Vanilla is a tropical vine of the orchid family that is grown in certain parts of the world like Indonesia, Tahiti, Mexico and Madagascar. Despite of its economic condition, Madagascar is known to be the leading exporter of vanilla all over the world. As of now there are three kinds of vanilla beans that are commonly used; Bourbon vanilla beans, Mexican vanilla beans and Tahitian vanilla beans. Bourbon vanilla is considered to be the most expensive of all vanilla beans.

Second most expensive spice all over the world, vanilla is a popular ingredient for almost any recipes – cakes, pastries, ice cream, beverages and a lot more. Other than its use for culinary purposes, vanilla is also known for its medicinal usage. Before, vanilla is used as an aphrodisiac. It’s also a useful anti-depressant and an anti-cancer agent. Vanilla is also popularly known for its sweet aroma that’s why is used as fragrance for perfumes and body lotion.

Vanilla started out originally as a spice. Second to saffron, vanilla is the most expensive spice in the world because of the extensive labor that is required in the production of vanilla. So why is vanilla used as an ingredient? Vanilla is used in almost all vanilla recipes because it gives an aromatic sweet flavor to any recipe. Vanillin, the pure form of vanilla is what really gives vanilla its original flavor and scent.

Vanilla is popularly used as an ingredient and flavoring for desserts like in creams, cakes and pastries. The vanilla flavor in this food stuff may be achieved by adding some vanilla essence or by cooking vanilla pods or beans. The tiny vanilla beans or seeds contained in the vanilla pods are used to make any recipe more flavorful with its sweet flowery flavor when mixed.

Because of its fruity top note flavor, vanilla is popularly used as flavoring for ice creams; thus the vanilla ice cream is termed as a common or plain ice cream flavor. Vanilla is also used in appetizers or in salad dressings. Beverages like coffee, milk and wines also have vanilla in them. Vanilla is sometimes mixed with home made herbal medicines to make a flowery sweet flavor.

Vanilla is used in almost any recipe there is. Nowadays, because vanilla in its original form is very expensive, synthetic vanilla flavors are sold in the market. They yield the same aromatic smell like the original ones, however they differ in taste. The synthetic form of vanilla lacks sweetness.

Vanilla is one of the oldest and the widely used spice in the world, not to mention the second most expensive. It is popular for its use in culinary purposes. Other than just being an ingredient to any vanilla recipes, vanilla is also known for its healthful benefits as in aromatherapy, anti-depressant and anti-cancer, and a lot more. It is also a popular choice for fragrance in perfumes and body lotions. Most of us, who are not inclined in the culinary scene, are only familiar with the synthetic vanilla that is sold in the market. So what is the true form of vanilla?

Originally, vanilla is an orchid flower of the Vanilla Planifolia species. There are other vanilla flower species like Vanilla pompona and Vanilla tahitiensis that are also utilized in the production of vanilla, however the former is species is most favored because of its high concentration of vanillin, the one responsible for the rich aromatic flavor and scent of vanilla. The vanilla flower after some time produces a pod which contains countless minute vanilla beans. From here, different forms of vanilla are then made.

The first and original form of vanilla is the Vanilla bean or Vanilla Pods. It is the actual fruit of the vanilla flower. It is contained in a pod which is approximately 8-12 inches long, depending on the variety if vanilla bean (Bourbon vanilla is the longest). The vanilla bean or pod is dark and slender. The pods can be used even without its seeds. It can either e cooked or just suffused in a hot liquid and offers a rich flavor to any vanilla recipes there are.

The second form of vanilla is Vanilla Seed. The minute seeds of the vanilla contain most of the vanillin. They are also dark, almost close to black in color. The seeds of the vanilla pods are mostly used I recipes like Crem Brule and Custard Cakes.

Vanilla can also be in the form of Extracts. Vanilla extracts are actually made from the vanilla seeds that were marinated in water and alcohol for a long period of time. Vanilla extracts are useful in vanilla recipes that require a strong vanilla essence. What’s good about the extracts is that it is able to produce a rich flavor and essence by just a small amount of it. When in a bottle container, the vanilla extracts should come with a vanilla bean or pod in it, for the purpose of continued maturation process while it is stored just like in any scotch or whiskey. Since it is a product of maceration of vanilla seeds in an ethyl alcohol, the vanilla extract have a minimum alcohol proof of at least 40%.

Vanilla can also come in the form of a Paste. A Vanilla paste is formed by grounding the seed and adding sugar syrup into it. The vanilla paste is ideal in making ice cream. There is also the Vanilla Powder. The vanilla powder is an all-natural grounded vanilla seeds, without added sugars. The powder is ideal in most pastries as it gives a rich rounded aromatic taste.

Another form of vanilla is the Vanilla Sugar. This is made by adding a vanilla bean into a sugar and stored in several weeks. The vanilla sugar is ideal for decoration and toppings.

If ever you are entertaining the thought of cooking or making any vanilla recipes see to it that when you buy vanilla beans or vanilla, you get the right form that’s ideal for your cooking.

