Vanilla is a fragrant perennial clinging vine of the orchid family. Vanilla fragrant, plant species, general information

Fragrant rue (Ruta graveolens L.) Perennial grayish-green shrub with a peculiar aroma. The stems are numerous, erect, branched, woody at the base, up to 70 cm high. The leaves are bluish-green, petiolate, somewhat fleshy, alternate, double- and

Vanilla Vanilla is a perennial vine belonging to the orchid family. The Latin name of the plant is of Spanish origin and translated into Russian means “pod”. Its homeland is Central America and Mexico. As a garden crop

About 100 species are known, distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres.

It should be noted that out of the entire variety of species, only three are used, and the quality directly depends on the geographical location of the plant:
Vanilla planifolia – produces several vanilla cultivars best quality, with long pods 20-25 centimeters.
Vanilla pompona – short pods of lower quality.
Vanilla tahitensis - Thai vanilla. It is distinguished by a reddish-brown color, the length of the pods is 12-14 cm. As a spice, it is the least valuable of those listed.

The best varieties grow in Mexico. The next best quality is the so-called Bourbon or Reunion - from the name of the island where it grows. Its fruits are a third smaller than those of the Mexican variety, and the color is darker. A similar species grows on the islands of Java and Ceylon. Mauritian vanilla from the Seychelles consists of cylindrical pods about 15 cm long. It is lighter than Mexican vanilla and has a weak aroma.
Other types of vanilla are considered decorative.

A little about the history of the discovery of vanilla. It is known that vanilla served as a valuable spice among the Aztecs long before the conquest of their territory by the Spaniards. The first people to grow vanilla were the Totonac people, who lived in what is now Mexico, off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It was they who taught other South American tribes to cultivate the fragrant pods, which they considered a divine gift.

Later, the Aztecs paid vanilla tribute to the Spaniards. By that time, Europeans had already recognized the taste of the drink made from cocoa beans. And the first European to taste vanilla was Columbus. It was to him that the Aztec ruler presented a cup of chocolate with vanilla, which was added to the drink to improve the taste. I liked the drink, the Spaniards brought it to Europe, bringing vanilla with it. The new spice was called “vanilla.” The word comes from the Spanish Venilla - a pod, which in turn is a diminutive form of the Spanish version of the Latin word Vagin.

At the very beginning of Vanilla's European history, the spice was used exclusively to flavor cocoa. But later they began to use it to flavor baked goods. Europeans also added vanilla seeds to tobacco and smoked or chewed it and considered it a magical drug. German researcher Bizar Zimmermann found that vanilla is an exceptionally strong aphrodisiac. In the 18th century, vanilla was credited with healing stomach ulcers and being a good antidote.

There is a legend about the origin of vanilla.
Once upon a time, in pre-vanilla times, in the city of Papantla (which would later be called “fragrant”) a girl of unprecedented beauty was born. Moreover, she was born into a difficult family - her father was the ruler Tenitsli the Third. The princess was so incredibly beautiful that her parents could not even bear the thought that she would have to be given as a wife to a mortal man. Therefore, the girl, by the will of her ambitious mother and father, became the priestess of the harvest goddess Tonoakayohua, on whose favor the survival of the entire people depended. The duties of the Morning Star (as the royal family named their daughter) included decorating the temple and making sacrifices.
Once in the forest, where the girl went to buy flowers for the goddess, she was seen by a young prince named Young Deer, who instantly and passionately fell in love. He knew that he could pay with his life even for watching the priestess, but he could not refuse the pleasure of seeing his beloved. Soon he hatched a plan to kidnap the Star. When she once again came to pick flowers, the Deer, who was hiding in the bushes, jumped out of his hiding place, confessed his feelings, grabbed the princess by the hand and dragged her away into the tropical forest. At first the girl did not understand what was going on, but she soon became imbued with a mutual feeling and willingly allowed herself to be kidnapped.
However, when they reached the mountains, a terrible monster came out of the cave to meet them. His fiery breath forced the lovers to return back to the road, where the priests of the tribe were already waiting for them, offended by the unworthy behavior of their colleague. The servants of Tonoakayohua seized the young lovers and cut off their heads. The priests took out the trembling hearts and placed them on the altar of the formidable goddess so that she would not be too angry, and, as unnecessary, they threw the bodies into a deep crevice.
Some time later, in the place where the blood of the Deer and the Star was shed, the grass began to dry. In its place, an unknown bush began to grow at fantastic speed. In a few days it reached the height of a man and was covered with dense foliage. Soon a bindweed grew next to the bush, which touchingly twined itself around the branches. The plants looked like tender lovers locked in an embrace. Everyone watched this phenomenon in amazement, and then one morning flowers appeared on the vine, looking like a young woman dreaming of her lover. After they bloomed and dried, thin graceful pods appeared in their place. They gave off an incomparable aroma that the best incense from the Tonoakayohua Temple could not compare with.
The priests realized that the blood of the young princess and her groom was reborn into a powerful, dense bush and a delicate orchid. Both plants came to be considered sacred, and vanilla was called the “nectar of the gods” and has since been brought as a gift to the goddess of the harvest.

