Vanilla is native to Central and South America. When Europeans tasted this spice, they wanted to cultivate it in other colonies with a suitable climate. Liana grew where they planted, regularly bloomed, but no fruits appeared on it. Why - the Belgian botanist and gardener Charles Francois Antoine Morran found out in 1836. Vanilla is pollinated by stingless melipona bees (Meliponula ferruginea), which live only in Mexico, other insects cannot cope with this task.
Morran was the first to start experiments on artificial pollination of vanilla. However, the method that was invented in 1841 by Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old black boy from Reunion Island, was widely used. The person playing the role of a bee moves the membrane separating the anther from the stigma of the pistil (this membrane prevents the flower from self-pollination) with a thin sliver, and then transfers the pollen to the pistil with his thumb. And so it is with every flower.
Pollination is just the first step. It is necessary to collect pods of a certain ripeness, but they do not ripen at the same time. They are placed in a hot oven or in water at a temperature of + 63-65 ° C - this stops unwanted enzymatic processes. Then the pods are wrapped in a woolen cloth and taken out in the sun for ten days in a row so that they warm up for a certain time (about an hour). Then they are slowly dried, and then a white "hoarfrost" appears on them - vanillin crystals. It is formed from odorless glucovanillin, from which glucose is split off. And finally the aroma ripens after a few months of storage. It's understandable why vanilla is so expensive.
As soon as organic chemistry was mature enough to be interested in phenol derivatives, chemists began to try to get vanillin. In the 70s of the 19th century, several synthesis routes were proposed at once. Raw materials were chosen available in temperate latitudes: coniferin from coniferous plants, eugenol from the essential oil of cloves, guaiacol - a product of dry distillation of wood.
Until the 20s of the XX century, vanillin was made from eugenol, and then another method appeared, terrifying lovers of everything natural to death. During the production of paper, a by-product is formed - a brown liquid containing the product of the interaction of the wood polymer lignin and sulfurous acid. It was treated with alkalis and oxidizing agents, vanillin was isolated and purified from the resulting substance (and if we look at the formula of lignin, we will understand where it came from).
Today, vanillin is obtained mainly from guaiacol, although the reactions are slightly different from those used in the 19th century. Production from pulp mill waste is losing popularity, but biosynthetic vanillin has appeared, which is made by bacteria. In 2000, the French company Rhodia began selling such a product, the raw material for it is ferulic acid from rice bran. By the way, the synthesis of vanillin in vanilla pods also goes through ferulic acid. Such a product can in good conscience be called a "natural flavor", but it cannot compete in price with vanillin from guaiacol.
The burning question: which vanillin is better? The American culinary magazine Cook's Illustrated in 2009 invited a group of tasters (obviously non-professional) to compare desserts with natural vanilla and synthetic flavors. Vanilla had some advantage in puddings and dairy desserts, but there was no particular difference in baking, moreover, cookies, baked in a hot oven with a quality synthetic flavor tasted better, although there are experts on any food forum who will say that those tasters are clueless and personally they will always distinguish real vanilla.
Chemists confirm: there is a difference. Natural vanilla, in addition to vanillin, smells of cinnamon esters, anise alcohol and aldehyde. Vanillin from lignin is acetovanillone (and some like it). Apparently, this is why some people are allergic to synthetic vanillin, but calmly use vanilla, others - on the contrary, and still others are covered with a rash from vanillin of any origin. Let's not forget about artificial analogues of vanillin, for example, ethyl vanillin - its smell is much stronger, which pleases manufacturers, but it can also be allergic.
Oh, and about the beautiful: in 2007, Japanese Mayu Yamamoto received the Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry for extracting vanillin from manure. I don't know if the Yamamoto process has found any use. I think guaiacol is better.
Flavoring with vanilla is not easy. It is not worth pouring crystals into cream or dough, it is better to dilute one sachet of vanillin in 50 ml of vodka, and then pour the solution into the cooled sugar syrup (400 g of sugar per glass of water) and use as needed.
You can buy vanilla extract - alcohol tincture on vanilla pods. Vanilla essence differs from vanilla extract in a higher concentration of aromatic components.
