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Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, the crown of sweets
2020-08-10
Everyone likes vanilla. We are familiar with its taste from ice creams since childhood. It is hard to find sweets like cakes, puddings or cocktails without vanilla. However, many of these never contains real vanilla, as it is one of the most expensive spice in the world, only saffron is more expensive. Because of it, vanilla is so unique, we highly recommend using it in your kitchen.

The price of vanilla has risen sharply in the recent years. The tsunami in 2004 in Madagascar affected the vanilla plantations, and many counterfeits have appeared on the market. Therefore, we gathered some useful information about Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla: Why is it so expensive and how we can distinguish the real vanilla from the fake one?

THE WORLD FAME STARTED WITH AN AZTEC DRINK

Vanilla is the only edible herb in the orchid family. We consume it in dried, fermented form. The plant derives from Mexico, but the Aztecs started to use it first. It became popular in 1520 when Montezuma, the Aztec emperor offered a cocoa-honey-vanilla flavored drink to Cortes. The Spanish explorers liked the majestic smell and taste of the drink so much that they began to import vanilla.

Currently, you can find the World’s largest plantation in the Bourbon Islands and Madagascar gives 80% of the World’s total vanilla supply. We would also like to mention Indonesia, Comoros, Uganda, and India as they have significant vanilla plantations too. There are still vast areas in Mexico as well, and their biggest buyer is the World-famous company, Coca-Cola. These plantations are not only different in geographical terms, but different varieties of vanilla are presented in each location.

THE BEST QUALITY VANILLA

The word ‘vanilla’ came from the Spanish word ‘vaina’, which means pod. It refers to the shape and nature of the plant. The spice is 10-20 cms long and only 3-10 mms thick. It has a lustrous surface with longitudinal wrinkles. White vanilla crystals often appear on its surface, and that means high quality. Nowadays, the crop is still dusted by hand and its processing is quite special. Vanilla is so sensitive to the processes that it is only a matter of hours for the crop to dry out. So, the workers must act quickly to make sure the vanilla pods are embedded.

The unique and special aroma of vanilla is coming from a polyphenol called vanillin. Bourbon Vanilla contains the most amount of vanillin, therefore Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is the best quality vanilla in the World. In addition, there are two other variants, West Indian Vanilla, which has a much weaker aroma, and Tahitian Vanilla, which, by contrast, has a rich taste and, just like Madagascar Vanilla, is very costly.

FROM VANILLA BARS TO VANILLA SUGAR

  1. Vanilla stick is the pod itself. It is suitable for slightly flavoring food. Cook the entire pod and then place it in an airtight, dark place so it can be reused anytime. For more intense flavoring, cut the rod in half lengthwise, scrape out the tiny seeds from the inside, then add both the peel and seeds to the dish.

  1. To produce vanilla extract, cook the vanilla sticks in an alcoholic liquid. If you choose the extract for flavoring, add it to the food at the very end of cooking, otherwise this alcoholic delicacy tends to evaporate.
  2. You can also find vanilla sugar in every household and restaurant. But you can even make it for yourself! Place the vanilla sticks or the used shells in sugar for a long time. After a few days your own vanilla sugar is ready. Its taste is less complex than the vanilla extract or the vanilla stick, but it is still delicious. 1 bag of vanilla sugar can be replaced by about 1-2 teaspoons of extract or 2-4 centimeters of vanilla stick.

 THE JOLLY JOKER

Use it to flavor cakes, compotes, ice creams, creams, sweet foods, liqueurs, sweet soups, sauces. You can cook it with the dishes because it is a completely harmless spice, so people with stomach, bile, and kidney problems can use it at ease.

To preserve both the aroma and taste of vanilla for up to 24 months, it is important to store it in an airtight, dark, cool place. However, be careful with airtight packaging, vanilla can easily show mold!

If you enjoy experimenting with new things outside the kitchen, vanilla is also a good choice as an ingredient in perfumes, candles, or in any other beauty products. It is also said to have a desire-inducing effect.

The best quality Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is now available in the Alpaka webshop,
contact us with confidence!



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