Write: Tomás Franco. Author of 'Manual for Spices'
La vanilla It is the spice that best represents the sweet taste due to its great use in ice creams, cakes, biscuits, etc. It is the incompletely ripe, fermented and dried fruit of Vanilla planifolia Andrews syn. and Vanilla fragrans, from the botanical family Orchidaceae. They are very aromatic pods, narrow and long, sometimes wrinkled. They are dark brown in color and waxy and flexible in appearance.
Then the plant is a climbing orchid the size of a bush, being able to reach 10-15 meters in height. It is known in some places as vanillero. It has large, fleshy, dark green leaves, sharp at the apex. The stems are thin and wrap around nearby trees.
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More facts about vanilla
Its flowers (from the plant of the vanilla) are small, pale green or yellow in color and waxy in texture. During the two months that flowering lasts, each flower only stays open for a single day. The fertilized flowers will close and give rise to a long, narrow berry, 10 to 15 cm long. Yellowish-green in color, it contains a large number of small black seeds.
Where is born? The vanilla It grows in tropical areas, with humid and warm climates, as well as in light and humus soils. It requires high rainfall (1.500 - 2.500 mm per year) and an average temperature of around 25ºC. You need support trees or stakes to hold onto.
Plants are usually guided to a suitable height for pollination. It is naturally only fertilized by hummingbirds and a variety of bees, but it lives in South America. In Indonesia and other parts of the world you have to pollinate it manually.
Collection process
What is the flower like? The structure of the flower has a tongue that prevents communication between the male and female organs. Therefore, the farmer must handle the flowers one by one. With the help of a stick or needle, you can lift the reed and release the pollen. Thus, by pressing the flower, fertilization takes place.
The pods are harvested while they are still green, immediately before ripening. They then undergo a complicated process of curing by immersion in boiling water. Also exudation of the water in barrels, fermentation and drying in the sun. After five to eight months, the pods have developed their characteristic aroma, they are soft to the touch and shiny. Likewise, they have acquired their typical dark brown color with reddish tones. Some pods are covered with frosted white crystals of vanilla.
Of course the vanilla it is the perfect condiment for chocolate. But it also has countless uses in pastry to flavor creams, ice creams, puddings, custards, cakes or cakes. It is used in rice pudding, desserts in syrup, puddings, fritters, souffles, etc.
Use of pods
The whole pods can be used and then removed from the preparation. They can be washed with cold water, dried and stored in a closed container to be used several more times. If we also keep them in a jar with sugar, it will be impregnated with the aroma of the vanilla.
The essence of vanilla It is obtained by infusion in alcohol and has applications in liquor stores and perfumes. But nothing better than tasting a rich coffee frosted with this sweet species. So you can make it, with this recipe. You can also learn more about her here at wippedia.
Vanilla coffee
-Ingredients:
500 ml strong coffee
4 tablespoons of sugar
375 ml of cold milk
50 ml of concentrated liquid cream
2 vanilla beans
-Preparation:
o Dissolve the sugar in the coffee.
o Add the milk and the liquid cream.
o Put the vanilla and store in the refrigerator overnight.
o After that time, remove the vanilla, add ice and serve the coffee.