If you have vanilla beans, make your own extract: four pods split in half per 100 g of vodka, two to three weeks in a cool place. Two pods, half a liter of vodka and a few hours - this is vanilla vodka for ladies and connoisseurs.
One or two pods per pound of sugar in a tightly closed jar and one week (or longer) vanilla sugar.
And of course, the unfading classic - a pod, manually ground with sugar in a mortar.
Reference
Reunion Island is located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. Belongs to France. The population is about 800 thousand people, mostly Creoles. Natural vanilla in small quantities (tens of tons per year) is still produced here.
Vanillin production
A beautifully flowering liana, belonging to the genus of orchids, with dark spear-shaped leaves and a yellow-green brush of flowers that live only from noon to sunset - this is. But she became famous most of all for those pods that form after flowering. These vanilla fruits are plucked unripe, and as a result of processing, the same vanilla is obtained from them. spice vanilla, beloved by us for its unique, persistent, enveloping aroma.
Until now, vanilla is considered one of the most expensive spices, due to the capriciousness of this culture, the need for artificial pollination, in which only half of the flowers give pods, and the long subsequent processing of the pods themselves.
Vanilla composition
Vanilla fruits contain the aromatic substance vanillin (up to 3%), essential oil, balsam, resins, sugar, fat, etc.
Vanilla Benefits
Vanilla has long been used in folk medicine to treat the following diseases:
- rheumatism;
- dyspepsia;
- fever;
- chlorosis;
- mental illness;
- disorders of the nervous system, anger;
- drowsiness.
The psycho-emotional effect of vanilla is known, which perfectly helps women to endure critical days.
Vanilla is present in almost all confectionery products, and its smell gives a feeling of safety and comfort.
Vanilla also eliminates the nervous rash on the skin, increases its softness and elasticity.
The perfume industry cannot do without vanilla - oriental fragrances are simply not possible without it.
vanilla properties
In aromatherapy, vanilla essential oil is used to restore appetite. And no wonder - one has only to imagine how you pass by the culinary department, from where you smell vanilla, how your mouth fills with saliva ...
In addition to increasing appetite, the aroma of vanilla brings a sense of spiritual comfort, relieves irritation.
The cosmetic effect of vanilla is traditionally used in erotic massage mixtures, as an additive in amounts up to 20%. Vanilla has a powerful regenerating property due to the high content of non-saponifiable fats and essential fatty acids. Vanilla regulates the permeability of the skin barrier, improves skin firmness and elasticity, eliminates nervous rashes and has some whitening effect.
Vanilla oil has a tonic and normalizing effect on the digestive organs, has antiseptic properties, stabilizes the acidity of gastric juice, promotes the rapid breakdown of carbohydrates and their removal from the body.
It helps with an overdose of alcohol, and even is its antidote - causing a direct disgust for him.
Effective use of vanilla for colitis, intestinal colic, diseases of the rectum.
Vanilla also normalizes the course of the menstrual cycle, relieves premenstrual pain and menopause.
Vanilla can be used to treat and prevent diabetes.
Natural vanilla, not vanillin, but the one that can be purchased in the markets - vanilla in pods, soft, dark brown in color, buttery to the touch and slightly twisted. This vanilla can be used for erotic purposes of seduction. Grind to a powder and add to the dish ...
Vanillin is not suitable for this - its smell may be stronger than that of real vanilla, but it is made from coal tar and does not have any vanilla effects.
Natural vanilla will not work either, but already purchased in the form of a powder, ground spices lose their useful properties very quickly. For the same reason, do not buy open light pods either.
Contraindications to the use of vanilla
Vanilla oil can cause an allergic reaction, so care must be taken when using it. By the way, vanilla oil is quite often counterfeited.
After using vanilla essential oil, direct sunlight should be avoided for a couple of hours, because vanilla oil is a photosensitizer - it increases sensitivity to sunlight.
Vanilla essential oil is contraindicated for pregnant women and children.
The use of vanilla in cooking
We can say that this is the most subtle spice. The aroma of vanilla (and its substitute - synthetic vanillin) disappears quickly. These spices should be stored only sealed, and added to the dish immediately before serving it to the table.
Unfortunately, natural vanilla is not often used now - it has been significantly replaced by cheap synthetic vanillin.
