Vanilla I

I love pineapple, I love ginger, vanilla, chocolate, and many other tropical and subtropical plants, edible and decorative. But there is a big problem for the grow at home gardener in much of the United States, we just don't have the right climate. So is there any hope? Any chance of having fresh and local bananas in Oregon? Yes, there is, but on a very small scale. That being said, in urban gardening, you don't generally have a lot of room to begin with. Over the next few weeks, with one or two exceptions, I will be focusing on growing tropicals in temperate climates (like Oregon).

So, to start us off today, vanilla (Vanilla planifolia, V. spp.). The first tweet I ever made chronicled the origin of the word “vanilla”, something that I hope everyone will always remember (mostly because I find it amusing). It comes (through Spanish) from the Latin word “vagina”. Vagina, in Latin means “sheath”, and in this case, it's in reference to the pod being a sheath to the seeds, from which the flavor we know as vanilla comes from. Vanilla is the third most expensive spice in the world with prices generally floating around $60 per pound (~130USD/kg).

I am reminded of when I wanted to try vanilla when I was little. My mom would often use vanilla flavoring for baking in cakes, and I want to emphasize the word “flavoring”. Vanillin, the chemical that we all recognize as vanilla's flavor, is easily created in a laboratory, and often is for cost reasons. She, to this day, believes that vanillin from a bottle is what vanilla tastes like. She told me that it was awful and disgusting, that she had tried it when she was little, and that I would dislike it. She was right, it tasted awful, but not because vanilla is gross, but moreso because vanilla extract is kinda awful tasting. To get the extract you usually put the pods, after you've removed the seeds, into a strong, flavorless alcohol. The flavor is maintained, but you also get the alcohol, and depending on what kind it is and the quality, it can vary the flavor of the extract. The vanillin in a bottle is more or less the same thing: laboratory flavoring suspended in alcohol.

I tried, for the first time, true vanilla a few months ago. The seed paste has a earthy and vanilla-y flavor. It's really good, and despite it's high cost per pound, the price per bean is reasonably low since each bean only weighs a fraction of an ounce. The best price I've seen is from New Seasons Market, who generally prices at about $1.70 per bean. These are Madagascar vanilla beans. They have an excellent flavor, though I've been told that Mexican beans have the best flavor, due in part to Vanilla being native to Mexico. Beans from the homeland will generally cost you more. For native beans, I like purchasing from Penzey's Spices, which will run you about $2.60 per bean.

Commercially the biggest exporters of vanilla are Mexico, Madagascar, Indonesia, and China, however they are not the only exporters. I have heard from a friend who traveled in Mexico and South America that the plantations there have armed guards to protect the fields. It is a very valuable crop. For anyone wanting to grow it, it could potentially be a very lucrative business. But there are reasons why it's so expensive.

And they are... going to be described in my next write-up, as well as details about my own attempts at vanilla cultivation. Have a wonderful week everyone!

For a great information on vanilla, check out Wikipedia's page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla