Key Ingredient
For most, vanilla flavoring means a teaspoon or two of bottled extract. Compared to chocolate, vanilla has been relegated to plain, ordinary, even bland status. But for those who know better, premium vanilla cannot be matched, yielding flavors to melt your tastebuds.The vanilla bean is key to the complex, rich and aromatic qualities associated with premium vanilla. It's not as readily available as extract, but seek it out for special recipes.
The basics: The vanilla bean is the pod of an orchid plant called vanilla planifolia. Native to South America, vanilla was cultivated by the Aztecs and was seen as an aphrodisiac.
Vanilla bean is an extremely labor-intensive crop, which makes it among the priciest spices in the world. For the precious pods to form, pollination must take place on the one day a year that the orchid blooms. The pods, which resemble green beans, then take 6 to 9 months to mature, reaching a full size of 6 to 10 inches. Then come months of curing, sweating, fermenting and drying.
Fine vanilla comes mainly from Mexico, Tahiti and Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa. We can now add the Big Island to that list. The Hawaiian Vanilla Co. is the first vanilla venture in Hawaii, hoping to plant an average of 10,000 vanilla orchids each year.
Selecting: The consumer seldom has a choice in bean selection. Beans are prepackaged, or you buy what is available. In general, however, beans should be pliable, not hard and brittle. The white powder that forms on the outside of the pod is natural vanillin. Keep in mind that flavors vary according to where the bean is from.
Storing: Tightly wrapped in plastic and kept in an airtight jar, beans can be refrigerated up to 6 months.
Use: Vanilla beans can be used whole or slit in half and scraped of their tiny seeds. Use whole beans to infuse sauces, syrups or even sugar. Or add just the seeds to cream mixtures, custards, chocolate and other rich desserts. Vanilla extract is made by steeping chopped beans in an alcohol-water solution and aging for several months.
Where to buy: R. Field carries vanilla beans labeled "Tongan" at 99 cents a pod. But your best bet is to order directly from the Hawaiian Vanilla Co. Web site, www.vanillavineyards.com. The pods sell for $5 or three for $14. Hawaiian vanilla is also used in a Hawaiian vanilla ice cream by Meadow Gold and beginning in September, Hawaiian Vanilla Co. will be offering a vanilla-flavored Kona coffe.
Food Stuffs: Morsels
Contact Eleanor Nakama-Mitsunaga
online through features@starbulletin.com
