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- Origin
Vanilla came from Mexico and Central America. It was first brought to Spain, Italy and Austria by Columbus, whereas it came to rest of Europe much later – at the beginning of the 19th century. The spice was incredibly expensive and only rich people knew about it and very few had an opportunity to try it.
Nowadays vanilla is grown on Madagascar, Caribbean Islands, Ceylon Island, in tropical South America and Malaysia. Essentially, vanilla is an unripe and dried fruit of the tropical orchid plant. Vanilla pod is usually 12-30cm long and 4-8mm long. Inside the pod there is a scented brown substance which has more flavour than the pod itself. Vanilla is usually sold in glass containers, which prevent loss of scent.
- Varieties
In the international trade eight varieties of vanilla are recognised. The length of the vanilla pod is among the criteria. It is generally believed that Mexican vanilla is the best, while Ceylon vanilla is less valuable.
- Usage
Vanilla is usually added to various desserts such as puddings, apple pies, ice cream, vanilla and hazelnut parfait and vanilla soufflé as well as all sorts of biscuits, cakes and doughnuts. Vanilla is dried a little bit and mixed with sugar before it is added to the dished and heated. If vanilla is added long before thermal treatment, it can lose its aromatic components.
Vanilla is added to dough right before baking, whereas it is added to puddings, soufflés and jams after cooking is finished.
Vanilla has a bitter taste. That is why before usage it should be powdered in mortar and mixed with sugar. Only this vanilla sugar can be used. Cooks often boil vanilla pods in milk and then use the scented milk in cooking.
- Amount
Approximately 500g of sugar is necessary to process 1 vanilla pod. Vanilla is used in small quantities – 1/20th part of the pod is enough for one portion. It must be remembered that vanilla’s sweet scent is very misleading and too much vanilla can make the dish bitter.
- Combinations and substitutes
Prices and demand for vanilla always remained relatively high. That is why an artificial substitute was created. It is called vanillin. According to the law, if vanillin is used in a product, the label should say so. For example, if the label says “vanilla ice cream” it means that the essence of real vanilla had been used. If “vanilla flavoured ice cream” is written on the label, the product may contain up to 42% of artificial vanillin.
- Storage
Vanilla scent evaporates very fast, so it should be stored in a tightly closed container.
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