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Wild

Vanilla is the fruit of an orchid grown in tropical regions around the globe. It is an orchid which has over 220 varieties and the only orchid that bears a fruit of commercial value. It comes from the Planifolia and Tahitensis varieties-the only two varieties that are approved by the FDA to use for vanilla extract. There is a third variety, Vanilla pompona Schiede, which is not approved for use in making vanilla flavorings. Vanilla is grown in a region about 15-17 degrees north latitude at an elevation 500 meters above sea level. Its original growths are found in Mexico. The tahitensis grows best at sea level and thrives better in warmer temperatures than the planifolia does, however, temperature is a variation of latitude. Vanilla is grown in Madagascar, Mexico, Uganda, Fiji, Tonga, India, Costa Rica and Indonesia. Vanilla is not a parasite but an epiphyte and a terrestrial. That is, it is not a plant that grows on other plants but it gets moisture and food from the air.

Cultivate

Propagation is done by cuttings rather than seeds, although careful incubation of the seeds will produce plants. Much work has been done on hybridizing although the cycle from seed to hybrids is seven to eight years. Cuttings range anywhere from 1 to 3 meters in length and are usually hung out to dry to allow the cut end of the vine to heal and to prevent the intrusion of molds and disease that would infect the vine. The planting of the vine involves tying it to a support and having the nodule end dip into the ground. The end that ties to the supports continues to grow from a few nodules. Root like growth occurs from every nodule and allows the vine to cling to a smooth or rough surface. Normally a cutting is a meter long and takes three years for a plant to grow and produce flowers. A 2-3 meter cutting makes it possible to get a flower within the first year.

Vine

An annual rainfall between 80-150 inches is ideal for growing vanilla. The plant is a vine with elongated and succulent leaves anywhere from 3-7 inches in length and 1-2 inches in width. The roots are aerial and if cut off from the ground the vine will throw down aerial roots, not in the ground, but on organic material from the jungle floor. Almost anything that is organic can be used for fertilizer. Commercial fertilizers have been tried, but the economics of the producer nations cannot afford to use commercial fertilizers. The supports must be a fast growing tree that can be trimmed vigorously. Although the vine needs shade part of the year, during blossoming it needs more sunlight. If left in direct sunlight the vine gets burned and turns yellow. If there is too much shade during the blossoming the vine will not bloom. If the vine is stressed in any way or severed, two more branches will form.

Bruising

Bruising the vine, picking off the lead bud of the vine will cause it to branch, and the latter will cause two more stems instead of one. These stems can be looped to the ground and up to the support many, many times. One very important reason for this is the vine blossoms almost entirely from the descending vines. Looping produces more descending vines and thus more flowers. A wild vine growing up to the top of a coconut tree produces very few blossoms. Also by keeping the vine low, it is feasible to maintain and harvest.

Blossom

The vanilla plant produces a pale, yellowish green waxy flower once a year. The blossom grows on racemes (small stem like growths) and takes about two weeks to form. Normally there may be as many as 12-14 flowers on a stem. In nature, when the flowers are pollinated by a bee, only half of the blossoms are pollinated. The Melipone and Euglossine bees are the only insects capable of pollinating a vanilla blossom. Further more, the blossom opens at dawn and must be pollinated by afternoon of that same day. Also, if every blossom is pollinated by hand the plant will die prematurely in about 7-10 years. With natural pollination the plant will live indefinitely. If left unpollinated the flower withers and drops off of the vine; a pollinated blossom withers but does not drop off. Blossoming has a slow beginning, a slow ending with most activity occurring for about twenty days in the middle of a two month period.

Pollinate

Pollination is difficult because the stigma and stamen are separate in the blossom itself (separated by the rostellum-a small flap of plant tissue). The stigma is inside the tube which is the ovary. The stamen is on top of the flap that covers the tube and effectively seals the tube which prohibits pollen from entering. The bee crawls around on the stigma and along the flap off the stigma and finally crawls along the tube causing pollination. Hand pollination consists of bending the flap back and doubling it over so the stigma and stamen are pressed together to pollinate .A sharp object such as a thorn or bamboo splinter may be sued to fold the flap back so that it can be brought into contact with the stigma. A good pollinator can pollinate 1500 blossoms from dawn until noon.

