As you can imagine, this is a highly labor-intensive process. Successful pollination of one flower results in a single 6- to 8-inch pod which takes 8 to 9 months to ripen, whereupon it is harvested. The next step is curing the beans, which starts by blanching them, or briefly immersing them in hot but not boiling water, which halts the ripening process and activates an enzyme that starts the development of the bean's characteristic vanilla flavor.
After this, the beans are tightly rolled in wool blankets and stored in a dark, airtight container, in a process known as sweating, which is really a process of fermentation.
The energy released by fermentation keeps the pods warm and moist. The blankets are unrolled and laid in the sun each day, then rerolled at the end of the day. This process is repeated for up to two months, after which the beans are removed from their wrapping and air-dried for another 3 to 4 weeks.
The final step in curing, known as conditioning, involves wrapping the dried beans tightly in wax paper and sealing them in a closed box. This process takes at least one additional month, although it is often performed in conjunction with shipping since the beans' journey from Africa to the Atlantic coast of the United States can take 6 to 8 weeks. Thus, from the flowering plant to shipment of the cured beans, the process has taken 12 to 14 months.
Note that the labor practices at a vanilla orchard, including the use of child labor and unfair working conditions, are beyond the scope of this article, to say nothing of the environmental impact thereof, but readers who are so inclined can investigate further. Once the beans arrive at the extraction facility, they are ground into small pieces, exposing the seeds inside the pod, which contain the various volatile essential oils that produce the distinctive flavors and aromas of pure vanilla.
The main one is a molecule called vanillin, although there are hundreds of others, which contribute an additional array of smoky, fruity, and resinous flavors and aromas. The extraction process basically involves washing and then soaking the ground vanilla beans in a solution of alcohol and water. The flavor compounds are soluble in alcohol, which means that the flavors are pulled from the beans into the alcohol.
Some processors use heat to accelerate the extraction, which unfortunately has the effect of destroying most of the additional flavor compounds in the pure vanilla. Other processors use a cold-extraction process, sort of like cold-brew. This process takes longer, and it costs more, but it preserves those volatile flavors—at least until they get into the bottle. Once you get it home and bake with it, of course, those flavors end up being destroyed by the cooking anyway.
This means the extra money you paid for the higher-priced product was, arguably, wasted. Today, vanilla is farmed and collected from locations in Central America, Africa, and the South Pacific. Though, according to The Economist , more than 80 percent of the world's vanilla comes from the island of Madagascar. This makes the crop particularly vulnerable to destructive forces like weather or disease. Vanilla is a temperamental crop, to say the least. According to Fine Gardening , vanilla farms contain thousands of trees and each tree is reserved for a single vanilla vine, which can take up to three years to reach maturity and flower.
When it finally does flower, the vanilla orchid only blooms for a single day and must be pollinated by hand that day if they want to continue growing vanilla. It also involves a significant investment in time as well. Successful pollination of a single flower will result in a single 6-toinch pod. Each day, for two months, the blankets are rolled out and laid in the sun, before being removed from the wrapping and left to air-dry for another three to four months.
This is all according to the The Spruce Eats. It is a long and difficult process that continues when the beans are ground and soaked in a solution of alcohol and water, where the flavor compounds become soluble. Heat is sometimes used in the extraction process, but many consider this an unnecessary and destructive step that destroys many of the additional flavor compounds normally found in pure vanilla.
As a result, some manufacturers have a cold-extraction process that works like cold-brewing coffee. This takes longer, of course, but at that point, what are a few more months added to an already lengthy enterprise?
Once the beans have fermented properly, and have been dried in both the sun and shade, they go into tightly sealed containers for final conditioning. This last stage is vital to producing a stable, and well-developed vanilla beans. Once fully conditioned, the vanilla beans are shipped to distribution sites across the world. Once the beans have arrived at their destination, the buyer begins the journey of producing the vanilla extract quite often used in baked goods. Essentially, all folks need to make vanilla extract is alcohol and vanilla beans.
The process starts with grinding up the beans and placing them in an alcohol-based solution. The longer the beans soak in the alcohol, the more potent the vanilla extract will be. Most people leave the beans in the liquid for up to two months to get a potent vanilla extract. Anyone brave at heart should consider making their own vanilla extract at home.
Luckily, Slofoodgroup has grade-A vanilla beans in bulk for folks who want to take on the task. Since obtaining and cultivating vanilla beans is so intricate, many manufacturers have developed artificial vanillas to avoid the hassle. There are pros and cons to this alternative. The process of creating imitation vanilla flavor takes less time.
This is partly because of a compound known as vanillin. Vanillin is the main component of cured vanilla beans, and it brings out their flavor. People can create vanillin naturally or synthetically. When distributors want to save money, they develop an artificial version of vanillin and create imitation vanilla extract. There a couple of other things to keep in mind concerning imitation vanilla extract. For starters, some companies claim their vanilla extract is pure. However, every pure vanilla extract will have a country of origin on the label, such as Madagascar.
People always ask the age-old question: which ingredient tastes better? For those looking for the most authentic flavor possible, pure vanilla extract is the way to go. That being said, imitation vanilla extract may have its uses. This article has answered the question of where vanilla extract comes from and provided insight as to why the ingredient is so expensive. Pure vanilla extract makes a long journey from tropical countries like Madagascar or Indonesia.
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