The historical homeland of vanilla is the tropical forests of Eastern Mexico. And now it is cultivated in different parts of the globe - in many countries of the Caribbean (Jamaica, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique), in the tropical part South America(especially in Guiana), Ceylon, Malaysia, Madagascar, Reunion, Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius and Polynesia - Tahiti and Hawaii. Moreover, 50% of all world production is concentrated on the islands of Madagascar and Reunion.

The liana grows very quickly, up to a meter per month, under good conditions. And, as you read in the introduction, it took root quite easily in other parts of the world. But this was not enough. It wasn't just mature plants that were needed, it was necessary to get pods. But this turned out to be much more difficult.
The vanilla ovary ripens very slowly - 7-9 months after fertilization (almost like a human embryo). But getting this ovary is even more difficult than waiting for the fruit to ripen.

The vanilla flower is pollinated by bees of the genus Melipona, which live only in Mexico, and by one species of hummingbird. But with their help you can pollinate only 5%!!! colors. And the Mexicans got used to pollinating plants by hand. This is done by children who can process about a thousand flowers in a day. The vanilla flower only blooms for ONE day. Flowers open in the afternoon and close at night. And you need to have time to pollinate the flower in half a day. In the 19th century, Europeans discovered the secret of pollination, after which vanilla began to be collected in various parts of the globe.

Vanilla fruits are picked unripe, when they are still odourless. This is usually done manually - using scissors. And to obtain the “spice” they perform a whole ritual! The pods are immersed in hot (80-85°C) water for 20 seconds. They are then wrapped in wool blankets and stored at 60°C. After a day, they are taken out into the sun for exactly one hour. The next day - for an hour and ten minutes. And so on for a month, increasing the time by 10 minutes every day. The pods are starting to acquire Brown color, a spicy, bitter taste appears. The pods are then dried in the shade in the open air until white plaque. No more than 1/3 of the original weight remains, and, most importantly, during this entire month of working with vanilla, only the peasant’s intuition influences the quality of the final product.

In addition to growing, harvesting and preparation, storage also affects quality. Real vanilla, properly prepared for use and storage, is simply amazing in its durability. There is a known case when, after 36 years of storage, the spice retained all its properties. But if storage rules are violated, the pods become fragile, lose their elasticity, crack, and lose their color. At least half of the properties of vanilla are lost.

Remember that high-quality pods should be soft, elastic, slightly curled, oily to the touch, dark brown in color with small, barely noticeable, white crystals on the surface. And depending on the deviation from the standard, vanilla is divided into 8 grades (exquisite long, fine long, quite fine, good, etc.).

I think that all of the above explains well the high cost of this spice.

