**VANILLA, VANILLA AROMATICA Orchideae, VANILLA PLANIFOLIA**

Garrett, Theodore Francis (edited by). 1898. the Encyclopedia of Practical Cookery. L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, W.C. London. Vol. iv

is the vanilla-plant (Vanilla aromatica) from which the pods used in flavouring are obtained, belongs to the orchid tribe, and is said to be the only one the the great family which is of any economic value. It is a climbing parasitical plant, the flowers of which are thick, fleshy, and dull-coloured. The pod, bean, or fruits is very long and thin, exhaling a powerful odour, which has an intoxicating effect. When ripe the fruit yields form two to six drops of liquid, having a most powerful pungent, aromatic odor and soft spicy flavor.

VANILLA is a pod of a climbing plant, a native of Mexico and cultivated in various tropical regions. The pods are gathered before they are completely ripe, plunged into boiling water, then, before they are quite dry, shut in tins, where their aroma develops. The best quality pods, very smooth in flavour, are covered with a frost of vanilline crystals. Three kinds of vanilla are sold commercially: fine vanilla (the pods 8 to 12 inches long, the surface black, smooth and frosted); woody vanilla( the pods 5 to 8 inches long, reddish-brown, the surface dry and dull and not much frosted); vanillons (4 to 5 inches long, the pods thicker, flat and soft, almost always opened and rarely frosted, the scent strong and a little bitter).

Simon, Andre L. 1952. A Concise Encyclopaedia of Gastronomy. Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York.

Lat. Vanilla fragrans and V. planifolia; Fr. Vanille. The pod of an orchid plant; it is greatly valued for its aromatic scent and it is used as a flavoring agent in puddings, sauces and ices.

Grimes, William. 2004. Eating Your Worlds. Oxford University Press.

is the long podlike fruit of a tropical climbing orchid. It is an extract obtained from cured vanilla beans or produced artificially and used to flavor ice cream and other sweet foods. -
ORIGIN from Spanish vainilla 'pod,' diminutive of vaina 'sheath, pod,' from Latin vagina 'sheath'.

Igoe, Robert S. 1983. Dictionary of Food Ingredients. Van Nostrand and Reinhold Company.

is a flavorant obtained from the cured vanilla bean. The vanilla or vanilla bean refers to the fully grown, unripe, cured and dried fruit pod of the vanilla vine Vanilla planifolia. Those beans produced in Madagascar and its neighboring islands are termed "Bourbon beans"; those produced in Indonesia are termed "Java beans." The bean contains 1.5 to 3.0% vanillin, the most powerful flavorant in the cured bean, along with approximately 10% of other extractives. It is used in the comminuted form in "Philadelphia" type ice cream or as a vanilla flavorant in sauces or liquids by suspending the whole bean in them. Most vanilla flavoring is done with vanilla extract.

Hedrick, U.P. editor. 1919. Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants. Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for the Year 1919 II. Albany, J.B Lyon Company, State Printers. [References Available]

**VANILLA AROMATICA Orchideae, VANILLA**

is a plant of tropical America. This species is said to be cultivated in the isles of France and Bourbon. The pods constitute one of the vanillas of commerce.

VANILLA PLANIFOLIA, VANILLA

is a plant of West Indies and Mexico. The best vanilla is the produce of this species but several other South American species are also used. The product is employed very extensively for flavoring.

Ruth Winter.1978. A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives. Crown Publishers, Inc., New York.

A natural flavoring from the cured, full-grown but unripe fruit of the genus Vanilla grown in Mexico and the West Indies. Used in butter, butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, fruit, and vanilla flavorings for beverages, ice cream, ices, candy, baked goods, puddings, syrups, icings, and toppings. No known toxicity. GRAS ACCEPTABLE

Excerpts from Bender, Arnold E. 1990. Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology. Butterworths, Boston.

Extract of the vanilla bean, fruit of the orchid Aracus aromaticus (or Vanilla aromaticus) and related species. Fruits are allowed to ferment, when the beans become dark brown in color; they are crushed and extracted with alcohol.

Chief flavoring principle is vanillin or methyl protocatechuic aldehyde, but other substances present aid the flavor, and synthetic vanillin has not the true flavor.

Discovered in Mexico in 1571 and could not be grown elsewhere, because pollination could be effect only by a small Mexican bee, until artificial pollination was introduced in 1820. Main growing regions now Madagascar and Tahiti.

Vanilla sugar-ground bean mixed with sugar.
Ethyl vanillin-a synthetic substance, does not occur in the vanilla bean, incorrectly named- ethyl replaces methyl of vanillin; 3.5 times as strong in flavor, and more stable to storage than vanillin.

Spice Islands Cooking School. 1990(?) "A Study in Spice. The Ultimate Spice Guide.

VANILLA EXTRACT: PURE

Excerpts from

The exquisitely fragrant vanilla bean is the fruit of an orchid-like flower grown in the tropics. Legend has it the ancient Aztecs flavored their version of hot chocolate with vanilla. It is suitable in chocolate dishes, coffee, puddings, custards, ice creams, cakes, cookies and fruit desserts. It is also used in savory dishes such as veal and lobster. Cook only with pure vanilla extract: imitation vanilla may have an artificial aroma and an unpleasant aftertaste.

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