Vanilla Information. Vanilla Bean History

Transcription

1 Vanilla Information Vanilla Bean History The Indians Vanilla was first cultivated by the ancient Totonaco Indians of south-eastern Mexico, native to Veracruz, where it was pollinated by tiny humming birds and a bee called Melipona. It is also indigenous to Guatemala, and other parts of Central America, growing wild as a climber in the forest. The Totonaco were the first recorded keepers of the secrets of vanilla growing the tlilxochitl vine (pronounced tea-so-shill and meaning black pod in Aztec). It was grown in forest plantations under a jungle canopy to protect the vines from high winds and hurricanes common to the tropics. To this day the Totonaco still grow vines with almost religious devotion using the vanilla beans also as air purifiers shaped as frogs, baskets etc. to hang from car mirrors and placed in linen cupboards. They in turn were defeated in 1425 by the Aztecs, who came to prize the flavour and aroma of the scarce and delectable bean demanding that the Totonaco relinquish the vanilla harvest to them as tribute. The Aztecs like the Totonaco before them shared the belief, that vanilla was the food of the gods. The process used today for the curing of the beans was developed under Aztec rule. Conquistadors Vanilla was named by Olaf Swartz, a Swedish botanist who travelled with the Spanish conquistadors led by the Spanish explorer Hernandos. It was called Vainilla, after the Latin and Spanish word Vaina meaning little sheath. Bernal Diaz, a Spanish officer under Cortes, was recorded as perhaps the first outsider to take note of this spice. In 1520, he observed the Aztec emperor Montezuma, being served a drink in golden cups called "chocolatl", a beverage prepared from pulverized seeds of the cacao tree, flavoured with ground vanilla beans, and sometimes spiced with chilli peppers. An Exclusive Spice Cortez in turn bought the beans and drink to Europe in the 1500s along with countless other food plants from the Americas. It took a century for the Europeans to figure out the secret of commercial cultivation (the imported orchids where barren). The drink became popular amongst the aristocracy throughout Europe and for 80 years was only enjoyed by the nobility and very rich. The Spaniards imported vanilla beans into Spain, where factories were established from the mid-1500s onwards, for the manufacture of chocolate and coffee flavoured with vanilla. In 1602, Hugh Morgan, a chemist for Queen Elizabeth 1 suggested that Vanilla could be used alone as a flavoring and its uses and versatility expanded. In 1836, a Belgian, Charles Morren developed the first hand pollination method. Seven years later in 1841, a Spanish slave named Edmond Albilis perfected a method of hand pollination still used today leading to significantly increasing production yield in the Indian Ocean. The People Spice As a result of its popular flavor, the vanilla pod has been utilized for centuries to enhance the taste of food with popularity skyrocketing in the 19 th Century where it became the most popular flavour used in ice cream. Today vanilla is used in numerous products and recipes: Ice cream, chocolate, cream, cakes, milk, alcoholic liquors and non-alcoholic beverages such as milkshakes and soft drinks. It is also used in jams, numerous everyday desserts and in both sweet and savoury dishes. With citrus and mint flavorings, vanilla is one the most important substances used in flavorings. Vanilla has also been used in medicine as a nerve stimulant and as a scenting for tobacco. Along with other spices, it has in the past had a reputation as an aphrodisiac and is still widely used in perfumes.