Please note that real vanilla is expensive. And what we usually sell in stores is not vanilla, but vanillin. In technical reference books they wrote about it as follows: “a by-product in the production of rosin from pine resin.” A cheap surrogate was invented simultaneously in England (Gobley, 1876), in Germany (Tiemann and Germany 1874, 1876) and in France (de Leer, 1891). And what we buy under the guise of vanilla sugar is a mixture of synthetic vanillin powder and powdered sugar.

The smell of vanillin lacks the subtlety of the aroma of real vanilla, but it is so sharp and strong that one gram of it is replaced by fifty grams of vanilla sticks.

What is contained in these pods that gives such an ordinary-looking plant such properties?

“The fruits contain the glycoside glucovanillin, essential oil (0.5-0.8%), mucous and tannins. During fermentation, glucovanillin is broken down into vanillin and glucose. The main aromatic substance of vanilla is vanillin-4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde. Its content ranges from 0.75-2.9% (up to 12.5%).”
Smart. It may not be clear to everyone, but it is accurate.

In folk medicine, vanilla is used for fever, dyspepsia, chlorosis, nervous system disorders, mental illness, drowsiness, and rheumatism. Used as an aphrodisiac.

Vanilla is practically the most subtle spice used in cooking. It is added to all possible sweet dishes: jam, cookies, pastries, cakes, muffins, gingerbread cookies, Easter cakes, sweet pies, puddings, curd products, creams, jelly, compotes, mousses, cocoa, dessert dishes made from fruit, sweet fruit and dairy products. soups, sweet sauces, jellies.

In addition to using vanilla in cooking, it is actively used in perfumery, aromatherapy, love magic.

Vanilla is considered a plant of Jupiter, the element is fire, the aura is warm.
Vanilla is most actively used in magic for two purposes - love potions and restorative ones. Vanilla increases vitality, improves mental abilities, and is used in rituals aimed at gaining strength. Vanilla oil has a stimulating effect on women, which is what is used in the preparation of love potions. The aroma of this spice relieves irritation, brings a feeling of spiritual comfort, and soothes. Whole beans are added to love talismans or worn on the body (for the same purposes).
The magic of vanilla corresponds to the concept of purity, feminine attractiveness and affection.

• Vanilla planifolia - produces several cultivated varieties of vanilla of the best quality, with long pods of 20-25 centimeters.
• Vanilla pompona – short pods of lower quality.
• Vanilla tahitensis - Thai vanilla. It is distinguished by a reddish-brown color, the length of the pods is 12-14 cm. As a spice, it is the least valuable of those listed.

Other types of vanilla are considered decorative

At the very beginning of Vanilla's European history, the spice was used exclusively to flavor cocoa. But later they began to use it to flavor baked goods. Europeans also added vanilla seeds to tobacco and smoked or chewed it and considered it a magical drug. German researcher Bizar Zimmermann found that vanilla is an exceptionally strong aphrodisiac. In the 18th century, vanilla was credited with healing stomach ulcers and being a good antidote.

