Vanilla

Vanilla is a spice that comes from the seed pod (or 'bean') of the vanilla plant (Vanilla planifolia) that is grown in its native Mexico and throughout the tropics. It was particularly prized by the Aztecs for flavouring their royal drink xocolatl - a mixture of cocoa beans, vanilla and honey.

Vanilla Pod

The dark brown, slender beans are tough yet pliable and contain thousands of tiny black seeds. They have a highly fragrant and aromatic aroma and a rich, full and powerful flavour. Good quality vanilla should also have a frosting of crystals called givre, which contains the active ingredient 'vanillin' that produces the characteristic fragrance.

Both the seeds and the pod can be used as a flavouring, with seeds having a stronger flavour than the pod. The beans may be bruised or split and then left to infuse in milk or cream to produce custards, ice-cream, crème brûlée and crème caramel. The pod imparts a flowery, spicy aroma, and after use, it can be gently washed, dried and stored for re-use at a later date. Another handy way of using vanilla pods is to add them to a jar of sugar, topping up the jar as the vanilla-infused sugar is used.

There are also a number of easy-to-use substitutes for the vanilla pod; the best being pure vanilla essence or extract. This is made by percolating water and alcohol through chopped, cured beans, in a similar manner to making coffee. This produces a highly concentrated liquid, with just a few drops sufficient to flavour sweet sauces, custards, ice cream, puddings, cold sweets and cake fillings. Vanilla powder is made by grinding the dried vanilla beans into a fine powder; this holds its flavour better when heated than vanilla extract but is usually more difficult to find. Vanilla flavouring is synthetic and does not contain any vanilla at all, being produced from eugenol (clove oil), waste paper pulp, coal tar or an extract of the tonka bean called coumarin.