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 The queen of spice
The festive season is here. It’s time to savour the mithai (sweets), chocolates, puddings, cakes… Ah! The very thought tickles the taste buds, and the aroma just scintillates the senses. Is it our thoughts or the scent of vanilla?
What is vanilla?
Vanilla is a flavouring agent derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. It is widely used by food and cosmetics industry. It is the second most expensive spice after saffron. Madagascar is the leader in vanilla production, controlling over half the world’s market.
Three major cultivars of vanilla are grown globally – Vanilla planifolia,
V. tahitensis, and V. pompona. Among these, V. planifolia, commonly known as Madagascar-Bourbon vanilla, is the most widely grown variety.
In India
India is a relatively new player in the vanilla market. Still, in 2006-07, it produced 230 tonnes of cured beans, more than 10 per cent of the world production. Kerala leads the production of vanilla beans with a share of more than 52 per cent.
But, farmers often find it unprofitable. The reasons are its high dependence on labour, and time-consuming production process.
Lost essence
Artificial vanilla is another major problem. What we use in our food, beverages, cosmetics and fragrances is often a synthetic extract. Its consumption is growing at a rate of almost 7.5 per cent per annum. Nearly 60 per cent of it is used by the food and beverage industry. In India, about 700 tonnes of synthetic vanilla was imported in 2004, which was bought by ice cream companies and other users.
So what makes the fake variety vanilla-like? The smell comes from effluent waste of paper mills, coal tar, and even cowdung!
Yes, that’s true. Vanillin is a component of natural vanilla and the source of this vanilla-like smell. There are ways of extracting this molecule from things like coal tar and cowdung. And it is hard to spot the difference between the natural and artificial varieties.
But, there is a difference. Natural vanilla can be identified with the help of its other 250-odd components. The synthetic one does not have them.
So, be careful before pouncing on the piece of cake next time!
POLLINATION
The flower of vanilla lasts for about a day, or even less. So, farmers have to check every day for flowers they can pollinate. Then they separate the anther and the stigma and press the anther on the stigma. The flower pollinates. The bean is born. |
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GRADING
Once fully cured, the vanilla is sorted by quality and graded. Its commercial value depends on the length of the pod. |
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CURING
Curing takes up to six months. There are several methods for this. But all have four basic steps – killing of the vegetative tissue to prevent further growth, sweating of beans wrapped in woolen cloth under sunlight, slow drying to prevent rotting and lock the aroma in the pods and conditioning of the beans where pods are stored in closed boxes for a few months to develop fragrance. |
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HARVEST
The beans or pods take about nine months to mature enough for harvesting. And each pod ripens at its own time, requiring
a daily harvest. They are handpicked just when they begin to split on the end. But, at this point they do not have any
flavour. So, they are cured. |
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