There is a legend about the origin of vanilla. I will present it in the form in which I found it on the vastness of our network:
Once upon a time, in pre-vanilla times, in the city of Papantla (which would later be called “fragrant”) a girl of unprecedented beauty was born. Moreover, she was born into a difficult family - her father was the ruler Tenitsli the Third. The princess was so incredibly beautiful that her parents could not even bear the thought that she would have to be given as a wife to a mortal man. Therefore, the girl, by the will of her ambitious mother and father, became the priestess of the harvest goddess Tonoakayohua, on whose favor the survival of the entire people depended. The duties of the Morning Star (as the royal family named their daughter) included decorating the temple and making sacrifices.
Once in the forest, where the girl went to buy flowers for the goddess, she was seen by a young prince named Young Deer, who instantly and passionately fell in love. He knew that he could pay with his life even for watching the priestess, but he could not refuse the pleasure of seeing his beloved. Soon he hatched a plan to kidnap the Star. When she once again came to pick flowers, the Deer, who was hiding in the bushes, jumped out of his hiding place, confessed his feelings, grabbed the princess by the hand and dragged her away into the tropical forest. At first the girl did not understand what was going on, but she soon became imbued with a mutual feeling and willingly allowed herself to be kidnapped.
However, when they reached the mountains, a terrible monster came out of the cave to meet them. His fiery breath forced the lovers to return back to the road, where the priests of the tribe were already waiting for them, offended by the unworthy behavior of their colleague. The servants of Tonoakayohua seized the young lovers and cut off their heads. The priests took out the trembling hearts and placed them on the altar of the formidable goddess so that she would not be too angry, and, as unnecessary, they threw the bodies into a deep crevice.
Some time later, in the place where the blood of the Deer and the Star was shed, the grass began to dry. In its place, an unknown bush began to grow at fantastic speed. In a few days it reached the height of a man and was covered with dense foliage. Soon a bindweed grew next to the bush, which touchingly twined itself around the branches. The plants looked like tender lovers locked in an embrace. Everyone watched this phenomenon in amazement, and then one morning flowers appeared on the vine, looking like a young woman dreaming of her lover. After they bloomed and dried, thin graceful pods appeared in their place. They gave off an incomparable aroma that the best incense from the Tonoakayohua Temple could not compare with.
The priests realized that the blood of the young princess and her groom was reborn into a powerful, dense bush and a delicate orchid. Both plants came to be considered sacred, and vanilla was called the “nectar of the gods” and has since been brought as a gift to the goddess of the harvest.

The historical homeland of vanilla is the tropical forests of Eastern Mexico. And now it is cultivated in different parts of the globe - in many Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique), in the tropical part of South America (especially in Guiana), in Ceylon, Malaysia, Madagascar, Reunion, Seychelles, Comoros islands, on the island of Mauritius and in Polynesia - in Tahiti and Hawaii. Moreover, 50% of all world production is concentrated on the islands of Madagascar and Reunion.

The liana grows very quickly, up to a meter per month, under good conditions. And, as you read in the introduction, it took root quite easily in other parts of the world. But this was not enough. It wasn't just mature plants that were needed, it was necessary to get pods. But this turned out to be much more difficult.
The vanilla ovary ripens very slowly - 7-9 months after fertilization (almost like a human embryo). But getting this ovary is even more difficult than waiting for the fruit to ripen.

The vanilla flower is pollinated by bees of the genus Melipona, which live only in Mexico, and by one species of hummingbird. But with their help you can pollinate only 5%!!! colors. And the Mexicans got used to pollinating plants by hand. This is done by children who can process about a thousand flowers in a day. The vanilla flower only blooms for ONE day. Flowers open in the afternoon and close at night. And you need to have time to pollinate the flower in half a day. In the 19th century, Europeans discovered the secret of pollination, after which vanilla began to be collected in various parts of the globe.

Vanilla fruits are picked unripe, when they are still odourless. This is usually done manually - using scissors. And to obtain the “spice” they perform a whole ritual! The pods are immersed in hot (80-85°C) water for 20 seconds. They are then wrapped in wool blankets and stored at 60°C. After a day, they are taken out into the sun for exactly one hour. The next day - for an hour and ten minutes. And so on for a month, increasing the time by 10 minutes every day. The pods begin to turn brown and a spicy, bitter taste appears. The pods are then dried in the shade in the open air until a white coating appears. No more than 1/3 of the original weight remains, and, most importantly, during this entire month of working with vanilla, only the peasant’s intuition influences the quality of the final product.

In addition to growing, harvesting and preparation, storage also affects quality. Real vanilla, properly prepared for use and storage, is simply amazing in its durability. There is a known case when, after 36 years of storage, the spice retained all its properties. But if storage rules are violated, the pods become fragile, lose their elasticity, crack, and lose their color. At least half of the properties of vanilla are lost.

Remember that high-quality pods should be soft, elastic, slightly curled, oily to the touch, dark brown in color with small, barely noticeable, white crystals on the surface. And depending on the deviation from the standard, vanilla is divided into 8 grades (exquisite long, fine long, quite fine, good, etc.).

I think that all of the above explains well the high cost of this spice.

