Papantla, the city that perfumed the world, is where vanilla comes from.

The indigenous Totonac who lived in this area on the east-central coast of Mexico, discovered the vanilla vines that once grew wild in this rainy region. They used it for fragrance, women perfumed their hair with the pods, but there is no record of them using it for culinary purposes. However, for hundreds of years, they were the keepers of this special ingredient. No one outside the region even knew it existed.

Later, after conquering the Totonacan empire, the Aztecs started adding vanilla to a beverage consumed only by nobility and known as chocolatl.

After their arrival to what they called the New World, the Spanish colonisers eventually took Mexico’s vanilla to Europe where it was an instant success,  the spice was consumed as a luxury by the aristocracy, mixed with another ingredient from the Americas: cacao,  to make hot chocolate.  

Vanilla was cultivated in botanical gardens in France and England, but never offered up its glorious seeds. Growers couldn’t understand why until centuries later when, in 1836, Belgian horticulturist Charles Morren reported that vanilla’s natural pollinator was the Melipona bee, an insect that didn’t live in Europe.

Five years later, on the island of Réunion, a volcanic island in the Indian Ocean, everything changed. In 1841, an enslaved boy on the island named Edmond Albius developed the painstaking yet effective hand-pollination method for vanilla that is still in use today, which involves exposing and mating the flower’s male and female parts. His technique spread from Réunion to Madagascar and other neighbouring islands, and eventually worked its way back to Mexico as a way to augment the vanilla harvest pollinated by bees.

Thanks to Albius’ method, vanilla could successfully grow to scale in the Bourbon Islands. Cultivation of vanilla began spreading to other countries, including Tahiti and Indonesia. As the supply grew, vanilla became more accessible to all people, not just the rich, eventually becoming world’s most prevalent and popular flavour.

This proliferation helped whet the world’s appetite for vanilla. The spice quickly found its way into cakes and ice cream, perfumes and medicines, and was valued for its intoxicating flavour and aroma. But despite growing demand and a robust crop, the tremendous amount of time and energy that went into cultivation and processing affected farmers’ ability to supply the market—and continues to do so today. 

Let's delve a little  into de process to obtain that precious vanilla bean we use in our kitchens. 

The vanilla plant (Vanilla Planifolia) belongs to the orchid family. The ideal environment for this vine to thrive is within moist, partially shaded tropical forests situated near the equator, with consistent temperatures between 25-28°C.

Climbing vines are the primary type of vanilla species grown, capable of reaching up to 20 metres in height on forest trees. These vines start to flower when they reach two years, yet bean production doesn't commence until their third year. At around eight years of age, the plant's vitality peaks and it continues producing for another 12-14 years.

The plant's yellow flowers only bloom for a very short period, between 12 and 24 hours each year. Due to its inability to self-pollinate and limited access for insects, each blossom must be hand-pollinated within this limited time frame.

It takes roughly eight months for the beans to reach full maturity. As they begin to ripen and turn yellow, each bean is handpicked prior to full maturity, as this is the optimal harvest time to ensure superior quality beans with the highest vanillin content.

Initially, these vanilla beans possess neither flavour nor aroma, which are developed during the curing process so it’s equally important to know to manage the plants once they bear fruit. After harvesting vanilla beans are sorted and graded. They're then blanched in hot water to halt fermentation and placed in large containers to sweat for 36 to 48 hours. It’s when the beans start to change from green to brown, and start to develop aroma.

From there, the beans undergo alternating periods of sun drying during the day and sweating at night, a journey that lasts between five and 15 days and ends with a period of slow drying. This usually occurs indoors, in a well-ventilated room where beans are placed on racks. It can take up to 30 days, depending on the grade. The entire process—from growing and pollinating to drying, curing and preparing for export—takes around one year.

About 5-6 kg of green vanilla beans are needed to produce one kilo of processed vanilla—yet another reason why vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world, second only to saffron.  

Sadly, the reality is that very little of the vanilla we consume comes from those precious pods. Today, most of what we eat is actually artificial vanilla flavouring.

In the late 19th century, scientists figured out how to derive vanillin—the dominant compound that gives vanilla its signature aroma—from less expensive sources. These included eugenol (a chemical compound found in clove oil) and lignin, which is found in plants, wood pulp and even cow feces. Today, about 85 percent of vanillin comes from guaiacol that’s synthesised from petrochemicals. This isn’t something many of us realise, because labelling can be confusing.

Developing a deeper knowledge of vanilla and its extracts not only supports more informed choices about sustainable and cost-effective options, but also fosters a stronger appreciation for the intricate journey that brings these flavours to our tables. 

Sources: 

https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-02-05/la-fo-vanilla-mexico-papantla-identity-industry

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/bittersweet-story-vanilla-180962757/

https://www.epicsi.co.uk/blog/vanilla-from-bean-to-extract