2 Processing Vanilla Beans The Field Ideally, farmers should harvest their green vanilla crop when the beans are ripe, that is when the bean turns yellow at the tip. The most common economic problem in producing countries is theft. Farmers are always tempted to sell their crop early to avoid losses by thieves. Temptation is great when green beans are in demand by curers/exporters who are prepared to pay a high price for early picked mature beans. Tripper tries to educate its farmers to hold their crop as long as possible. Usually it is more economical to cure mature beans, as mature beans provide the exporter with an increased weight ratio of green to cured bean. Also the longer a bean ripens on the vine, the higher the vanillin content and the higher the quality. It also helps at the same time to maximise profit for the farmer. However, Tripper must also follow the market, buying accordingly and therefore the purchase of raw material is to some degree dictated by market pressure. Harvest Below is the process that Tripper follows to ensure good aromatic vanilla beans: 1. The tasteless and odourless thin green beans are picked when ripe, that is when the tips of the beans have turned yellow and have sometimes slightly split. 2. The vanilla beans are initially cleaned with water to remove any dust or dirt accumulated in their transportation to our warehouse. The pods usually arrive in their bunches harvested direct from the tree. They are separated into individual beans and at this stage undergo an initial grading and division of the beans based upon quality. Split and non-splits beans are separated with the split beans bundled for specialised treatment to ensure they lose a minimum of seeds during processing. 3. The curing process begins by immersion of the beans in water of at least 55 degrees Celsius for two and a half minutes then the water is quickly drained. This process is called the killing. Depending on the maturity of the beans the immersion can be shortened. The cooker is normally the most experienced and skilled vanilla worker in the warehouse and their decisions at this stage can make a big difference to the final quality. 4. After immersion in hot water, the beans are immediately wrapped in a clean blanket and place in a large 5 Metric cube wooden box. 5. They are kept in the box for about 48 hours with the temperature inside the box kept at a stable 50 degrees Celsius during those 2 days. This fermentation starts the enzyme process that will convert glucovanillin to vanillin, which gives vanilla its distinctive flavor. During this process a green odourless pod is transformed into the pliable dark brown to black aroma filled vanilla that we know. 6. In the mornings, the beans are laid in the sun for a few hours then covered around noon to avoid overheating which means keeping the beans under 45 degrees Celsius throughout this stage. They re are wrapped again in the blankets at night and put into smaller containers. The aim is to try to keep the beans at a constant temperature specifically avoiding large temperature fluctuations. Too low a temperature will halt the reaction of the enzymes within the bean, halting the curing process. The daily sun drying of the beans usually lasts up to 15 days. Rapid drying reduces the flavor of the beans. 7. When the bean s moisture content has reached 35% to 40%, they are laid on racks in a ventilated warehouse and the process of air-drying continues for a few more weeks. Constant quality evaluation and segregation continues through every step of the curing process. Lower quality beans will have the tendency to dry faster and need to be separated from better quality beans to ensure control of the process. If we find a quality problem during this stage, the racks can be placed back in the sun for a few days and then returned inside the warehouse. 8. After the drying process is complete, the beans are then stored in a 200Kg wooden crate for sweating. The vanilla will develop its unique aroma during this period. This process can last up to 2 months depending on the quality of the beans. The beans are generally initially checked every 2 days for mould or any other problems.

3 Assuming no problems occur, quality control is pushed back to once a week until we feel that the process has reached maturity. 9. The testing and grading of the beans based on their quality and size continues throughout the sweating process. When the moisture content has reached 25%, the vanilla beans are ready to export. They undergo a final sorting by size and are then bundled and packed in wax paper in 25kg boxes. This entire process usually takes from 8 to 16 weeks. NOTE: approx. 5kg of ripe vanilla beans can produce 1kg of export vanilla grade 1 or 2. Farming Vanilla Propagation Before farmers plant vanilla vines, they must plant support trees. Those trees grow usually approx. 10 ft high and are trained and pruned to facilitate pollination and harvesting. A vanilla vine cutting is taken from an older vigorous plant and is propagated to grow on the support tree or post. Growing Conditions This labor-intensive work is mainly done by small growers who care for about an acre of vanilla vines in a plantation known as a Vanillery. Vines left unchecked can grow to 50 to 70 feet tall (as high as the top of tall tropical tree canopies). If the vine is allowed to grow unattended, it produces an inferior quality of vanilla pods so the vines have to be attended to daily. These green stemmed vines with large fleshy leaves are trained to facilitate pollination and harvesting. Farmers will let the vine grow long and high then will curl it on its support tree. The following season, the vine will flower and be pollinated. Tripper growers do not use any chemicals not only because they are too costly for growers but also because they are generally unnecessary due to the introduction of the disease resistant Tahitensis gene to the Planifolia stock. The vanilla vine grows very well in the moist tropical climates at temperatures between 24º to 30º Celsius. Vanilla is part of the orchid family. It takes about three years for a vanilla vine to begin bearing pods, as the vines will not flower until they have stopped growing. Breaking the tip of the vine stops its growth. They ll continue to produce a good yield for about 12 years. The pods are usually commercially called beans due to their resemblance to