The smell of vanillin lacks the subtlety of the aroma of real vanilla, but it is so sharp and strong that one gram of it is replaced by fifty grams of vanilla sticks.

What is contained in these pods that gives such an ordinary-looking plant such properties?

You can see how vanilla grows in nature in tropical rainforests: Madagascar is a vanilla paradise (it accounts for 60% of the world's spice production); the spice is also grown in South America, Indonesia, China, and Mexico. The plant is a perennial vine belonging to the Orchid family. Among other varieties of vanilla, Mexican is considered the best, as it is the largest, as well as Bourbon and Ceylon.

general description

The liana can rise to a height of up to 15 m, entwining any tree. Its trunk is quite thin and practically does not give off branches. The fleshy leaves of the plant have a characteristic appearance: long, flat, oval-shaped with a pointed apex. They form directly on the stem between the nodes. The leaves are attached to the bark of the host tree by shoots growing from the back of the leaf.

Inflorescences are formed on shortened stalks coming from the axils of the leaves. Each cluster is formed from 15 flowers with 6 petals, in one of which, wrapped in a tube, the pistil and stamen are hidden. The petals are greenish-yellow and have white tops. The inflorescences emit quite pungent aromas. Vanilla flowers bloom in the third year of the plant's life and bloom for only one day.

The vine has big problems with pollination. Under natural conditions, it is pollinated by only one species of hummingbird and bees of the genus Melipona, which live only in Mexico. On plantations, flowers are pollinated by hand with a special brush, but with this technology, only 50% of flowers produce an ovary.

Despite the fact that vanilla itself grows quickly - up to one meter per month, the ovary is formed only after 7-9 months from the moment of fertilization. In place of the flower, a green vanilla fruit is formed. Narrow oblong cylinders grow up to 25 cm in length and 1.5 cm in width. Inside the pods there is a pulp where vanilla seeds rest, which look like many black grains. The yellow color of the fruit indicates that it is time to harvest. Interestingly, they were once used both as medicine and as money.

Officially, 103 species of plants are known, most of them are decorative. To obtain the spice, only three types of vanilla are bred:

• Vanilla planifolia – flat-leaved. This is the most common type of plant, since the highest quality spice is obtained from its fruits up to 25 cm long;
• Vanilla tahitensis – Tahitian. Her red-browns have an exotic floral scent, enriched with notes of fruit with a subtle hint of tobacco. They contain less vanillin, which is why their fruits are cheaper. This type is used by confectioners to make sweets, ice cream and creams, and perfumers to create compositions with sweet notes;
• Vanilla pompona - Guadalupe - is native to Central and South America. The product obtained from its pods is valued even less. The smell of Guadeloupe vanilla is similar to that of Tahitian vanilla. Vanilla pompona is used only in perfumery and in the production of flavored tobacco.

Home breeding

The vanilla flower looks just like its famous orchid relatives: it is delicate and charming. It is quite possible to grow Vanilla planifolia at home with proper care.

A piece of vine 30-31 cm long is used as planting material. The cutting is taken when the plant is dormant, that is, does not bloom or bear fruit.

Preparation for landing:

• The vine should lie without water for several hours;
• for 15 minutes it is completely immersed in water;
• take out and place in water with the bottom down for 5 days.

The cuttings are planted in a pot with a substrate prepared from equal parts:

• perlite;
• pine bark;
• coconut fiber;
• leaf soil;
• fern roots.

The last two ingredients are soaked in water for a day and washed thoroughly. You can also mix one part charcoal and five parts of crushed pine bark, or simply purchase a ready-made mixture for tropical plants.

Planting in a pot:

• drainage is laid on the bottom of the pot: polystyrene foam or broken brick. A layer of soil is poured on top, then there is a drainage layer again and again soil:
• Before planting vines, the soil is generously moistened;
• then the cutting is deepened into the soil. With a plant length of 30 cm, 5-6 cm are allocated under the rhizome;
• The part of the cutting remaining on the surface is covered with a bag. This creates the warm, humid climate that the orchid needs. The cutting will spend up to 15 days in the greenhouse. Every day the bag is removed for 15-20 minutes.