Only the most expensive sweet dishes and confectionery are flavored with natural vanilla - nut cookies, creams, ice creams, biscuit dough products.
If the product is to be cooked, then vanilla must be introduced into the dough immediately before it. Or right after it - in jam, puddings, soufflé, compotes.
Vanillin is usually added to such sweet dishes as puddings, soufflés, jellies, curd pastes, mousses and compotes, which affects the aroma. Vanillin must be added to curd pastes after preparation. Also in those products that require impregnation - cakes, biscuits, vanilla is added in the form of vanilla syrup.
Despite the sweet aroma, vanilla tastes bitter, which is why it needs to be mixed with powdered sugar.
No need to exaggerate the vanilla addition rates - they are relatively small.
How to make vanilla sugar
To prepare vanilla sugar, the vanilla fruit is split into two parts and placed in sugar in a glass jar. The jar should be sealed tightly and kept in a cool place. The sugar will absorb the strong vanilla flavor on its own.
How to make vanilla extract
Vanilla extract is prepared using four split pods placed in a bottle and filled with one hundred grams of alcohol. The liquid should completely cover the fruit. We cork the bottle and keep it for about three weeks in a cool place. Hindus use the traditional method - boiling split vanilla fruit in milk.
When stored properly, vanilla can keep its scent for almost forty years. The best varieties of vanilla have the most magnificent smell.
vanilla recipes
mexican chocolate
Ingredients:
- seeds of two vanilla pods;
- 3 tablespoons of cocoa;
- 200 ml of boiling water;
- 1 tablespoon of black ground pepper;
- to taste sugar or honey.
You need to mix cocoa with freshly boiled water, add vanilla seeds and black pepper. Mix well and add sugar or honey. Cool slightly and you can eat.
vanilla ice cream
Ingredients:
- 1 vanilla pod;
- 380 grams of milk;
- 120 grams of cream with a fat content of 30%;
- 4 egg yolks;
- 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Whisk egg yolks and powdered sugar until white. Bring the milk to a boil, in which there is a vanilla pod, cut lengthwise. Then we take out the pod, combine the milk with the yolks and beat. We put the resulting mass on fire, and, stirring constantly, bring it to the consistency of liquid sour cream. We filter, cool, add whipped cream separately and place in the freezer.
Lilia Yurkanis
for women's magazine site
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Vanilla is a plant belonging to the Orchid family, a perennial liana. With its curly stems with aerial roots, the plant clings to the branches and trunks of trees, as the vine grows, it gradually moves towards the crown. Vanilla flowers are large, greenish-white in color, the bud opens for only one day, the flowers are pollinated by bees that live only in the homeland of the plant - in Mexico. To date, vanilla is cultivated in the Caribbean, it is also grown in Madagascar, Sri Lanka and South America.
The plant is propagated by cuttings, which are planted near special artificial supports or small trees. Vanilla is pollinated artificially, the plant begins to bear fruit in the third year of life. Vanilla fruits - pods (length 15-25, width - 4-8 centimeters) are harvested unripe, after which they are immersed in hot water for a while. They do this so that the fruits do not have time to open, then the raw materials are wrapped in a warm woolen blanket and left in this form for about 7 days. After all the procedures, vanilla pods turn brown and acquire a unique aroma. But that's not all, in addition, the fruits must be dried thoroughly, for this, vanilla is left in the fresh air for a long period (1-5 months) until the pods are covered with a white coating.
The quality of vanilla fruits can be determined by the following features: the pods should be elastic, soft, slightly twisted, oily to the touch, dark brown in color, barely noticeable white crystals on the surface are allowed. Vanilla is stored in a special sealed package. Under such conditions, the vanilla flavor can be preserved for many years. By the way, there are cases of preservation of the unique aroma of vanilla for 36 years.
Vanilla is usually ground into a powder. The fruits of the plant are ground with sugar (1 pod per 0.5 kilograms). Now more and more natural vanilla is being replaced with artificial vanilla, since it is much cheaper. However, the natural aroma of vanilla is certainly much richer; in the artificial version, the natural balance of natural aromatic components is lost.
Natural vanilla tastes bitter, before use it should be ground with powdered sugar in a porcelain mortar (1 vanilla stick per 0.5 kilogram of sugar). A whole vanilla pod can be stored in the same jar with sugar. Vanilla will quickly saturate the sugar with its aroma, and it can be used to sprinkle confectionery.