string beans. The plant is both Terrestrial meaning it grows in the ground in soil and an Epiphytic in that it grows on another plant through a monopodial climbing habit. The plant performs better in the ground even though the roots of the vine don t actually need to touch the ground. This is because the plant absorbs its oxygen and moisture from the humid ambient air through long, whitish aerial adventitious roots. These roots are produced opposite every leaf in each node and are usually 2 inches long. An ideal plantation has rainfall of cm, is partially shaded (30-50% sunlight), and on the side of a gently sloping hill where water can drain and air can flow through the vines. If vines are planted with their feet in rainwater, then the chances of producing beans will diminish considerably and vines will catch diseases (mould). Pollination Pollination is generally done during August-October but varies dependent upon the date of harvesting. Flowering generally comes a few months after the harvest. Fruit set is very successful when the weather remains dry during this time and is highest when pollination occurs early on a bright day following rain. The flower comes out only in the morning and only for a few hours. If it s too hot or it rains, the pollination will fail. Pollination Cont The large vanilla flowers are waxy and fragrant with a pale green to yellow green color. The flowers are androgynous, that is, they possess both stigma (female) and stamens (male) organs of the flower. Nevertheless, self-pollination is not possible because a membrane separates these two organs. In nature, certain insects or hummingbirds carry out pollination. However these natural pollinators are indigenous to Mexico and therefore absent from the new vanilla production centres of today. Therefore plantation operation today requires all flowers be hand pollinated which is done with a small splinter of bamboo. A dexterous hand is necessary to bring the pollinia into contact with the sticky stigma to pollinate the flower. There is an advantage to hand pollination in that growers can selectively pollinate flowers, pollinating many on

4 healthy vines, and fewer on weak ones. Growers can also control the number of orchids growing on a vine at any time and thus the number of vanilla pods produced, as too many will weaken or possibly kill the vine even before the vanilla has had a chance to mature. Healthy vines can produce up to 1,000 orchids however are usually pollinated to produce pod numbers varying between 50 to 200. Flowers not successfully pollinated in the morning wilt and can fall to the grown by early evening. The pollination process is made even more difficult by the fact that each flowers blooms only for around 8 hours opening usually early in the morning, which means that the vines have to be checked and handled every day. If a flower is not successfully pollinated on that day, no adjacent vanilla pods will be produced. Fortunately, the orchids do not all open on the same day, but in succession over a period of about two months. An average worker is capable of pollinating 1000 to 2000 flowers a day. Harvesting Within 4-6 weeks, the pollinated blossoms develop into dark-green pods around 10-25cm in length, which remain on the plant for another 8-9 months before reaching full maturity and being ready for harvest. Beans left to split on the vine after reaching maturity reduce in quality. Harvesting is performed annually and usually occurs between May and July. Some regions adjust the cycle so that the harvest coincides with Christmas. This means the grower can include beans as a Christmas present. If appropriately cultivated, each vanilla plant produces about 150 pods per harvest. The pods are harvested before the seed capsule can split fully releasing the thousands of very minute edible seeds. They are picked by hand both with and without the aid of a knife. A good vanillery of 1 hectare can produce kg annually for about 7 or 8 years. Then follows a 2-3 month tedious and complicated treatment process involving immersion in hot water, fermentation, drying and curing. This creates the fine distinctive flavor characteristics of vanilla. During that process 5 pounds of mature greens pods are used to make 1 pound of cured (black high quality) beans. Indonesian Vanilla The Trade The following information is specific to the Indonesian vanilla trade. Vanilla is arguably the most popular and widely used flavoring in the food industry. It is second only to saffron as the world s most expensive spice. The price takes into account the labor intensity involved in its cultivation and production. Of all the spices, the field to end product stage takes far longer for vanilla than any other spice. Annual worldwide, vanilla pod production for a good year can reach 1800MT. Today the US is the number one buyer of vanilla followed by followed by France and Germany. Because of a shortage in crop size in Madagascar, a lot of importers turned to Indonesia to cover their shortage. This demand for beans means beans are often picked early resulting in a smaller end crop of cured vanilla (as when vanilla is cured immaturely, the yield from green to cured bean can be a half to a quarter of what could be expected from mature beans). Immature beans can require 10 to 20 kg of beans to produce 1kg of lower grade beans whereas high quality mature beans in contrast yield 1 kg of black beans for every 5 kilos of green beans. Impact of Demand on Quality Madagascar has in the past had the upper hand in the vanilla business for historical reasons. Their export quota helped them in the past to establish quality standards but since the liberation of the trade the quality hasn t stopped dropping. Political and financial manipulation in recent years has greatly hurt the trade. Where there has been no shortage of vanilla in past years, Indonesia as a whole produced some very good quality beans. This was due to its unique climate and topography enabling it to harvest almost throughout the year. Also during those years, the demand and therefore cost for beans, especially immature beans, were not as high and therefore farmers were prepared to let their beans develop on the vine through to full maturity. When the worldwide crop size increases and therefore pressure on existing crops reduce, Indonesia as a whole will again produce high quality (high vanillin) bean.

