Vanilla

When you hear the word “vanilla”, you immediately remember a white sweet powder, which is often used by housewives to prepare delicious and fragrant pastries and other confectionery. It turns out that this is not exactly vanilla, but only an artificial substitute for it – vanillin, which can be found in a wide range on supermarket shelves. ^[1]. Vanilla itself is a spice extracted from the fruits of tropical plants.

Appearance spice

Vanilla (from the Latin vanilla, which means “pod”) is a tropical vine, the fruits of which are used to obtain a fragrant spice. It is extracted from the immature fruits of several species of plants of the orchid family of the vanilla genus. The best of them is considered flat-leaved vanilla, from which you can get the spice of the highest quality.

It is an evergreen plant with a climbing stem. Its leaves are oblong, sharp, fleshy, densely covering the stem. It blooms in spring and sometimes early summer. The flowers are bright yellow, with a slightly greenish tint, quite large. The fruits of the plant are pods, more precisely, boxes resembling pods in shape. It is from these pods that the well-known spice is extracted.

This liana, like all other species of this family, grows in tropical and subtropical climates all over the planet. Its homeland is the West Indies, and now it can also be found in the equatorial rainforests of Florida, South and Central America. It is also artificially grown in Madagascar, which is considered the largest supplier of spices in China and Indonesia.

A bit of history

Long ago, this costly spice was used as money by Native Americans. The first mention of the cultivation of the plant is attributed to the Totonac Indian tribe. They paid off the Aztecs, who captured and enslaved them, with the pods grown on these vines. The Totonacs even had a legend about the origin of this plant. According to the story, it grew from the drops of blood of the goddess and the mortal she was in love with. The angry father of the goddess found out about their connection and beheaded both in a fit of rage.

The Aztecs, in turn, also appreciated the properties of the plant, and during the reign of the great emperor Montezuma, they collected tribute with vanilla pods, with which they then prepared fragrant chocolate and a coffee drink somewhat reminiscent of cocoa. This drink was very fond of the emperor. He endowed him with vitality and inexhaustible sexual energy, which allowed the emperor to satisfy his wives. They say that he had about six hundred of them, and they bore him more than fifty children.

Europe learned about this amazing spice only in the XNUMXth century thanks to the famous Spanish conquistador and conqueror of Mexico, Hernan Cortes. At the meeting, Montezuma treated him to a delicious drink made from cocoa beans with vanilla. Cortes liked the drink so much that he started exporting this spice and chocolate from Mexico to Spain. In Europe, they began to actively use it to flavor chocolate, tobacco, and even simply chewed the pods, believing that it was able to amuse and excite. By the way, many pharmacists tried to add a drop of this spice to perfumes and got a new exquisite aroma. In Russia, at the court of Empress Elizabeth Ⅰ, they came up with the idea of ​​adding this spice to pastries. In the XVI-XVII centuries, it was valued more than gold.

Until the middle of the XNUMXth century, vanilla was cultivated only in Mexico, since only melipona bees could pollinate it. However, thanks to a twelve-year-old black boy slave who found a way to artificially pollinate the plant, vanilla became available far beyond America. Since it was a very expensive spice, and only a few aristocrats could afford this pleasure, at the end of the XNUMXth century, in some European countries, they began to look for a replacement for it, thanks to which a cheap synthetic analogue appeared – vanillin.

Collection and production technology

Vanilla is a very expensive spice because it is quite difficult to grow: it blooms for only one day, and it has to be pollinated artificially ^[2]. This was also served by a very laborious technological process of processing spices. ^[3].

For production, unripe pods are selected and treated with very hot water, immersing the fruit in it for about 20 seconds. Then they are left for a week at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius for the fermentation process. Only after that the spice acquires its incomparable aroma and dark, chocolate color.

Then the pods are dried for several months in a dark, cool room, and preferably in the open air, until they are covered with a characteristic white coating. This sign indicates that the spice is ready for use. ^[4].

The quality of the resulting product largely depends on the conditions under which it is fermented and dried, on the type of vine from which it was collected, and on quite a few other factors. There are as many as eight varieties of vanilla all over the world, differing in quality from each other. ^[5].

Nutritional value and vitamin-mineral composition

Vanilla is a very high-calorie product. Its energy value is almost 290 kcal per 100 g of product. The calorie content of vanilla sugar reaches 400 kcal. Its artificial counterpart is less caloric (only 89 kcal), but it is still better to eat a natural product.

It is known that the spice contains useful minerals and B vitamins. It is rich in potassium and copper, and also contains calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, manganese and zinc. Vitamins include thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, niacin, and pantothenic acid. ^[6]. Vanilla contains the polyphenol vanillin, which can have a positive effect on the human body.

It consists of essential oils, which contain anise alcohol, aldehyde and anisic acid. A substance such as glucovanillin during the fermentation process breaks down into vanillin and glucose. Also there you can find tannins, resins and cinnamon ether.

The nutritional value of the product is represented mainly by carbohydrates (12,5 g), and there are relatively few other components in it: 100 g of protein and 1,2 g of fat per 0,1 g of spice.

