Vanilla

The seed pod of an orchid that has to be pollinated by hand outside its native Mexico, and then cured for months — the second most expensive spice after saffron.

Where it comes from

Vanilla planifolia is a climbing orchid from Mexico and Central America, where it is pollinated by specific native bees. Everywhere else it must be pollinated by hand, flower by flower, in a window of a few hours — a technique worked out by Edmond Albius, an enslaved twelve-year-old on Réunion, in 1841. That single discovery is why vanilla could be grown commercially at all.

The green pod has no smell. The vanilla aroma is created by curing — killing, sweating, drying and conditioning over several months — during which enzymes release vanillin and hundreds of other compounds. Most vanilla now comes from Madagascar, and prices swing violently with its cyclones.

Varieties

• Madagascar / Bourbon — The standard. Rich, creamy, straightforwardly vanilla.
• Mexican — The original. More spiced, with a faint clove note.
• Tahitian — A different species. Floral, fruity, less vanillin — better uncooked.
• Vanilla extract — Beans macerated in alcohol and water. Real extract carries the full range of compounds.
• Vanilla paste — Extract with seeds and a thickener. Convenient, and the seeds are visible.
• Synthetic vanillin — One compound out of several hundred. Adequate in a strongly flavoured bake, obvious in a custard.

In the kitchen

Both parts of the pod matter. The seeds are visible and mildly flavoured; the pod itself carries far more aroma, which is why a scraped pod should go into the milk and be infused rather than thrown away.

Vanilla is volatile and long baking drives much of it off. In a custard or ice cream it goes in with the hot liquid and is left to infuse off the heat.

A spent pod, dried, still perfumes sugar for months.

Vanilla is tagged on 32 dishes from 25 countries in the atlas. These notes are written from general knowledge and carry no per-fact citation — see About.