VANILLA AND VANILLA BEANS

[Kitchen Witch]

Vanilla comes in three forms: bean, liquid and powder, and each one has a specific use in cooking and baking. Except for the bean, the liquid vanillas can be made from real extracts or from artificial ingredients. There are many brands of real and artificial flavours. Some are good and others are bad. So try buying small samples, before purchasing larger quantities, since some brands taste better than others. Some brands have a good strong lasting flavour that can withstand baking temperatures, whereas, other brands are of inferior quality that dissipate during baking. For example when making cookies, the dough has a great aroma when you make it, but when you take a bit out of a baked cookie, it has lost its vanilla flavour. In other words, one lousy ingredient wasted your time, money and effort.



Real vs. Artificial

The notion of using artificial flavours in the cooking and baking, for some people, is unacceptable. They simply don't want to have chemicals in the foods they make. If you're worried about using artificial flavourings, then take a look at the bag of flour in your pantry and you'll be surprised at what goes into it. And besides, what do you think the manufacturers use to extract the flavour from the vanilla bean? It's a no-win situation.



Types and Usage

Vanilla Bean

The bean is black in colour and looks like your typical green bean, except this one is a little shrivelled, similar to that of a prune. Vanilla beans can flavour wet ingredients, as well as dry ones. With wet ingredients, you can slit the bean lengthwise and then scrape its tiny seeds, or you can leave it whole. In either case, soak the bean in a warm or hot liquid, (usually milk or cream) to release its flavour, for 10 - 20 minutes, or a few hours, or even overnight in the refrigerator. Depending on your preference, you may strain the seeds and discard them, or you can leave them in the liquid you're making. After soaking, though, simply remove the bean and allow it to dry well: don't throw it away. Dry it out on a few paper towels and store it for future use, even though it won't be as potent as the first time you had used it.

To flavour dry ingredients, such as sugar, simply use the bean as is, without splitting it. Fill a jar halfway with white sugar, drop in the bean and cover with more sugar: allow it to sit for about 2 - 3 weeks to intensify in flavour.


Artificial liquid vanilla comes in dark or clear form. Use dark vanilla when making cookie dough, egg based creams, chocolate sauces and so on, which won't be affected by its dark colour, since the foods themselves are already dark in colour.

Clear vanilla, on the other hand, is great to use in foods that you want to keep as white as possible, such as: whipping cream, meringue and so on. Using a dark coloured vanilla, instead, will turn these dingy in colour. Next time you make lemon meringue pie, try adding a bit of clear vanilla (or powdered vanilla) into your egg whites: 1 1/2 teaspoons per 3 - 4 egg whites; it adds a great flavour.



Powdered Vanilla

Powdered vanilla is an indispensable ingredient in the kitchen for 3 good reasons. First, it can be used without discolouring foods, such as: whipped cream and egg whites. Secondly, it will not thin them out during whipping. Thirdly, vanilla powder can be mixed together with dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cornstarch, etc., and then be added to wet ingredients without any lumps occurring; or, simply mixed in with dry ingredients alone. If you've ever made cookies, or doughnuts, that require you to coat them in icing sugar, after they have been baked or fried, try adding in about 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered vanilla to 2 - 3 cups of sifted icing sugar. It will make the world of difference. And, a little trick to making the icing sugar coat the cookies, or doughnuts, is to add about 1 tablespoon, or so, of shortening to the sugar mixture and then processing it in a food processor to distribute the shortening well. The fat acts as a bonding agent that helps the sugar adhere to the cookie or doughnut for a longer period of time.



Storing

All types of vanilla should be kept in a cool, dry and dark place, away from heat sources, high humidity levels and sunlight, which weaken their flavour. Keep the vanilla bean in a tightly sealed container, or in a sealed plastic bag to prevent moisture from entering. It's never wrong to play it safe, since humidity can get through any crack. The liquid types should be kept in their original glass bottle or plastic container they were purchased. The powdered form should also be kept in a tightly sealed container, or in a sealed plastic bag to prevent moisture from entering. Powdered vanilla, in addition, should never be stored in a glass jar. Depending on what was previously stored in the jar, there might be remnant smells and the vanilla will absorb those smells, and will thus weaken its flavour.
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Types of Vanilla and appropriate uses

Real: APPROPRIATE FOR CAKES AND COOKIES, NOT FOR ICING SUGAR; MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR EGG WHITES*, CREAM FILLINGS*, CUSTARD FILLINGS*. ICINGS AND FROSTINGS*, NATURAL LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM* AND NON-DAIRY LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM*