If within two weeks the vine begins to produce growth, then the package can be removed and further cared for as an adult plant.

Like any tropical inhabitant, vanilla requires a certain room regime:

• in summer the temperature should reach +28…+30ºС, at night +26ºС, in winter +20ºС;
• in warm months, humidity is provided at a level of up to 90%, in the autumn-winter period up to 75%. Such conditions are ensured by regular spraying from a spray bottle, installing a humidifier or placing the pot in a bowl of water;
• the plant is kept on window sills, on the south side, but during peak hours (at the hottest time) it needs to be provided with shade;
• the room where vanilla is kept is ventilated daily;
• Watering is permissible only with water whose temperature reaches +30…+45ºС. Water must pass freely through the soil;
• Every spring vanilla needs to be transplanted into new soil. Then it is simply cut back to the level of the aerial roots. To prevent it from becoming too tall, the stem is also cut off from above.

With proper care, vanilla will delight you with healthy foliage and two to three dozen buds that will bloom one after another over several weeks.

To the question What is the plant whose fruit is vanilla? given by the author Eurovision the best answer is

wikipedia(c)
pod... x)

Answer from White angel[newbie]
vanilla plant

Answer from Qui2ble[guru]
Vanilla (lat. Vanilla) is a genus of perennial vines of the Orchidaceae family, the fruits (pods) of which are also called vanilla and are used as a spice.
The Latin generic name comes from Spanish. vainilla - pod.
More than a hundred types of vanilla are known, of which only three are cultivated for the production of spice:
Vanilla planifolia - produces several cultivated varieties of vanilla of the best quality, with long pods of 20-25 centimeters;
Vanilla pompona - short pods of lower quality;
Vanilla tahitensis - Tahitian vanilla.
Other types of vanilla are considered decorative.

Answer from Dry out[active]
Vanilla is a gift from the tropical forests of Central and South America. It is there that flat-leaved vanilla, or fragrant vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), grows - a plant from the orchid family, the fruits of which are one of the most expensive and fragrant spices.
Vanilla is a powerful perennial vine that, clinging to the trunk of the host tree with thin aerial roots, carries its fleshy leaves and greenish or whitish-yellow flowers to the light.
These flowers, usually collected in inflorescences of 20–30 pieces, open for just one day and are pollinated by certain types of insects. Since not all flowers can be pollinated in such a short time, a very small number of fruits develop on each vine, which are pod-like boxes 15–30 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter. Fruits develop extremely slowly - from pollination of the flower to ripening seeds take from 7 to 9 months.
To obtain the spice, vanilla fruits prepared in a special way are dried and ground together with sugar. The main smell of vanilla comes from the aromatic oxyaldehyde vanillin, but the natural spice also includes essential oils, and cinnamon ether, and tannins... Without the wonderful aroma of vanilla it is difficult to imagine many pies, cakes, puddings, pastries, creams, liqueurs, ice cream and much more. Vanilla aroma is also used to scent candles, some perfumes, and medicines.
The Aztecs discovered vanilla and used it to flavor their favorite drink, chocolate. The Indians believed that chocolate flavored with vanilla “gives the body strength, takes away fatigue, drives away fear and strengthens the heart.” The Spanish conquistadors learned about vanilla in 1520, having already become acquainted with the drink made from cocoa fruits. Soon the Europeans wanted to grow vanilla in their homeland, but all attempts were unsuccessful. Only in 1807 did this liana take root in a botanical garden in England, and later they learned to grow it in other botanical gardens in Europe. But vanilla could only be propagated vegetatively - it refused to bear fruit in a foreign land. Scientists tried to bring some insects along with the vines - supposed pollinators of the plant, but these attempts were not crowned with success. And only when they thought of pollinating vanilla artificially, using a brush, the problem of obtaining fruit was solved. Vanilla fruit – fresh (top) and dry (bottom)