Vanilla

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Vanilla Beans

We carry vanilla beans for the trade and wholesale market.

If you are interested in these versatile and wonderful products, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have reasonable pricing policy and order quantities for Bourbon and Tahitensis vanilla.

DESCRIPTION	LENGTH (CM)
Gourmet Planiforia (Bourbon)	15 - 17
Gourmet Planiforia (Bourbon)	18 - 22
Gourmet Tahitensis	12 - 14
Gourmet Tahitensis	15 - 18
Manufactured (extraction Grade) Tahitensis
Manufactured (extraction Grade) Planiforia
Vanilla Extract	10 L, 20 L, 30 L

CHOOSING VANILLA BEANS

Vanilla beans - those pricey, fragrant, dried seed-pods that offer no easy clue about how to use them - are native to tropical America. There are over 150 varieties of vanilla orchids (there are 27 varieties in South Florida alone), but only two species are used commercially to flavor and fragrance foods and beverages-- Bourbon and Tahitian.

Bourbon beans are botanically known as Vanilla planifolia or Vanilla fragrans and originally came from the Gulf Coast of Mexico. When grown in Mexico they're called Mexican beans. On the other hand, beans from the same plant stock are called Bourbon beans if they grow in Madagascar, Indonesia, and many other regions. The big exception is the beans from Tahiti. Even though Tahitian vanilla is now considered its own species, the original plant stock also came from Mexico.

Beans vary in flavor and fragrance when they are grown in different parts of the world. Soil and climate differences as well as methods of curing the beans imbue unique qualities in beans. Vanilla grown only 20 miles apart can have subtle but distinct differences in flavor and appearance.

Tips for choosing quality beans:

Premium beans, regardless of where they come from, should have a rich, full aroma, be oily to the touch, and sleek in appearance. Beans to avoid are those with very little scent, are smoky, brittle or dry, or are mildewed.

Bourbon beans are long and slender, with a very rich taste and smell, have thick, oily skin, contain an abundance of tiny seeds, and have a strong vanilla aroma. Bourbon beans from Madagascar and the Comoros are described as having a creamy, haylike, and sweet, with vanillin overtones. Bourbon beans from other regions will be similar if they are picked at peak ripeness and are properly cured.

Mexican beans are very similar to Bourbon beans BUT have a more mellow, smooth, quality and a spicy, woody fragrance.

Tahitian beans are usually shorter, plumper, and contain a higher oil and water content than Bourbon beans. The skin is thinner, contain fewer seeds, and the aroma is fruity & floral. Described as smelling like licorice, cherry, prunes, or wine.

All three types of vanilla are equally good to use though their flavors are quite different. I suggest that you experiment to determine which flavor you most like. Or you may find, as I have, that you will choose beans that best pair with the food or beverage you are preparing.

WHAT TO USE

The entire bean can be used as it is filled with flavour and, in fact, the pod has more flavour than the seeds. Cut the bean and use a portion at a time or you can use the whole bean, depending on the depth of flavour required. To cut open a bean, lay it flat on a cutting surface. Holding one end of the bean to the surface, carefully slice the bean open length-wise.

When separating the bean, thousands of tiny seeds are exposed. This step shows why it is technically a seed-pod rather than a bean.By cutting the bean open before placing it in a liquid, more of the surface of the bean is exposed, and the greater the flavouring properties. You can scrape the seeds from the pod before removing the bean if you choose.

Vanilla beans can usually be used several times depending on how strenuously you've used them. For instance, if you've placed a vanilla bean in a pitcher of lemonade or a container of mulled cider or wine, the bean will still contain a lot of flavor when the beverage is gone.

However, if you soak a vanilla bean in a hot cream mixture then scrape out the seeds and pith, you will probably still have some flavor left in the pod, but it won't be real strong.

Rinse and dry the bean pieces after using them. If there is only the pod left, or, if the bean has been used several times for flavouring beverages let the pieces dry, and retire them to the sugar or coffee jar as they will exude a delicate flavour and fragrance for some time to come.

Beans that have been used once or twice can also be ground up and used to add additional flavour to ice creams, cookies, and many other foods.

STORING

Do not throw out dry or withered beans. They will probably re-hydrate in a warm liquid and will still contain flavour. It is not recommend to cut open very dry beans until they are rehydrated, as it's easy to have the knife slip.Grind them up and use them in a recipe that calls for ground beans.