Vanillin is used to make puddings, pies, cookies, creams, it is ideal as an addition to cottage cheese and dairy dishes, it goes well with chocolate, milkshakes and other drinks. Vanillin is added to the dough and other preparations for cakes, it is used to flavor compotes.
In the confectionery industry, vanillin occupies an important place; it is often added as a flavoring additive to chocolate and sweets. By the way, natural vanilla is obtained not only from the pods of the plant, it is formed in oak barrels in which cognac is infused. Vanilla is obtained due to the enzymatic oxidation of coniferyl alcohol, which is present in oak staves.
Medicine and cosmetology is another area of application of this plant. Vanilla is also used in perfumery, this fragrance brings oriental motifs to cosmetic products. Experienced fishermen say that chocolate with vanilla is an excellent bait for fish.
Composition and useful properties
Vanilla fruits contain glucovanillin, essential oils, glucoside, tannins and mucous substances. Glucovanillin during fermentation breaks down into vanillin and glucose. The main aromatic substance in the composition of vanilla is vanillin-4-hydroxy-3-methoxylbenzal dehyde, it contains from 0.75 to 2.9% (sometimes up to 12.5%).
Vanilla is widely used in folk medicine, it is recommended for fever, chlorosis, drowsiness, rheumatism, digestive disorders, delayed menstruation and menopausal disorders, it is useful for nervous disorders and mental illness. Vanilla is considered a good aphrodisiac and is used to increase muscle activity.
Vanilla is also used in cosmetology and aromatherapy purposes. The scent of vanilla restores appetite, soothes, relieves irritation and promotes peace of mind, and when applied to the skin, vanilla oil reduces irritation and inflammation, leaving it softer and more supple.
Harm and contraindications
Vanilla essential oil enhances the effects of ultraviolet radiation, which should be remembered by tan lovers. It is also contraindicated during pregnancy, children under 3 years of age and in case of individual intolerance.
INTRODUCTION
The aromatic and flavoring design of dishes is carried out by adding spices and seasonings - mineral salts, herbs, seeds, buds, leaves, twigs, zest, peas and extracts - in relatively small quantities. Now the chemical industry produces spices and seasonings in the form of combined powders, savory purees and ready-made sauces, which are simultaneously used to flavor and flavor dishes. However, they should not be used to remove the bad taste of a product that has begun to deteriorate.
Used spices and seasonings can be divided into two large groups:
o Spices with a predominant flavoring influence (flavoring) - nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, allspice, marjoram, mint, savory, thyme, vanilla, lemon peel, orange peel, garlic, dill, parsley, bay leaf, celery leaves, aromatic essences and extracts, and aromatic oils.
o Spices and seasonings with a predominant taste influence (flavoring): table and sea salt, sugar, honey, black and white pepper, ground sweet and hot red pepper, fruit and wine vinegar, lemon, orange and all other fruit juices, wines and rakias , fresh and canned vegetable and fruit purees, various nut kernels, seeds (mustard), appetizing sauces, hot peppers, wild berries - blackberries, raspberries, lingonberries, pine needles, etc., onions, garlic, leeks, carrots, sugar (red) beets, celery, parsley root, horseradish, parsnips, etc.
For a taste and aromatic bouquet that stimulates the appetite, when cooking, it is necessary to correctly dose flavoring and flavoring seasonings. It is better to add this or that spice or seasoning to the finished dish, if it is not enough for one of the companions, than to spoil the whole dish. Excessive use of spices and seasonings can worsen rather than improve the taste of food. Recently, experts recommend salting the dish at the table (or adding salt), and cooking food as salt-free as possible. This rule should be followed in the property when preparing dishes with canned ingredients. Canned food is already flavored with enough spices.
During heat treatment, the taste and aroma of dishes determine when they are hot, since that is when the strength of their bouquet is felt.
When using fresh herbs (parsley, dill, mint), they should be put in the cooked dish, removing it from the heat, i.e. a few minutes before serving. Dried spicy herbs are placed in a hot dish just before it is removed from the fire.
