Vanilla Orchid Mystery

Vanilla is the only fruit-bearing orchid out of the hundreds of orchid species. "Vanilla" has become a synonym for "plain" or "boring", but this is utterly unfair to this exotic and finicky plant. Native to Central and South America, vanilla was treasured as both a foodstuff and as currency. It was discovered by the Spanish conquistadors and taken back to Europe during the Age of Exploration, where the Europeans, especially the French, quickly developed a taste for it. Vanilla was used by the wealthy in traditional New World beverages, and increasingly as a flavoring for pastry. The French loved it so much they bought plant cuttings from the Spanish in South America and transplanted them to their colonies at Madagascar and French Polynesia. When the transplanted vines failed to produce fruit, the French and Spanish nearly came to blows. Finally it was discovered that the little melipone bee was pollinating vines in the Americas, but nothing was pollinating transplanted vines. Even today, vines outside of Central America have to be carefully hand-pollinated by lightly touching each blossom with a stick during the brief time it's open.

Once the blossoms are pollinated and the pods form, they must be picked green and cured in a labor-intensive, months-long process before they can be sold or used to make extract or other vanilla products. Cured beans have an exquisite flavor that blends well in both sweet and savory cooking. Besides the traditional ice cream and cream sauces, try vanilla in fruit dishes, paired with tomato, chili peppers or black pepper, or in marinades for pork and chicken.

Vanilla is considered a boring or common flavor because imitation vanilla is so easy to make. Being cheaply available, imitation vanilla has been used extensively in ice creams and baked goods. Even some high-end ice cream companies, that claim to use "real vanilla beans", sometimes use only beans that have already been used to make extract (leaving almost no flavor in the bean). This give ice cream the black flecks of vanilla seeds, while the flavor is still imitation. Real vanilla, either whole beans or extract made from them, is a deliciously complex flavor, suitable for the most luxurious gourmet dishes.Vanilla is an indispensable flavoring for sweet foods. You will find whole vanilla beans called for in creme brulee, creme anglaise, most dessert sauces and custards, in making really good ice cream or frozen yogurt, or infusing your own liquors. In making custard, the vanilla bean is usually cut in half, then allowed to steep in the milk or cream. Then the vanilla seeds are scraped out and added to the custard, while the remaining pod is removed. The leftover pod can be rinsed and dried, then added to your sugar canister for wonderful vanilla-flavored sugar. Many good cooks automatically flavor their sugar supply with one vanilla bean per cup of sugar. If you slice the vanilla bean down the middle and then into 1/4” pieces, the inner seeds become exposed and impart greater flavor to the sugar. You can also add a vanilla bean to your box of powdered sugar: excellent for rolling warm cookies in, and lending fine flavor to butter cream frosting.

A member of the orchid family, the vanilla flower is the only one of 350 species of orchids to produce an edible product. The first harvest of the vine does not occur for at least 3 years, giving a maximum harvest after about 8 years. When the flower on the vine blossoms, it must be hand-pollinated during the one or two days in which it blooms. It takes 4-9 months for the vanilla pods to mature and they are picked just as their color changes from green to yellow. Because these beans are so valuable (especially in light of some of the extremely poor economic areas in which they are grown), the vanilla beans are branded while still green. Much like cattle ranchers, each farmer has his own brand which is formed by inserting pins into a cork and imprinted on the vanilla bean while still young, so it will remain on the bean when it is ready for sale. When the green beans are initially picked, they do not have any flavor. The processes for curing the beans vary in different locations: this results in subtle, but noticeable differences in the flavor of the vanilla bean. In Mexico, the beans are stored in sheds until they start to shrivel, at which point they are transferred to wooden sweat boxes during the day and cooled at night. This maintains just the right amount of enzymatic reaction to produce the desired color and flavor. Much like wine making, this is really an art that a master must practice. This part of the process takes 2-3 months.Vanilla beans are an expensive spice, in part because of their labor-intensive cultivation and curing. Only Mexican bees and hummingbirds can pollinate the plants naturally, so it's done by hand, using a bamboo splinter. Once harvested, the golden-green beans are sun dried for about ten days (alternating between days in the sun and cooling "sweats" at night), during which the pods turn dark brown. Then they're slowly dried in the shade for up to two months. Sorted and graded, they're then conditioned another couple of months-- when all is said and done, it can take six months or more to get a vanilla bean ready for your kitchen!
It seems that vanilla was first enjoyed as a beverage flavoring. The Aztecs, who considered vanilla an aphrodisiac, enjoyed xocolati, a cocoa drink flavored with vanilla and honey. A vanilla-flavored cocoa drink was also shared between the Mexican Emperor Montezuma and Cortez, and both cocoa and vanilla immediately found their way to Spain, where they became very popular.