5 Source You can find vanilla vines in almost every region in Indonesia but some regions are more industrial than others. In order of importance are: Flores, Manado, Bali/Lombok, Sumatra and Java. Cobra Vanilla is predominantly sourced from islands west of Flores. The maturity time varies from year to year but harvest is generally situated from May to July depending on the region, in Medan and Manado there is also a December crop (smaller than summer crop but still substantial). Indonesian Vanilla Grades The vanilla is initially sorted by length then whole and split beans are separated. The quality does not depend solely on the quality of the vanillin with beans being sorted into grades also based upon aroma, appearance, moisture and oil content. Ultimately it is the aroma and flavor of the beans that determines their commercial value. Indonesian vanilla has a deep full-bodied flavor well appreciated in the American market. It is generally graded as follows: Grade Scent Appearance Volatile oil content Gourmet Nice clear delicate aroma Uniform black, supple, unsplit, oily lustre free of blemishes Grade 1 Nice clear delicate aroma Dark brown to red, slightly lower appearance standard and thinner Moisture content VC >1.9% H2O <35% VC >1.7% H2O <25% Splits Nice clear delicate aroma Dark brown to red VC >1.8% H2O <25% Grade 2 Grade 3 Cuts Good aroma however with phenolic note Fair aroma with stronger phenolic note Ordinary aroma Woody type smell More rigid bean, light chocolate brown thinner again VC <1.4% H2O <25% Light brown, thinner and more rigid VC <1.0% H2O <25% Small cut VC 0.5% H2O <17% EP Cuts Woody type smell Small cut, thin, hard and dry VC 0.1% H2O <15% Varietes of Vanilla Orchid Extract Content Orchids are beautiful and exotic perennial herbaceous vines that are grown in both hemispheres, usually in tropical and subtropical forests. The Orchidaceae family includes over 10,000 species and hybrids that display lustrous, translucent petals in rich variegated colors and produce a multitude of fragrances, including vanilla. The Vanilla species of which there are around 50 recognized species produces the only orchid with edible fruit, but only three are used commercially and two predominantly for flavoring: These include: Comercial Vanilla Vanilla Planifolia (or Vanilla Fragrans) - the original and classic vanilla bean SOURCE v Mexico (discovered in South America where its use predates the 14 th century) v Indonesia (since 1819) v La Reunion (since 1819) v Madagascar (since 1870) v Comoros (since 1873) v Other new origins: India, Tonga, New Guinea/Papua and Uganda CHARACTERISTICS

6 Vine : Flower: Flavor : Aroma : Uses : robust growth, more susceptible to disease than Tahitensis Vanilla with long slender thick oily pods green yellowish to white produces the classic vanilla flavor and described as sweet, smooth, creamy, rich, mellow, and spicy less intense than Tahitensis but with classic vanilla aroma best used in ice-cream, desserts or anything in which the traditional vanilla flavor is desired Vanilla Tahitensis - a smaller and more expensive crop due to limited availability It is not known if this species was native to the Tahitian islands, if it was brought there from Mexican stock and mutated in the wild over the years, or if it produced vanilla pods prior to the discovery of hand pollination of the orchid. SOURCE - Tahiti, Mooréa (since 1848) - New Guinea/Papua (since 1996) CHARACTERISTICS Vine: Flower: Flavor: Aroma: Uses: less vigorous growing plant than vanilla Planifolia but more disease tolerant with smaller leaves. Produces shorter, thicker skinned, more rounded beans than are darker than Planifolia beans when cured green yellowish to white has been described as flowery, cherry like, licorice, raisin like, fruity, smooth, musky, anisic but with less flavor than Planifolia due to its lesser vanillin content fruity, complex floral fragrance producing a beans with intense aroma works well in fruit based products and in pastry for its lively fruity flavor Commercial Vanilla Cont Vanilla Pompona - a very marginal and rarely mentioned orchid Very low usage in the foodservice industry predominantly by French chefs and rarely see today. Its use in the industrial vanilla market is almost non-existent. The beans have an odour different from vanilla being a cross between