Flavorings are natural or synthetic products. Their nutritional value is negligible. Irritating taste nerves and sense of smell, they increase the secretion of gastrointestinal juices, bile, pancreatic juice, improve appetite and digestion. Their effect on the sense of smell is explained by the content of volatile essential oils, and their effect on taste buds and directly on the mucous membranes is due to the presence of alkaloids, glucosides and other substances in them. Some seasonings not only improve the taste of food, but also enrich it with vitamins (parsley, dill, etc.). Many spices have a bactericidal effect. Due to the content of phytoncides in them. Therefore, they are also used as a medicine in traditional medicine, often included in a number of pharmaceutical preparations used in modern medicine. In dietary and baby food, seasonings, especially spicy ones (black pepper, hot red pepper, etc.), are used in small quantities.
With individual sensitivity or abuse, seasonings cause irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach, intestines and bile ducts, worsen the activity of the liver and kidneys. When consuming strong seasonings rich in alkaloids, acute health disorders can occur - insomnia, increased nervous excitability, cardiovascular disorders, etc.
Food spices used in Bulgaria are divided according to their origin into local and foreign. They differ from each other in the content of essential oils and other components and have a different effect on the human body.
Not all aromatic plants belong to spices, but only those with bactericidal properties, which they manifest to varying degrees. Spices are divided into two groups - classic (or exotic) and spicy vegetables, or European spicy plants. All types of peppers belong to the classic ones - white, black, red, allspice (Jamaican), Japanese (zanthoxylum), African (mallagueta); ginger, kagan, all types of cinnamon (Ceylon and Chinese), vanilla, nutmeg and mace, all types of zest (orange, tangerine, orange, lemon, grapefruit, satsuma); bay leaf, rosemary, asafoetida, turmeric. Most of them have been known since ancient times and were eaten before salt.
Spices
Spices - depending on the parts used are divided into groups:
Other: dill oil, thyme, mint, sweet clover, basil, azhgon, gravel, chervil, lovage.
The main chemical composition of spices
Black pepper contains 1.5% essential oils, which give the pepper a strong aroma, and piperine alkaloid, which gives it a burning taste.
Allspice - contains from 3 to 4.5% aromatic substances.
Red Pepper – The most important component of red pepper is capsicin, which gives it its characteristic taste. The red color of peppers is due to the carotene-like substance capsaicin. Red pepper contains provitamin A and vitamin C.
Vanilla - contains the aromatic substance vanillin.
Coriander - contains essential oil, rich in vitamins.
Cumin - contains an essential oil with a pleasant taste and smell.
Nutmeg - contains many aromatic substances, essential oils and alkaloids.
Cloves - contains eugenol essential oil, fats, tannins, bitter substance caryophyllin, etc.
Saffron - contains dyes, essential oils, flavonoids, etc.
Cinnamon - contains essential oils, cinnamaldehyde, etc.
Bay leaf - contains essential oils, alkaloids, bitter substances, a little vitamin C and P. Cineole essential oil gives a pleasant aroma.
Dill oil - contains provitamin A and C.
Mint - contains a large amount of vitamins C, P and provitamin A.
Characteristics of spices
Black and white pepper. Black and white peppers are the dried seeds of a climbing tropical shrub, harvested at various stages of maturity.
Black seeds are removed unripe, and white - only when they reach full maturity, and this pepper is called white because its seeds are freed from the upper dark shell.
Black and white pepper differ from one another not only in color, but also in the sharpness and sharpness of the smell. So, black pepper has a much stronger smell and more "burning" than white.
Public catering enterprises receive pepper seeds both whole (peas) and ground (in powder). During long-term storage, ground pepper loses some of the flavor, so it is more rational to buy peppercorns and grind them as needed.
Powdered black and white pepper is widely used for filling meat, vegetable and fish dishes, minced meat, fillings, etc. It is served at the table in the same way as salt, vinegar, mustard.
Allspice. In appearance, allspice resembles black; dark brown allspice peppercorns.
Allspice, unlike black pepper, has a stronger spicy aroma, reminiscent of the aroma of cloves with cinnamon, as well as much less "burning".
Allspice goes on sale in peas and ground.
It is advisable to grind peas immediately before use, since its most valuable quality - aromaticity - is significantly reduced when stored in powder. If ground allspice must be stored, then it must be in a glass container with a tightly ground stopper.