Growing

The beans grow to maximum size within2-3 months but not ripe for nine months. From3-picking it loses weight. The beans are sold by weight. Premature beans are heavier, thus the farmer is inclined to pick early. Less money picking a full maturity. Various precursors to the aromatic compounds that become, after full ripening and curing that produce the aromatic compounds that have the aroma and flavor.

Harvest

The harvesting is the most critical stage in vanilla production. The beans grow to maximum size within 2-3 months but they are not fully ripened and ready to harvest for nine months. A fully ripened bean will have a split brown tip and the full length of the bean will turn yellow. Various precursors to the aromatic compounds form at this important time and, after full ripening and curing, produce the aromatic compounds that have the aroma and flavor. The premature picking of the bean is the enemy of producing high quality vanilla. Not only are farmers motivated to pick early for maximum weight (premature beans are heavier than those fully ripened), but by the prospect of having their crop picked by thieves at night for six long months .Once the glucosides have been converted to aromatic compounds the aromatic compounds act as a natural preservative against mold and rot. Harvesting takes place over a period of two months. A small percentage of beans grown worldwide are harvested at full maturity. Because of theft problem and the desire to get the crop sold and get his money quicker make it very tempting for the grower to harvest too early. This all works against good quality. Very few beans are picked at proper maturity. If the beans are picked prematurely, photosynthesis of the beans is still occurring, making proper curing impossible in a short space of time. The beans have no flavor or aroma at the time of harvest.

Dipping

After the beans are harvested they must be cured. The beans are dipped in hot water or steamed to kill the bean and halt photosynthesis. In Madagascar and in the French islands this is achieved by dipping the beans in water at 60ºC for 30 seconds or so. The beans are placed in drums that are cut in two for kettles. Fires are fueled by wood, so the temperature is not exactly precise beyond a few degrees. Over heating the beans kills the enzyme that promotes the production of the flavoring components from the glucosidases and results in grayish brown beans that will lack any vanilla flavor. If they are undercooked, part of the bean cures and part does not. This is not a huge problem for people familiar with curing.

Drying

After dipping, the enzymatic reaction begins to covert the glucosidases into the aromatic compounds. However, in this condition, the bean is subject to mold if it does not receive a batch of sunshine each day. Unless about 60-75% of the moisture is removed from the bean it will mold. The beans are packed in chests over night and covered. They sweat under this condition, thus losing moisture. The next day the beans are put in the sunshine to remove the water collected overnight. The sunlight also heats the bean increasing the activity of the enzyme. This process must be done daily for about two weeks. In the case a period of rain activity comes along and prevents the drying of the moistures from curing serious mold problems arise.

Sweating

The beans are then laid out on screens, bamboo mats or trays and are allowed to dry more slowly in the shade. This allows the enzyme to continue its work of producing the flavor components. This stage in the curing process takes about 3-4 more weeks. Some beans dry faster than others so they must be watched carefully and hand selected for a proper moisture content of 25-35 percent. This selection process continues for 3-4 months until the crop is finished. By this time the beans have been selected for quality and length and tied into bundles, and finally packed in boxes and allowed to condition for a further enzymatic ripening of the flavoring ingredients. Conditioning takes a month or more.

Ship

To extract the beans they must be chopped so that the percolation process can dissolve the aromatic principals of the bean into a solution that is readily usable for flavoring foods and also a material for the perfume industry (vanilla is used in finer perfumes). The cold process for extraction is done at ambient temperature. The percolation can be hastened by higher temperature of the menstrum and can be increased above the boiling point of the solution to get a very rapid extraction. The cold process is required to capture the finer flavor of the vanilla. The higher temperature causes a black residue to form and the flavor takes on an undesirable character of the burned beans. All of our vanillas are processed using the cold percolation technique for a delicate and rich aroma.