fermented sugar and the sweet fruity smell of the heliotrope. It has been used in the past in the tobacco and perfumery industry. The Totonacas of Mexico, the original growers of vanilla, place religious and cultural significant on the plant regarding it as the queen of vanilla. SOURCE - Martinique and Guadeloupe (since 1701) World Trade Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and has in the past produced produces 50 to 60% of the world's vanilla beans. In combination with the Comoros Islands, Seychelles and Reunion, about 70% of the world s supply comes from this group of islands known as the Bourbon Islands named after a French family that controlled the islands in the 19 th century. Indonesia is positioned as the next largest producer, supplying about 30% of the market.

7 Indonesia's Advantages The landscape of the world's vanilla trade is changing with countries like Uganda, India and Papua New Guinea entering the market reducing Madagascar's historic dominance of the trade. The bourbon quality is no longer what it used to be due to the removal of export quotas. In the past growers were only able to export a certain amount of their crop so they would only sell the best quality and supposedly destroy the bad quality. After deregulation, all the bad quality supposedly destroyed was sold together with the premium stock bringing the price and image of the bourbon vanilla to a all time low of $8/Kg (this was just prior to the cyclone on 2 April, 2000). This deregulation has meant that vanilla is being produced by an increased number of smaller operators who do not have the ability or motivation to invest in quality control of their produce. Additionally an increase in production standards in these emerging countries will see them challenging the 'bourbon islands' over coming years as the preferred source for reliable quality vanilla. Cobra Vanilla Cobra vanilla is a cross-pollination between the vanilla Tahitensis and the Planifolia. This marriage of plants produces the best qualities of both species. On the Tahitensis side, we ve kept its fruity heliotropic fragrance and combined it with the rich flavor of the Planifolia with its high vanillin content. The beans of the Tahitensis are also very mould resistant and the vines are also more resistant to developing diseases. What is Vanilla Extract? Extract Content Vanilla extract is the solution in aqueous ethyl alcohol of the sapid and odorous principles extractable from raw vanilla beans. In vanilla extract, the content of ethyl alcohol is not less than 35% by volume and the content of vanilla constituent is not less than one unit per gallon (one unit = ounces of beans containing not more than 25% moisture known as one-fold strength). Two-fold strength has double the amount of beans used ie 26.7 oz of beans per volume of extract with the fold strength usually not exceeding 4 fold extract (53.4 oz of beans). Extract VS Flavor In order to be labelled an EXTRACT, the Vanilla must contain at least 35% of alcohol by volume. Anything less than 35% alcohol should be labelled as a flavor. Also, if the amount of beans extracted (13.35 OZ) doesn t meet the FDA requirement, then the manufacturing company is not allowed to label its vanilla as Natural (Pure) Vanilla Extract. It is therefore very important to always look closely at the labels of vanilla liquids. The idea is to compare apples to apples. For instance, it is not fair to compare a Vanilla Flavour to a Vanilla Extract because they are both bound to different regulations and therefore different manufacturing costs. Usually, Extracts are more expensive than Flavours. Flavours are usually purchased by end-users who need to cut costs. Labelling The following are different appellations used on labels of vanilla extract within the food industry: - Pure Vanilla Extract Liquid (made from vanilla beans, alcohol and water, with possibly sugar added. Must contain at least 35% alcohol). - Artificial Vanilla Extract (vanillin powder blended into water and alcohol) - Natural Vanilla Flavor (mix of pure vanilla extract and other natural substances extracted from natural sources other than the vanilla bean usually in a glycerin or a propylene glycol base - all types of vanilla and blends fall under this name) - Vanilla Flavoring (mix of pure vanilla extract with imitation vanilla