Science Of The Vanilla Bean

A Rare Find With An Exceptional Demand

            The last five centuries of world history were mainly shaped by the discovery of new plants, especially spices. The Americas offered the rest of the world all kinds of new flavorings, including vanilla (Standage: 90). Today, it is one of the most popular flavorings in the world (McGee: 430). Vanilla is most commonly known for its distinct aroma, high production cost, and its use in cooking. While its botanical origin is not acknowledged as much.

            Aromas are the smells given off by multiple molecular compounds. There are two particular chemical families that contribute to the aroma compounds in herbs and spices: the terpenes and the phenolics. As a part of the phenolics family, vanilla’s uniqueness comes from the richness, depth, and persistence of its flavor (McGee: 391, 430). Constructed from a closed ring of six carbon atoms and at least one fragment of a water molecule, phenolic compounds are relatively simple in structure. Thanks to the fragment of water, phenolic compounds are more soluble in water and therefore more persistent in foods (McGee: 390, 391).

            Vanilla grows in a pod forming fruit of a climbing orchid native to Central and northern South America. While there are about 100 species in the tropical genus Vanilla, V. planifolia is the most common species used in food production (McGee: 430). The Totonac Indians along the eastern coast of Mexico were first to cultivate the vanilla plant as long as 1,000 years ago. But it was the Spanish who traveled to the new world discovering and tasting this spice who gave it its name. Vanilla is the Spanish diminutive for “sheath” or “husk” (McGee: 430, 431). The Spanish took this new spice back with them to the old world. However it was impossible to grow without the tropical climate or pollinating insects of its origin. In the 19^th century, Belgian botanist Charles Morren finally figured out how to pollinate the vanilla flowers by hand (McGee: 431). With this new technique, the French took the vine to the islands off the coast of southeast Africa: Madagascar, Reunion, and Camoros. 

This type of vanilla is called Bourbon vanilla and now supplies much of the world (McGee: 431).

            Second to saffron, vanilla is the one of the most expensive spices in the world (McGee: 430). Production costs are so high due to the few regions that can properly cultivate it. In order for vanilla orchids to yield pods, the plant must be pollinated by hummingbirds or a specific species of bees native only to Central America (Spiegel). While an alternative method for pollination by hand was discovered, this new process is still costly due to the extensive labor required. Not only are the vanilla flowers pollinated by hand, but the curing process can take several months and the low production of the few regions is what makes vanilla so expensive (McGee: 431).  According to a Scientific American article the curing process is as follows, “Beans are picked while still green and sold to fermentation plants where workers sort, blanch, steam, and dry the beans in the sun.” For this reason, most of the vanilla flavoring consumed by the world today is actually a synthetic imitation of the original spice (McGee: 430).  In the United States, about 90% of the vanilla flavoring consumed is artificial (McGee: 432).

            Vanilla, mainly used when cooking sweet foods, can be added by means of an extract or the seeds scraped from the bean. By repeatedly passing a solution of alcohol over vanilla beans for several days, an extract is made (McGee: 432). The demand for vanilla flavoring exceeds the available crop one hundred to one. As a New World discovery vanilla is considered a rare spice in its natural form.

Works Cited

Bomgardner, Melody M. "The Problem with Vanilla." Scientific American Chemical &

Engineering News. Scientific America, 13 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York:

Scribner, 2004. Print.

Spiegel, Alison. "It's About Time You Knew Exactly Where Vanilla Comes From." The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Standage, Tom. "Splinters Of Paradise." An Edible History of Humanity. New York: Walker,

2009. 90. Print.