![]() “Over time,” writes Kye Ameden at King Arthur Baking Company, “the oils and small particles from the ingredient impart aroma and flavor into each spoonful of sugar.” And when it comes to infusing granulated sugar with vanilla’s flavor, the marriage seems to be a more superficial one. Most are more soluble in alcohol than in water, while some are more soluble still in fats or oils. Extraction Medium: The volatile molecules that define flavors have different solubility characteristics.Extraction requires precise heating: too low of a temperature and the flavor volatiles won’t be pulled out from the vanilla beans too high of a temperature and some of the volatiles will be undesirably altered or destroyed. Temperature: As Stella points out, most homemade “extracts” are in reality imprecisely flavored vodka.That’s a lot of vanilla beans―25 beans for each liter of liquid―and judging from many recipes available online, most homemade “extracts” include a lower proportion of beans. Concentration: The FDA requires a minimum 1 part vanilla beans for every 10 parts ethyl mixture (ethyl alcohol, at least 35%, mixed with water) by mass.(Artificial vanilla flavoring, on the other hand, is usually one-note, made with vanillin synthesized in labs from guaiacol, found in a wood oil called creosote, or from lignin, a by-product of the paper-making industry. Tahitian vanilla beans have a much more delicate character-more floral and nutty than tarry and smoky-than the other species. The exact flavor depends partly on the species of vanilla bean, of which there are three that are widely cultivated: common ( Vanilla planifolia labeled Mexican, Bourbon, Madagascar, and Indonesian), Tahitian ( Vanilla x tahitensis), and Pompona ( Vanilla pompona-a rare Central and South American species). In addition to vanillin, cured vanilla beans can also emit compounds with floral, anise, smoky, tarry, creamy, and nutty notes. ![]() The primary compound that our brain associates with vanilla is vanillin. Our brain interprets the molecules to which our nose’s smell receptors and our tongue’s taste buds are exposed. The flavor and aroma of vanilla are the concerted effect of some two hundred volatile molecules (a note to my fellow non-chemists out there: molecules called “volatile” aren’t wild and unpredictable they just readily evaporate under normal conditions). ![]() ![]() By the end of all this, the volatile molecules that define vanilla’s distinctive aroma and flavor have been freed within the skin, the seeds, and their molasses-like fluid, and cell damage has changed their color from green to dark brown. After this blast of heat that effectively kills the pods and kick-starts the curing process, they’re submitted to intermittent sun exposure and storage over the course of weeks or months. According to Shawn Gavin, founder of the spice company Slofoodgroup, hot water (over 140☏) is by far the most common method because it is inexpensive steaming is effective but requires costly equipment and the sun is, of course, the least controllable and therefore the least relied upon. The goal of this step is to cut short the ripening process, during which sugars and amino acids necessary for curing and flavor development would naturally be exhausted. The barely ripe pods are shocked with high heat from hot water, steam, or the sun. They started life as green pods resembling overgrown green beans and sprouting along one of three species of orchid vines in the Vanilla genus. Those slender, brown-black, wrinkled vanilla beans filled with miniscule sticky black seeds are actually cured, semi-dried fruits. In the US, vanilla’s flavor (in its various forms, which we’ll get into shortly) is mainly sought for ice cream―a lot of ice cream―and other sweet treats, with a tiny share ending up in savory dishes. ![]() Vanilla hasn’t outrun its tight association with chocolate, but it does often venture out on its own. Vanilla complemented these Mesoamericans’ chocolate drinks in pre-Columbian times, and the “beans” eventually made their way to Europe on Spanish ships in the eighteenth century. The enchanting fruit of the vanilla orchid first cast its spell on the Maya, Totonac, and Aztec peoples of its native Mexico at least several hundred years ago.
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