By Porter Lang
Start with the label. Not the front, with the pretty orchid, but the ingredient list on the back. Everything below explains why.
Where it came from
Wikipedia says the main vanilla species, Vanilla planifolia, is native to Mexico and Central America, with wild plants around the Gulf of Mexico and along parts of the Pacific coast. It says the Totonac people of present-day Veracruz were among the first to cultivate it, on farms “since at least 1185,” using it in temples, in amulets and to flavor food and drink. In 1427, the article says, the Aztecs invaded the Totonacs and began mixing vanilla with cocoa in a drink called xocolatl. HernĂ¡n CortĂ©s is credited with bringing vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s. By 1889, it adds, vanilla exports from the Papantla region exceeded 70,000 kilograms.
A flavor company’s web page, which is marketing, gives the Aztec name as tlilxochitl, meaning “black flower.” A popular-science feature in Nautilus says the Aztecs prized vanilla as “zanat,” the nectar of the gods, and that it was given as royal tribute. Those are two names and two meanings from two different sources, and we have not checked either.
Why it stayed in Mexico
A vanilla flower is not self-pollinating, and pods only form after pollination. Wikipedia says each flower has to be pollinated within 12 hours of opening, and that wild orchids have about a 1 percent chance of success. It says the only pollinators documented in the wild are orchid bees of the genus Eulaema and the Western honey bee, and that claims involving stingless Melipona bees “have never been substantiated.” Nautilus says the wild plant is pollinated by one bee species found only in Mexico and does not name it. Two sources, two answers, and we do not choose.
The boy on RĂ©union
Hand pollination solved it. Wikipedia says that in 1837 Charles Morren pioneered artificial pollination, but it was not commercially viable. Nautilus says Morren succeeded in the 1830s using a microscope and tiny scissors, and that it took about 20 minutes a flower. In 1841, Edmond Albius, described by Wikipedia as a 12-year-old enslaved child on the island of RĂ©union, developed a simple method that is still used. A bamboo sliver lifts the membrane between the anther and the stigma, and the thumb presses the pollen onto the stigma. Nautilus says he used a needle or toothpick and that he punctured a thin membrane between the male and female parts.
Nautilus adds that Albius gained his liberty in 1848, when France abolished slavery, and that RĂ©union now honors him with a street, a school and a bronze sculpture. It also says his enslaver promoted the technique and never freed him. That history is not comfortable, and we report it plainly.
Curing
Wikipedia describes four steps.
- Killing: pods are dipped in hot water at 63 to 65 degrees Celsius for three minutes, or at 80 degrees for 10 seconds.
- Sweating: pods are kept stacked and insulated for 7 to 10 days at 45 to 65 degrees, leaving them at 60 to 70 percent moisture.
- Slow-drying: moisture drops to 25 to 30 percent, which can take three to four weeks.
- Conditioning: pods are stored in closed boxes for five to six months while the fragrance develops. Cured pods average 2.5 percent vanillin.
The flavor company page says each pod is handled 50 to 70 times during processing. That is a marketing page’s figure and we have not seen it elsewhere.
Vanillin and what is not vanilla
Vanillin is the main flavor compound, Wikipedia says, but it is one of 171 identified aromatic components in vanilla fruit. Vanillin was first isolated from the pods by Gobley in 1858. The article states that “an estimated 95%” of products sold as vanilla are flavored with vanillin made from lignin, a wood polymer, and that most food-grade vanillin is made from guaiacol. We treat the 95 percent as the article’s estimate.
Who grows it now
Wikipedia gives 2023 figures. World raw vanilla production was 7,433 tonnes. Madagascar produced 3,113 tonnes, about 42 percent, Indonesia 1,833 tonnes, about 25 percent, and Mexico 508 tonnes. Mexico is where the plant began and is not where most of it is grown.
Side by side
- Pollinator: Eulaema bees and honey bees (Wikipedia), an unnamed single bee species (Nautilus).
- Morren: 1837 (Wikipedia), “the 1830s” (Nautilus).
Dates in order
- At least 1185: Totonac cultivation, according to Wikipedia.
- 1427: Aztec invasion and the cocoa drink, according to Wikipedia.
- 1520s: vanilla and chocolate reach Europe, according to Wikipedia.
- 1837: Morren, according to Wikipedia.
- 1841: Albius, according to Wikipedia and Nautilus.
- 1848: Albius gains his liberty, according to Nautilus.
- 1858: vanillin first isolated, according to Wikipedia.
- 1889: Papantla exports pass 70,000 kilograms, according to Wikipedia.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia; Nautilus, a popular-science magazine, 2024; and the web page of a flavor company, which is marketing.
What we left out
Prices, recipes, any brand or grower, labeling and health claims, substitution ratios and any storage advice, because none of the sources gave a tested rule.
Roam first. Shop later.