Red pepper. This pepper is the fruit of a herbaceous plant, which is cultivated in significant quantities in the southern regions of our country.
In appearance, the fruit of red pepper resembles a large pod, which, depending on the variety and stage of maturity, can be both dark and bright red, orange, yellow, and green when unripe.
Red pepper has a high vitamin content. In terms of the amount of vitamin C it contains, it significantly exceeds even such a vitamin-rich fruit as a lemon.
Red pepper, bitter and sweet, is available in powder form.
Bay leaf. This spice is most widely used in cooking. The dried leaves of the evergreen tree called noble laurel are highly aromatic.
Carnation. Clove is an aromatic spice that is the dried unopened flower buds of the tropical clove tree.
The aroma of cloves depends on the valuable essential oils they contain.
The best varieties of cloves should consist of large buds that either sink in water or float upside down.
Kolyuria. This plant grows in Altai. Its smell is close to clove.
Cinnamon. Cinnamon is called the bark of shoots of a tropical cinnamon tree, peeled from the top layer. This bark is dried and used in the form of pieces or powder for flavoring some sauces, marinades, as well as for Caucasian cuisine.
On sale, Ceylon, Java and Chinese cinnamon are distinguished.
Saffron. Fragrant dried stigmas of the flowers of a special bulbous plant.
Anise and cumin. These spicy fruits are similar in taste and purpose. Anise and cumin are interchangeable products.
Nutmeg. Nutmeg is the peeled and dried seeds of the tropical nutmeg tree, which has a pungent, pungent taste and aroma.
This valuable spice comes packaged in glass tubes, in which it must be stored in a dry room.
Dried nutmeg seed coat called nutmeg also goes on sale.
The smell and taste of nutmeg is the same as that of nutmeg, only slightly weaker.
Vanilla and vanillin. Vanilla is the fruit of a tropical orchid plant. The fruit is removed in an unripe state, fermented, dried. In appearance, vanilla resembles a pod, inside the pod are very aromatic small seeds.
Vanilla is put on sale packaged in glass tubes.
A substitute for vanilla - synthetic vanillin powder - is used in the same way as vanilla.
Vanilla and vanillin have a very pleasant aroma, but we must not forget that an excess of these aromatic spices can give the dish a bitter aftertaste.
Ginger. This peeled and dried small root of a tropical plant has a very pleasant smell and burning taste.
Ginger goes on sale in glass tubes. It should be stored uncrushed so that the flavor does not evaporate.
Cardamom. Cardamom is a spicy fruit of a tropical plant from the ginger family.
The fruit of cardamom has the appearance of a nut, inside of which are seeds. These seeds are the main value of cardamom.
Mint. Essential oils contained in fresh mint greens give it a pleasant aroma, refreshing taste. Mint is used both fresh and dried.
Coriander. Coriander is the dried seeds of the herbaceous plant of the same name.
Marjoram. The taste of this plant is somewhat reminiscent of a combination of mint and pepper. Marjoram leaves, along with flower buds, are used fresh and dried.
Basil. Basil has a wonderful delicate aroma with a variety of shades - lemon, clove, mint, pepper, etc.
Barberry. Barberry berries are small bright red, their taste is sour.
Star anise. This spice is often called star anise, and although botanically these two plants have nothing in common, since star anise is the fruit of a tropical plant, and anise is the seeds of a herbaceous plant, these spices are very similar in taste and aroma.
Storage and packaging
Spices must be stored at a temperature of 5 to 15 C and relative humidity not higher than 75%. At high humidity, the spices become moldy, and at low humidity, they dry out.
Most spices are stored in tight packaging that does not allow moisture and air to pass through, as they easily perceive foreign odors. Observe the commodity neighborhood.
Under favorable conditions, spices can be stored for a long time without loss or spoilage.
The spices are packaged in bags made of paper, cellophane, polymeric or combined packaging materials weighing from 10 to 50 g, in cardboard boxes with a parchment lining weighing from 10 to 25 g, in tin boxes weighing up to 25 g. and glass test tubes of 10-15g. Bay leaf and mustard are placed in boxes with a capacity of not more than 20 kg.
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