Bourbon vanilla beans, which are grown in Madagascar are very aromatic with a full, rich taste, they have thick skins and many seeds. Mexican beans are similar to Bourbon but a bit spicier, with a woodier fragrance. Tahitian beans are shorter, plumper, and moister than Bourbon beans. Their flavor is fruity and floral, a little wine-like. Although Madagascar beans have the characteristic dark, mellow sweetness that most people recognize as vanilla, the Tahitian beans are slightly sweeter and more flowery tasting. They are popular with fine pastry chefs and vanilla connoisseurs.
Mexican vanilla, made from the native V. planifolia, is produced in much less quantity and marketed as the vanilla from the land of its origin. Vanilla sold in tourist markets around Mexico is sometimes not actual vanilla extract, but is mixed with an extract of the tonka bean, which contains coumarin. Tonka bean extract smells and tastes like vanilla, but coumarin has been shown to cause liver damage in lab animals and is banned in food in the US by the Food and Drug Administration.
Tahitian vanilla is the name for vanilla from French Polynesia, made with the V. tahitiensis strain. Genetic analysis shows this species is possibly a cultivar from a hybrid-cross of V. planifolia and V. odorata. The species was introduced by French Admiral François Alphonse Hamelin to French Polynesia from the Philippines, where it was introduced from Guatemala by the Manila Galleon trade.
West Indian vanilla is made from the V. pompona strain grown in the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Vanilla Extract
Label and date the jar (pint sized mason jar) you’ll be storing your extract in.
Using a sharp knife, slice your vanilla beans in half lengthwise.
With a butter knife scrape the sticky innards from the pods of the vanilla beans into the jar.
Using the sharp knife again cut your beans in half the other way and add them to the jar as well.
Fill the jar with the vodka, shake it well
Store your jar in a dark cool place for 3 weeks, shake it once or twice a week. stores up to 8 months, shake weekly.

One of my best customers (and creative genius) kindly provided us with a couple of his recipes.  Thank you Jaden!~

Vanilla Mascarpone Filled Cream Puffs
1 cup water
1 stick or ½ cup butter
1 cup of flour
4 eggs
¼ tsp salt
16 oz mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream
½ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
Preheat oven to 425˚. In a large pot, bring water and butter to a boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until fully incorporated. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 425˚ in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
For the filling, beat sugar and mascarpone cheese. Add the cream. If the mixture is too thick add more cream. Mix in the contents of the vanilla bean, keep refrigerated.
Once the puffs are cool, cut off the tops with a serrated knife and fill the inside with the mascarpone mixture with a spoon or piping bag. Place the caps back on the filled puffs and serve.

Vanilla Mousse
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 egg whites
½ cup of sugar
¼ teaspoon of salt
Beat cream until soft peaks. Gradually add ¼ cup of the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Then add the contents of the vanilla beans and whip until incorporated. Place the whipped cream into the fridge while you begin to whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Then gradually add the other ¼ cup of the sugar, along with the salt, and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the egg whites then beat to incorporate and stiffen up. Keep refrigerated until time to serve, if it starts to lose its stability whip until stiff. I like to serve with an espresso chocolate sauce and a little bit of raspberry jam.

Espresso chocolate sauce
1 shot of espresso
¼ cup to ½ cup of milk chocolate chips (I have never measured)-the mark of a true chef
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients and mix until smooth. If the chocolate chips don’t melt entirely, heat in microwave in increments of 10 seconds or less to prevent burning. Chocolate burns very easily.

I cook with savory ingredients as a rule, ignoring the baker's rules entirely...In recipes that call for vanilla extract I substitute vanilla sugar or vanilla salt.  Either can be made by hand; 1 vanilla bean cut vertically for every 2 cups sugar/salt.  

Try this the next time you are adventurous... 

Shrimp Sautéed with Garlic and Chile Guajillo (Camarones al Ajillo)

For the chiles guajillos:

3-4 chiles guajillos, stemmed, seeded, and de-veined

1/2 cup sunflower or vegetable oil

For the shrimp stock:

1/4 medium white onion

3 garlic cloves

Juice of 1 lime or lemon

A few black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1 chile de árbol

Pinch of salt

For the shrimp:

2 tablespoons chile guajillo oil or olive oil

11/2 pounds head-on shrimp, shelled, de-veined, and de-headed, or 1 pound headless shrimp

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon vanilla olive oil

For the chiles guajillos:

Wash the chiles well and cut them crosswise in very thin strips to make rings. Place them in a glass jar with the oil. You can do this the day before, if you like.

For the shrimp stock:

In a heavy 4-quart stockpot, put the shrimp heads and shells in 2 quarts of water with the onion, garlic, lime juice, peppercorns, bay leaves, chile de árbol and salt. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Strain the stock and reserve. If the stock is very watery, reduce some more and reserve.

For the shrimp:

You can cook these in 2 batches, reserving the cooked shrimp in a bowl, until the other batch is done, and then return them for one minute in the sauce to reheat and serve.

Heat a medium frying pan with the chile guajillo oil. Add 1/2 of the shrimp, 1/2 of the garlic, and 1/2 of the parsley, and saute 1 to 2 minutes. When one side of the shrimp is pink, turn them over, and add half of the chile strips. Reserve the oil in the jar to soak more guajillos. Continue to cook over medium heat until cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. When the shrimp are cooked, remove them and set aside. Repeat with the other half of the shrimp and remove. Add 8 ounces of strained shrimp stock. Reduce sauce to half, uncovered, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Add the softened butter bit by bit, shaking the pan to "mound" the sauce. Taste and add salt or lime juice for flavor. Return the shrimp to the saute pan, over low heat, to reheat and coat them with the sauce. Swirl in the vanilla olive oil.

Serve as a main course around hot mounded cooked rice on a plate or serve with hot tostadas or bollilos as an appetizer.