Bourbon vanilla

Ingredients

Raw material

• 5 kggreen Vanilla planifolia pods, harvested at 8–9 months, picked when the tip yellows
• Water, for killing

Equipment

• 1large pot and thermometer for the killing bath
• Woollen blankets and lined wooden sweating boxes
• Raffia mats or racks for sun drying
• Sealed wooden conditioning chests lined with waxed paper

For the kitchen, once cured

• 1cured pod per 250 ml cream or milk, split lengthways
• 500 mlvodka and 60 g pods, for extract

Directions

1. Pollinate by hand. Vanilla orchids outside Mexico have no natural pollinator, so every flower is opened with a bamboo splinter and pressed by hand at dawn, the technique Edmond Albius devised on Reunion in 1841. The pod takes eight to nine months to mature.
2. Harvest when the pod is still green but the blossom end has just turned yellow. Picked too early it will never develop aroma; too late it splits on the vine.
3. Kill the pods: dip them in water held at 63–65°C (145–150°F) for exactly 3 minutes. This halts vegetative growth and ruptures the cells so the enzymes can start working. Too hot and the pods cook; too cool and they ferment badly.
4. Sweat: drain and pack the hot pods straight into woollen blankets inside a wooden box, and hold them at 45–50°C (115–120°F) for 36–48 hours. They turn from green to chocolate brown and the first vanillin appears.
5. Sun-dry for 7–14 days: spread the pods on raffia mats in full sun for 2–3 hours in the middle of the day, then wrap them back into blankets to sweat overnight while still warm.
6. Slow-dry in the shade on racks for a further 1–2 months, in a ventilated room, turning and hand-massaging the pods every few days. Straightening and stretching them by hand is part of the grading.
7. Sort and grade by length, suppleness and moisture. Gourmet Bourbon pods are 16–20 cm, oily, flexible enough to wrap around a finger without cracking, at 30–35 percent moisture.
8. Condition: bundle the pods, wrap in waxed paper and close them into sealed wooden chests for 3–8 months. This is where the fine aroma actually develops, as enzymatic reactions build vanillin, anisaldehyde and hundreds of trace compounds.
9. To use, split a pod lengthways with a knife tip, scrape the seeds into warm cream or milk, add the empty pod, and infuse off the heat for at least 30 minutes. Dry the spent pod and bury it in sugar.

Technique

• Bourbon vanilla is a geographic name, from Ile Bourbon, the old name for Reunion. It covers Madagascar, Reunion and Comoros, and Madagascar’s SAVA region grows roughly 80 percent of the world crop.
• White crystals on a cured pod are givre, crystallised vanillin, and a mark of quality. Fuzzy grey growth is mould and means the pod was sealed too wet.
• Never store pods in the fridge. Cold makes them sweat and mould; keep them in an airtight glass jar in a cool cupboard, where they hold for two years.
• The whole cycle from flower to sale is close to eighteen months of hand labour, which is why vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world after saffron.

Substitutions

• Vanilla paste is the closest honest substitute in cooking, using 1 tsp per pod, and it keeps the seed specks.
• Tahitian vanilla (Vanilla tahitensis) is fruitier and more floral; it works in creams and ices but is wasted in long baking.
• Synthetic vanillin gives the single dominant note and none of the depth; use it in dark, heavily spiced bakes only.

Variations

• Madagascar Bourbon, the classic creamy, rum-and-cocoa profile.
• Vanille rouge, red vanilla, sun-cured longer for a darker, smokier character.
• Comoros and Reunion Bourbon pods, from the same species and cure, slightly drier and more woody.

History

Vanilla needs hand-pollination, a technique found in 1841 by Edmond Albius, an enslaved boy on Réunion; the SAVA region now grows most of the world’s supply.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bourbon vanilla?

Bourbon vanilla is a sauce & condiment from Madagascar: cured black vanilla pods, oily and fragrant, the island’s most famous export. Vanilla needs hand-pollination, a technique found in 1841 by Edmond Albius, an enslaved boy on Réunion; the SAVA region now grows most of the world’s supply.

How long does Bourbon vanilla take to make?

Bourbon vanilla takes 3 hr of daily handling of preparation and 4–9 months curing of cooking. The recipe makes 1 kg cured pods from about 5 kg green vanilla. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Bourbon vanilla?

Yes, within limits. Vanilla paste is the closest honest substitute in cooking, using 1 tsp per pod, and it keeps the seed specks. Tahitian vanilla (Vanilla tahitensis) is fruitier and more floral; it works in creams and ices but is wasted in long baking. Synthetic vanillin gives the single dominant note and none of the depth; use it in dark, heavily spiced bakes only.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bourbon vanilla?

Harvest when the pod is still green but the blossom end has just turned yellow. Picked too early it will never develop aroma; too late it splits on the vine.