Vanilla is a commonly used spice and nowadays it is being cultivated, manufactured and exported by different companies from different parts of the world. However, not all exporters deliver the same variety of vanilla. The quality of the vanilla beans and/or vanilla products that come from other countries are not the same. They’d usually differ in taste and aroma. So which part of the world can the finest vanilla be found?

The finest vanilla in the world can be found in the tropical island of Madagascar. Known as Bourbon Vanilla, the Madagascar vanilla beans has made its mark as the best tasting and premium quality vanilla in the world. Compared to other vanillas, the Bourbon vanilla beans are slender and can reach the length of approximately 8 to 12 inches. This variety of vanilla bean is known for its strong sweet smelling aroma. Though they are slender, the Bourbon vanillas are thick and contain a profusion of minute seeds that are abundant with vanillin. According to the UN Food and Drug Administration survey in 2006, Madagascar ranked first place in the top producers of vanilla, providing more than half of the vanilla consumers all over the world and still continues to be on top of the list.

Indonesia is the second largest producer of vanilla that’s naturally preserved. The Indonesian vanilla when cured and processed the ‘Madagascar way’ could almost be like the Bourbon vanilla. Though less creamy compared to the vanilla coming from Madagascar, the dramatic increase in the quality of the Indonesian vanilla through the years has made it closely similar to the Bourbon. Before, the cultivation of vanilla was only confined in the some parts of Indonesia – Bali and South Java. It was only in 2004 that vanilla cultures have spread to other parts of the country.

Mexico was once known to be the leading and original producer of Bourbon vanilla. Their vanilla products are rich and creamy and somewhat spicy in flavor. This variety of vanilla is best when mixed with recipes that do not require heating. Mexican vanilla bean extract is sometimes added with the extracts of the tonka beans that’s been banned by the US Food and Drug Administration because it contains a substance called coumarin that is known to cause kidney and liver damage.

Another variety of vanilla is the Tahitian Vanilla. Compared to Madagascar vanilla, the pods of the Tahiti vanilla are smaller, more plump and moist, and it contains less vanillin. It has a fruity flavor and a flowery aroma and contains more oils. Vanillons is another type of vanilla nurtured in Guadeloupe. Although low in vanillin content, its vanilla beans possess the same floral characteristics of the Tahitian vanilla making it more useful in perfumery. There are also other vanilla varieties somewhat similar to bourbon that are grown and cultivated in some parts of South America and West India however, there’s only a diminutive production of quality vanilla coming from these places, and most are of poor quality.

Depending on your culinary or perfume needs, when you buy vanilla or vanilla pods, choose only the best quality. Remember that vanilla is a very expensive commodity. See to it that you get what you pay and that it’s worth the price.

As the definition of it, vanilla is something that’s plain, ordinary and uninteresting. However, despite its unexciting definition, vanilla has already made its mark in popularity. We all know that vanilla is well-known for its use as food flavoring – in cakes, ice cream, pastries, milk and other vanilla recipes and delicacies; it is also used by large companies in the United States as one of their premium scents for perfumes and body lotions because of its sweet smell. What people don’t know is that there’s more to vanilla than just being an ingredient to the mouthwatering recipes and the way it imbues perfumes with its aroma.

Vanilla might be called ordinary because of its common use for culinary purposes, but to those who don’t know it yet, next to saffron, vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the whole world. Why is that? It is because that the production of vanilla beans requires extensive human labor and absolute timing. The orchid vanilla would take 3 years to reach its maturity where it only blooms for just a day. After which, the plant would not bloom until the following year. Once the vanilla plant blossoms, it is then hand-pollinated by the farmers. Pollination in the presence an insect is not possible especially when the cultivation is in Madagascar, because the only insect that’s capable of pollinating the vanilla plant can only be found in Mexico, the Melipona bee. Once ripe, the vanilla pods are then harvested, dried up and then fermented. The whole process would take several months to finish before the vanilla beans and vanilla bean extracts are made ready for exporting. So talk about being plain and ordinary, eh?

Perhaps most of us think that all vanilla taste just the same, that vanilla is just vanilla. Actually, this notion is not totally true. Depending on certain factors - the country where the vanilla plant is cultivated as in the Madagascar vanilla, the maturity of the vanilla pod when harvested, the method used in curing the beans and the process used in the production of vanilla extracts; it is most likely that the vanilla concentrate will yield a different taste. In addition, vanilla is also used to potentiate other flavors such that of a nut, chocolate, coffee, or any fruit without having its own flavor and strong aroma distinguished especially when only a small portion of the vanilla extract is used. As a matter of fact, a vanilla could turn a tangy citrus fruit flavor into something that’s velvety.

Because vanilla is very expensive and not all consumers can afford the retailed price, other manufacturers have come up with some of the cost saving ideas with the vanilla beans. One idea presented is the formulation of a synthetic vanilla extract derived from the usual mixed choices of selected vanilla beans, still offering the same creamy taste and quality with that of pure vanilla extracts. These are just some of the facts that one must know about vanilla. That vanilla is really not just something that’s dull as what its definition would imply but extraordinary and interesting.