Artificial: clear: APPROPRIATE FOR CAKES AND COOKIES, CREAM FILLINGS, CUSTARD FILLINGS, ICINGS AND FROSTINGS, NATURAL LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM AND NON-DAIRY LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM; NOT FOR ICING SUGAR; MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR EGG WHITES*

Artificial: dark: APPROPRIATE FOR CAKES AND COOKIES; NOT FOR ICING SUGAR; MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR EGG WHITES*, CREAM FILLINGS*, CUSTARD FILLINGS*, ICINGS AND FROSTINGS* NATURAL LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM* AND NON-DAIRY LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM*

Bean: MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR CREAM FILLINGS** AND CUSTARD FILLINGS**; NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CAKES, COOKIES, EGG WHITES, ICING SUGAR, NATURAL LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM AND NON-DAIRY LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM

Powder: APPROPRIATE FOR CAKES, COOKIES, EGG WHITES, CREAM FILLINGS, CUSTARD FILLINGS, ICINGS AD FROSTINGS, NATURAL LIQUID WHIPPING CREAM AND NATURAL LIQUID NON-DAIRY WHIPPING CREAM

* - Depending on the colour of a food, a dark vanilla, whether real or artificial, will turn the given food a dingy colour offset, see above.
** - the bean can be soaked in the milk or cream instead of using any other form of vanilla.



Choosing beans

Vanilla beans - those pricey, fragrant, dried seed-pods that offer no easy clue about how to use them - are native to tropical America. There are over 150 varieties of vanilla orchids (there are 27 varieties in South Florida alone), but only two species are used commercially to flavor and fragrance foods and beverages-- Bourbon and Tahitian. Bourbon beans are botanically known as Vanilla planifolia or Vanilla fragrans and originally came from the Gulf Coast of Mexico. When grown in Mexico they're called Mexican beans. On the other hand, beans from the same plant stock are called Bourbon beans if they grow in Madagascar, Indonesia, and many other regions. The big exception is the beans from Tahiti. Even though Tahitian vanilla is now considered its own species, the original plant stock also came from Mexico.

Beans vary in flavor and fragrance when they are grown in different parts of the world. Soil and climate differences as well as methods of curing the beans imbue unique qualities in beans. Vanilla grown only 20 miles apart can have subtle but distinct differences in flavor and appearance.

Tips for choosing quality beans

Premium beans, regardless of where they come from, should have a rich, full aroma, be oily to the touch, and sleek in appearance. Beans to avoid are those with very little scent, are smoky, brittle or dry, or are mildewed.

Bourbon beans are long and slender, with a very rich taste and smell, have thick, oily skin, contain an abundance of tiny seeds, and have a strong vanilla aroma. Bourbon beans from Madagascar and the Comoros are described as having a creamy, haylike, and sweet, with vanillin overtones. Bourbon beans from other regions will be similar if they are picked at peak ripeness and are properly cured.

Mexican beans are very similar to Bourbon beans though they have a more mellow, smooth, quality and a spicy, woody fragrance.

Tahitian beans are usually shorter, plumper, and contain a higher oil and water content than Bourbon beans. The skin is thinner, they contain fewer seeds, and the aroma is fruity and floral. They are often described as smelling like licorice, cherry, prunes, or wine.

All three types of vanilla are equally good to use though their flavors are quite different. I suggest that you experiment to determine which flavor you most like. Or you may find, as I have, that you will choose beans that best pair with the food or beverage you are preparing.

Using the Beans

Frequently I come across recipes that call for scraping the seeds from the vanilla bean and discarding the rest. What a waste! The entire bean is filled with flavor and, in fact, the pod has more flavor than the seeds. You can cut the bean and use a portion at a time or you can use the whole bean, depending on the depth of flavor you wish. To cut open a bean, lay it flat on a cutting surface. Holding one end of the bean to the surface, carefully slice the bean open lengthwise. When you separate the bean, thousands of tiny seeds are exposed. This step shows why it is technically a seed-pod rather than a bean. By cutting the bean open before placing it in a liquid, more of the surface of the bean is exposed, and the greater the flavoring properties. You can scrape the seeds from the pod before removing the bean if you choose.

Vanilla beans can usually be used several times depending on how strenuously you've used them. For instance, if you've placed a vanilla bean in a pitcher of lemonade or a container of mulled cider or wine, the bean will still contain a lot of flavor when the beverage is gone. However, if you soak a vanilla bean in a hot cream mixture then scrape out the seeds and pith, you will probably still have some flavor left in the pod, but it won't be real strong.