or synthetic substances ( most commonly vanillin) but almost anything can appear under this label) - WONF (With Other Natural Flavors) (vanilla made with natural products other than vanilla beans) - Identico Natural Vanilla (similar to WONF) - Vanilla-Vanillin Extract/Flavor (blend of natural Extract/Flavor and Artificial Extract) - Imitation Vanilla (a mixture made from synthetic substances which imitates the vanilla smell and flavor. It often contains propylene glycol, which is also found in automotive anti-freeze and can leave a bitter aftertaste). - Artificial Vanillin (also called lignin vanillin, a by-product of the paper industry, chemically treated to resemble the taste of real vanilla. It simulates only 1 out of 250 flavors found in natural vanilla)

8 Ethyl Vanillin ( an ingredient used in imitation vanilla which is three times stronger than artificial vanillin, and is a coal tar derivative Buyer Confusion As can be seen above, unless you are talking about Natural Vanilla Extract, the quality of the vanilla cannot be discerned by looking at the label. Buyer Confusion Cont The range of qualities between Natural vanilla extracts can be quite significant since the FDA regulation is specific about the quantity of beans used per gallon of Extract but no mention is made as to the quality of the beans. Therefore a one-fold strength pure vanilla extract only guarantees compliance with basic FDA regulations. It is in no way indicative of a commitment to a quality product or the level of quality control within a company. As you could read in the Indonesian Vanilla Information sheet, different qualities of beans call for different prices (Cuts, Grades 1, 2 and 3). The price range of vanilla beans is quite broad, therefore the price range between Vanilla Extracts is also very wide. Each company has its own one fold vanilla extract with some carrying different grades of one fold extract to account for the difference in quality due to both the processing and the quality of beans used. Cobra Pure Vanilla Extract The pure natural product is a far more complex combination of substances and has the following superior characteristics in that it has a fresher, cleaner, more delicate, purer and spicier flavor with a distinctive bouquet that clearly surpasses imitations. Cobra Vanilla Extract is an amber colored liquid produced through the cold extraction process, which gently extracts the flavor from the vanilla beans, over an average 10-day period. The end result is a sweet, creamy, smooth and rounded flavor without the chemical notes associated with the hot extraction method. The alternate hot extraction method used by some producers lasts only 24 hours and can damage the delicate flavor of the beans. Each company has its own standard for one fold vanilla extract as each use a different grade of beans to produce their product. Some company may use ounces of high quality grade 1 vanilla compared with another using the same quantity of low quality cut beans to produce their extract. The quality of the vanilla beans used is directly linked to the quality of the extract produced. Without analysis or confidence in the supplier, it is not possible to know whether the price equates to the quality supplied. Cobra provides specifications on each lot of Cobra vanilla extract with this information readily available to buyers on-line. Cobra vanilla is derived from unique natural blending in nature of two vanilla species, the Tahitensis and the Planifolia. Only the best premium beans are selected in-house from Tripper s large stock of beans for use in its Vanilla extract. Our in-house processing ensures a consistent controls of the beans from selection, curing, sweating and airing right through to the end of the extraction process to ensure only the finest product ends up in our bottle. Our total control management also enables us to provide our extract at very competitive price. Tripper s in-house control is in contrast to a lot of extract producers in the US who buy their beans from dealers in the US known to blend their stock with beans from different origins and of varying quality. This method of sourcing results in quality that can vary significantly within and between batches and means simply, that their end product cannot be given the guarantee that quality food manufacturers are seeking.