have been taken to protect the crop from theft. Some plantation owners go to the extent of branding each vanilla pod with small pin pricks — much like cattle branding, while it is still attached to the vine! Similarly in other equatorial countries where vanilla is grown, producers have been known to lock up the dried pods in safety deposit lockers!
By the way, there’s nothing vanilla about the flavour of this precious cooking ingredient; as a matter of fact there’s no true substitute to its taste. The flavour of real vanilla is made up of over 250 components, which gives it great depth and complexity, compared to artificial vanilla, which contains only one flavouring component — vanillin.
Because vanilla is so much in demand, and because it’s so expensive, synthetics are often used instead of natural vanilla. It will come as a disappointment for serious cooks to know that 97% of vanilla fragrances and flavours sold are actually synthetic. Even in Qatar, the vanilla flavouring available is mostly either a blend of pure and imitation vanilla or is completely artificial. But as more women — local and expatriate — turn to baking as a hobby, the demand for pure vanilla in the form of extracts, paste and beans, is rising. Here’s a hint for the serious cooks in Qatar — the price you pay is a pretty good indication of the quality.
Remember pure vanilla is a true amber colour, while clear vanilla essence is synthetic; a dark murky colour is also synthetic vanillin. A word of caution though, nowadays even vanilla that originates from the vanilla-producing countries is synthetic; so look for ‘pure vanilla extract’ rather than vanilla flavouring, when you shop.
As with all things highly-prized, fables and myths surround the origin of vanilla too. The Totonac people, who inhabit the East Coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, were the first to cultivate vanilla. According to Totonac mythology, the tropical orchid was born when Princess Xanat, forbidden by her father from marrying a mortal, fled to the forest with her lover. The lovers were captured and beheaded — where their blood touched the ground, the vine of the tropical orchid grew.
The Totonaca people of the Gulf coast of Mexico were probably the first people to cultivate vanilla plants. They taught many other indigenous people how to grow vanilla plants during Meso-American times, and they continue to cultivate the fruit that they consider was given to them by the gods.
Many attempts to re-locate the vanilla plant failed initially, because those locations did not have the Melipone bee, which was responsible for the natural pollination of the flower. However, a simple and efficient artificial, hand-pollination method introduced by a 12-year-old slave named Edmond Albius on the island of Réunion in 1841, has resulted in the cultivation of vanilla in other equatorial regions.
Until the late 19th century, Mexico had the monopoly on growing vanilla plants, but now Madagascar and Indonesia grow the majority of the world’s crop.
It is said, the preference for vanilla appears to form before birth, helped by mothers using and eating so many things that contain it. As a result, flavours like vanilla can be found in amniotic fluid and breast milk. By adulthood most humans have had so many experiences with it that nostalgia drives even more preference for the scent and flavour.
When it’s all said and done, the last word in vanilla really seems to be ice creams. The world’s most expensive ice cream sundae, “The Golden Opulence Sundae” from Serendipity 3 in New York City, is made using rich Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream, infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered with 23k edible gold leaf. Served by special order and eaten with an 18-carat-gold spoon from a special crystal goblet, it is sold for a whopping thousand US dollars.
All this talk about vanilla means one thing right now — it’s time for your own version of the Golden Opulence Sundae. You can make it as extravagant as you want, but remember it is vanilla!