Rinse and dry the bean pieces after using them. If there is only the pod left, or, if you've used the bean several times for flavoring beverages let the pieces dry, and retire them to the sugar or coffee jar as they will exude a delicate flavor and fragrance for some time to come. Beans that have been used once or twice can also be ground up and used to add additional flavor to ice creams, cookies, and many other foods.

Keeping Beans

Don't throw out dry or withered beans. They will probably rehydrate in a warm liquid and will still contain flavor. I don't recommend attempting to cut open very dry beans until they are rehydrated, as it's easy to have the knife slip. If you prefer, grind them up and use them in a recipe that calls for ground beans.

Vanilla beans will keep indefinitely in a cool, dark place in an airtight container. Don't refrigerate beans as this can cause them to harden and crystallize. In the humid tropics where beans are grown, they are wrapped in oiled or waxed paper and stored in tin boxes. As I live in a cooler, dryer climate, I keep my beans wrapped in plastic in an airtight plastic tub or glass jar. If you live in a hot humid climate, this isn't a good idea as beans can mildew easily, especially if additional moisture collects in the plastic.

Bourbon beans may develop a frosting of natural vanillin crystals if you keep them for a while. This usually occurs over time and not when the beans are first cured and dried. Called givre in French (which means light frost), these crystals indicate that the beans are high in natural vanillin and are of very good quality. These crystals are quite edible and very flavorful. If you are uncertain whether the beans are covered with crystals or mildewed, take them into the sunlight. The crystals are similar to mineral crystals and will reflect the sun's rays, creating the colors of the rainbow. Mildew, on the other hand, will be dull and flat in the light, and may also smell bad. If the bean is mildewed, throw it away as the mildew will spread to uninfected beans.

[Kitchen Witch]

Grades of Vanilla Beans

When the curing process has been completed, vanilla beans are graded for quality. Beans are separated according to length, plumpness, color, shape, appearance, and moistness. Better quality beans demand a higher market value.

The qualities, or grades, of vanilla beans are as follows:

Prime
Whole, uniform, fine, fatty, oily pods. Deep, dark, chocolate brown in color. No defects, blemishes, or galls. Pleasant aroma, pliable with good moisture content, about 8 inches in length. The finest of all beans.

1st
Similar in quality and characteristics to Prime grade beans, but slightly less fatty.

2nd
Slightly smaller than Prime and 1st grade, and not as fatty. Dark brown in color with a good aroma. About 6-7 inches in length.

3rd
The pods are not uniform; they are thinner, twisted, and not as pliable as higher grades. The skins tend to be harder with a low moisture content. Reddish-brown in color with numerous galls. Fair aroma; about 5-6 inches in length.

4th
(Ordinary) pods may have numerous galls, are reddish in color, and have no distinguishing characteristics.

Inferior
The lowest category which contains all pods that cannot be classified into one of the above categories. Pods are of varied lengths, are very reddish in color, and are hard and dry with low moisture content.

These six grades of beans are used to classify the Bourbon Madagascar variety. The Mexican grades are very similar to the Bourbon. There are six corresponding grades of "split" beans (beans whose skins have split during the curing process). Manufacturers generally use a mixture of several grades and, sometimes, a variety of bean types when making Pure Vanilla Extract.




Vanilla Categories

Standards have been set by the FDA to classify the various consumer vanilla products. This enables consumers to easily determine exactly what type of vanilla product they are purchasing.

Category 1
Pure Vanilla only. Product must contain extractives directly from the vanilla bean.

Category 2
Vanilla-Vanillin. Products that contain pure vanilla extractives and vanillin. Vanillin is a product derived from certain coniferous trees. Of the many ingredients found in the vanilla bean, it is vanillin that gives pure vanilla its flavor.

Category 3
Imitation Vanilla. The flavoring ingredients in these products are Vanilla and/or Ethyl Vanillin, an artificial product 2 to 3 times stronger than Vanillin. Many other flavoring and aromatic ingredients may be used in this category to produce different flavor tones and concentrations.