Useful properties of the product

Vanilla is rich in valuable vitamins, micro and macro elements, which are beneficial for the human body largely due to the inclusion of such a valuable polyphenol as vanillin in its composition. ^[7].

It can destroy cancer cells and is useful in fighting sickle cell anemia. Vanilla has long been used in folk medicine, and for its delicate and sweet aroma, it is highly valued in the perfume industry.

Of course, this spice is widely used for confectionery purposes, and more recently, especially with the advent of fashionable fusion, in cooking. Vanilla began to be added to seafood, poultry and various vegetables.

Application in medicine

Vanilla is used in folk medicine for various purposes:

• to combat depression and stress;
• for the awakening of passion;
• to normalize hormonal levels;
• to stabilize the gastrointestinal tract;
• to neutralize the effects of alcohol;
• for the prevention and treatment of diabetes.

With each breath of the beautiful aroma of vanilla, the production of serotonin, the hormone of joy, occurs. Thanks to him, irritability is reduced, nervous tension is removed and mood improves.

This spice is a powerful aphrodisiac. Often, to awaken sexual energy, they take a bath with vanilla essential oil or use it in aroma lamps.

Recommend vanilla aromatherapy to women during menstruation to normalize the cycle, as well as during menopause to restore hormonal levels.

There are cases when the regular enjoyment of the aromatic oils of this spice caused an aversion to alcohol and smoking. ^[8].

Often, vanilla essential oil is used to prevent colds and flu, and its antibacterial effect is also known. Productive is the use of spices for intestinal diseases and colic. Vanilla stabilizes the production of gastric juice, increases appetite and promotes the breakdown and removal of carbohydrates from the body.

According to some sources, the aroma of vanilla promotes weight loss, relieves cravings for sweets, and speeds up metabolism.

Used in cosmetics

Beauticians highly valued natural vanilla essential oil. It is simply an indispensable assistant for the skin:

• effectively moisturizes;
• great tones;
• significantly rejuvenates;
• nourishes significantly;
• wonderful whiten;
• effectively removes the feeling of dryness and tightness.

In home cosmetology, a few drops of aromatic oil are often added to the finished creams, lotions or other cosmetics.

Essential oils and spices are often used to create various massage oils and creams as a means of promoting regeneration and accelerating blood circulation. In the fight against cellulite, vanilla scrub is effective, which is prepared on the basis of coffee and essential oils of almond and vanilla.

In the perfume industry, vanilla scent is often used to create various compositions. Perfume with such a delicate and seductive scent literally makes men crazy.

Cooking application

This exotic spice has a very delicate, sweet aroma, but it tastes bitter. This is a very expensive spice, so natural vanilla is used only to flavor elite sweets. It is sold in the form of pods, alcohol solution and powder.

Due to its sweet smell, it is used mainly for confectionery: all kinds of pastries, cakes, jams, ice cream, chocolate, sweets, sweet creams, puddings and much more.

There are several products that are worth paying attention to. Made from a plant:

• vanilla sugar;
• vanilla powder;
• vanilla extract;
• vanilla essence.

Vanilla sugar

To prepare it, add a few vanilla pods to icing sugar or ordinary crystalline granulated sugar and leave in a tightly closed container for a week.

After that, remove the pods, and they remain suitable for further use, and store the sugar flavored with them in a cool place.

Vanilla powder

It turns out when crushing dry vanilla pods. It is appreciated for being able to retain a rich aroma during heat treatment.

Vanilla extract

To obtain it, finely chopped vanilla pods insist on alcohol for about two months. The result is a chocolate-colored liquid with a bright rich aroma.

It is often used for the production of creams, desserts and other ready-made dishes.

Vanilla essence

It is prepared in the same way as the extract, but the essence is much more concentrated due to the fact that its production requires a much larger number of vanilla pods for the same volume of alcohol.

Harm and contraindications

Vanilla essential oils are not recommended for use during pregnancy and young children. They can cause an allergic reaction, so do not use it for people prone to allergies. Excessive use of this spice in conjunction with aromatherapy can lead to nausea, headache, digestive upset, and diarrhea.

Vanilla essential oil can increase sensitivity to sunlight, so it is undesirable immediately after use of the product to take a sun bath or bask on the beach.

Conclusions

Natural vanilla is an elite and expensive spice extracted from the fruits of tropical plants. The process of its cultivation and manufacture is quite laborious, and therefore the price for it is too high. However, there is an artificially created synthetic analogue of this product – vanillin. ^[9].

It is much cheaper and therefore almost replaced the natural product from store windows. ^[10]. Vanilla contains essential oils that are popular with perfumers, cosmetologists and pharmacists. Their beneficial properties are used in folk medicine. This spice is also indispensable in the culinary industry.

It is used to flavor a variety of confectionery, beverages, ice cream and various sweets. It is a powerful aphrodisiac, able to excite erotic attraction and sexual attractiveness. Perfume with notes of vanilla arouse desire, seduce and make women attractive to the male sex. This spice is practically harmless, but its excessive use can cause a condition close to poisoning. Essential oils are contraindicated during pregnancy and childhood.

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