Vanilla beans will keep indefinitely in a cool, dark place in an airtight container. Don't refrigerate beans as this can cause them to harden and crystallize. In the humid tropics where beans are grown, they are wrapped in oiled or waxed paper and stored in tin boxes. In a cooler, drier climate, keep beans wrapped in plastic in an airtight plastic tub or glass jar. In a hot humid climate, this isn't a good idea as beans can mildew easily, especially if additional moisture collects in the plastic.

Bourbon beans may develop a frosting of natural vanillin crystals if they are kept them for a while. This usually occurs over time and not when the beans are first cured and dried. Called givre in French (which means light frost), these crystals indicate that the beans are high in natural vanillin and are of very good quality. These crystals are quite edible and very flavourful. If you are uncertain whether the beans are covered with crystals or mildewed, take them into the sunlight. The crystals are similar to mineral crystals and will reflect the sun's rays, creating the colours of the rainbow. Mildew, on the other hand, will be dull and flat in the light, and may also smell bad. If the bean is mildewed, throw it away as the mildew will spread to uninfected beans.

Foodservice professionals, retailers with bulk or prepared foods and interested agents can contact us at trade_enquiries@tawc2us.com

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ABOUT VANILLA

Vanilla is the only edible fruit of the orchid family, the largest family of flowering plants in the world.

It's a tropical orchid, and there are about 150 varieties of vanilla, though only two types - Bourbon and Tahitian -- are used commercially.

Vanilla grows within the 20-degree band either side of the Equator and is native to the Americas. Vanilla planifolia (also known as fragrans) grows on the Atlantic Gulf side of Mexico from Tampico around to the north eastern tip of South America, and from Colima, Mexico to Ecuador on the Pacific side. It also grows throughout the Caribbean.

The Totonaca people of the Gulf coast of Mexico were probably the first people to cultivate vanilla. They taught many other indigenous people how to grow vanilla during Meso-American times, and they continue to cultivate the fruit that they consider was given to them by the gods.

Vanilla first left Mexico in the early 1500s bound for Spain. Originally believed only to have value as a perfume. It wasn't until Cortes arrived in 1519 that the Spaniards learned it was also a flavour.

Until the late 19th century, Mexico had the monopoly on growing vanilla, but now Madagascar and Indonesia grow the majority of the world's crop. Other countries growing vanilla include Guatemala, Costa Rica, Uganda, China, India, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, and the Philippines.

Vanilla is the world's most labour-intensive agricultural crop, which is why it's so expensive. It takes up to three years after the vines are planted before the first flowers appear. The fruits, which resemble big green beans, must remain on the vine for nine months to completely develop their signature aroma. However, when the beans are harvested, they have neither flavour nor fragrance. They develop these distinctive properties during the curing process.

When the beans are harvested, they are treated with hot water or heat and are then placed in the sun every day for weeks-to-months until they have shrunk to 20% of their original size. Upon the completion of this process, the beans are sorted for size and quality. Then they will rest for a month or two to finish developing their full flavour and fragrance. By the time they are shipped around the world, their aroma is quite remarkable!

Because of their value, growers branded the individual beans when they were green and the markings remained after they were dried. Whenever someone suspected their beans were stolen, they could determine by their distinctive tattoo whether or not the beans were theirs.

Bourbon vanilla is named for the islands now known as Reunion and the Comoros, but in the early 19th century were called the Bourbon Islands. The Bourbon vanilla plant stock originally came from Mexico. Bourbon vanilla and Mexican vanilla are basically the same.

Tahitensis (Tahitian vanilla) also originally comes from Mexican plant stock, but it mutated at some point in the last fifty to sixty years and became its own species. It is significantly different from Bourbon and Mexican vanilla.

About 1400 tons of dried vanilla is produced worldwide each year. Worldwide interest in natural vanilla has grown considerably in the past several years, however, and the current annual demand is for 2200 tons of vanilla.

Vanilla is not only used as a flavour in foods and beverages, but also in perfumes. It's also used in many industrial applications such as a flavouring for medicines and as a fragrance to conceal the strong smell of rubber tires, paint, and cleaning products.

The dairy industry uses a large percentage of the world's vanilla in ice creams, yoghurt (fresh and frozen), and other flavoured dairy products.

Because vanilla is so much in demand, and because it's so expensive, synthetics are often used instead of natural vanilla. In fact, 97% of vanilla used as a flavour and fragrance is synthetic.