These categories can be observed in the spice and ice cream sections of your grocer's shelf:

Category 1
Pure Vanilla Extract
Pure Vanilla Flavor
Vanilla Ice Cream

Category 2
Artificial Vanilla Extract
Artificial Vanilla Flavor
Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream

Category 3
Imitation Vanilla
Imitation Vanilla Extract
Imitation Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream

The alcohol content of the product also determines its labeling. FDA regulations require that Pure Vanilla Extract contain a minimum of 35% alcohol. Products below this percentage are classified as flavors: for example, Pure Vanilla Flavor is a product that contains only pure vanilla extractives but does not meet the minimum alcohol content for an extract. An Imitation Vanilla Extract would contain a minimum alcohol content and flavorings derived from artificial ingredients.



Standards for vanilla are set by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. The only ingredients that can be used to manufacture Pure Vanilla Extract are vanilla beans, alcohol, water, sugar and/or corn syrup, and glycerin, which is used to retain flavor and deepen the color. No other ingredient is allowed in the production of a Pure Vanilla Extract.

While these standards control what can go into a Pure Vanilla Extract, they do not control the quality of the ingredients used. Thus, they do not dictate the grade and origin of the beans which determine the taste and quality of the finished product.

As established by the FDA, a gallon of Single-Fold Pure Vanilla Extract should contain the extractives of 13.35 ounces of beans at no more than 25% moisture content. A Two-Fold Pure Vanilla Extract should contain the extractives of 26.7 ounces of beans, a Three-Fold 40.05 ounces, and so on. After processing, the minimum alcohol content must be 35% and the vanillin content must be .11 grams per 100 ml. Anything less than these standards is labeled and classified as a Pure Vanilla Flavor, not as an extract.

Very often, the extractives of 13.35 ounces of beans per gallon will yield a vanilla content higher than the minimum set by the FDA. Since vanilla beans are the most expensive component, some manufacturers will adulterate this standard either by using fewer beans, or by adding more water and alcohol to the finished product. Thus, they bring the vanillin content down to the bare minimum while still meeting the above standards.

The processing of vanilla begins by putting the beans through a milling machine which chops them into coarse pieces to expose the vanillin contained inside the vanilla pod. Next, the chopped beans are placed in a large stainless steel tank with an alcohol and water solution. This solution, called a menstrum, is continually circulated over the beans, dissolving the vanillin contained in them. Several menstrums are usually needed to remove the vanillin. Some processors may also heat this solution for maximum extraction. Upon completion of this process, the product is drained off and bottled.


Like fine bordeaux wines, champagne cognacs of France, and magnificent sherrys, Pure Vanilla Extract requires slow aging in order to develop a full-bodied character. Chemical changes take place during the aging process allowing for the formation of esters from acids, which develops aromas and aldehydes, thereby producing the full complexity of the extract. These changes first become evident at three weeks after bottling, when the bitterness begins to diminish. Within three months, the changes become even more noticeable in taste and particularly in aroma. When aged over six months, the character and complexity of the extract matures, producing topnote essences with smooth, rich taste.

There is a direct correlation between the length of time and the rate of speed with which the extract is aged. The slower the aging, the better the development of the esters and aldehydes which produce the vanilla's quality of aroma and taste.

Aging, however, is very costly and quite rare. The ingredients (alcohol and vanilla beans) are very expensive, and processors today exclude this integral step altogether. Instead, they ship the extract immediately after bottling, thus foregoing the cost involved in aging and storing.




The tastes of Pure Vanilla Extracts are as varied as that of a common brandy to a fine, aged Cognac. Most people, however, have never really tasted for vanilla quality. The differences can be so dramatic that, once experienced, they will never allow you to settle for ordinary vanilla again. This is one of the reasons why gourmet ice cream shoppes are so particular and demanding in their selection of Pure Vanilla Extract, the base flavor for virtually all ice creams. There are several ways to taste vanilla:

[Milk]
Milk
Add 1 teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract to a 6 ounce glass of fresh, cold milk. (If the milk is not fresh, bitterness will be apparent in the tasting.) Thoroughly stir in the vanilla. Slowly sip the mixture while aerating over the tongue to the back of the mouth.

[Ice Cream]
Ice Cream
Pour 1 teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract over a scoop of "vanilla ice cream." (Unflavored ice cream would be preferable, but it is not available in grocery stores.) The ice cream should be slightly softened. Spoon up some of the softened ice cream along with the vanilla extract, place in your mouth, and, with the tongue, press it to the back of your mouth to dissolve.

[Sugar]
Sugar Cube
Place several drops of Pure Vanilla Extract on a cube of sugar. Place in the mouth and suck. When doing this test with a pure vanilla versus an imitation, the difference is immediately noticeable.