THE Aztecs called it tlilxochitl, “black
flower,” alluding to the color of the cured fruit. They used vanilla to flavor
their cacao-based drink xocoatl, or chocolate. Montezuma, the Aztec
emperor of Mexico, is said to have served it to the Spanish conquistador Hernán
Cortés in 1520. Cortés then introduced cacao and vanilla beans to Europe.
Vanilla-flavored hot chocolate became the rage in European courts, but it was
not until 1602 that Hugh Morgan, apothecary to Queen Elizabeth I, suggested
using vanilla as a flavoring for other things. Then, in the 1700’s, vanilla
began to be used in alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and perfumes.
However, long before the advent of the Aztec
Empire, the Totonac Indians of Veracruz, Mexico, were growing, harvesting, and
curing vanilla beans. It was not until the early 1800’s that the vanilla plant
was taken to Europe for cultivation and from there to islands of the Indian
Ocean. But attempts by horticulturists to produce fruit from the plant were
largely unsuccessful because of the absence of its natural pollinators, bees of
the genus Melipona. So Mexico had a monopoly on the vanilla trade from
the 16th century until the 19th century. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a
former slave on the French island of Réunion, perfected a practical method for
hand-pollinating the flowers so that the bean could be produced. This led to
the commercial cultivation of vanilla outside Mexico. Today the main producers
of the vanilla bean are former island possessions of France, such as Réunion
and the Comoros, with Madagascar being the major producer.
Cultivation of Vanilla
The vanilla bean is actually the fruit of an
orchid. The vanilla orchid is the only one among over 20,000 varieties of
orchids that produces something edible. The plant is a climbing vine that must
have some type of support and partial shade. In the wild it usually climbs on
trees in wet, tropical lowland forests. In Mexico traditional plantations use
native plants such as the pichoco as props, but orange trees have
recently been used for this purpose with some success.
The vanilla orchid produces waxy greenish-yellow
flowers that grow in clusters. Each flower opens only one day a year for a few
hours. It is fascinating to watch the Totonac Indians do the delicate work of
pollinating the flowers. They pollinate just a few from each cluster so as not
to sap the energy of the plant, which could weaken it and make it prone to
disease. The resulting long green pods, or beans, containing diminutive seeds,
are harvested by hand from six to nine months later, before they are fully
ripe.
The Curing Process
Interestingly, fresh vanilla beans have no
taste or aroma. They must undergo an extensive curing process that results in
the release of vanillin with its distinct aroma and flavor. This processing and
the need for manual pollination make vanilla one of the most expensive spices.
In Mexico the traditional curing process involved spreading the beans on dark
blankets in the sun for an initial killing, called sun wilting. More commonly
today, oven wilting is used for the initial dehydration. Then the vanilla is
placed in special boxes wrapped in blankets and esteras, or mats, to
sweat. Next, the vanilla is alternately sunned and sweated for several days
until the beans turn a deep chocolate-brown. Afterward, they are deposited in
the sweating boxes or in beds covered with waxed paper to dry slowly at ambient
temperature for some 45 days. Then they are conditioned for about three months
in closed containers to develop their full aroma. Thus, producing vanilla is
quite a labor-intensive project.
Natural Vanilla or
Artificial?
Vanillin has also been produced synthetically
from wood-pulp by-products. Reading the labels of products supposedly made from
vanilla may surprise you. In the United States, for example, while ice cream
labeled “vanilla” is made from pure vanilla extract and/or vanilla beans, ice
cream labeled “vanilla flavored” may contain up to 42 percent artificial
flavorings, and ice cream labeled “artificially flavored” contains imitation
flavorings only. But as gourmets will attest, there is no substitute for the flavor
of true vanilla.
While Mexico is no longer a major producer of
vanilla—its production being affected by such factors as destruction of the
coastal rain forest and, more recently, by flooding—it still possesses a
valuable treasure, vanilla’s genetic base. Mexican vanilla has traditionally
been regarded as superior in aroma and flavor. Tourists seem to agree, as they
often frequent border stores and duty-free shops at Mexican airports to buy
natural vanilla extract at comparatively low prices. The next time you try ice
cream made of natural vanilla, think of its long history and the work involved
in producing it, and enjoy the flavor!
Simply one of the many marvels of Gods creation!
[Footnotes]
The vanilla bean is native also to Central
America.
The vanilla plantations in Réunion,
Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles are said to derive their vanilla from
a single cutting introduced into Réunion from the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.
By AWAKE! writer in
Mexico
For more marvels of creation please go to www.jw.org
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