
The first blossoms may not show for up to three years after the vines have been planted.

Vanilla is the most labor intensive agricultural crop on the planet, which explains why it is so expensive. Of course there are imitation vanilla products on the market, and you can always make homemade vanilla extract. These spices can enhance other flavors in baking just like vanilla does. You can also use other spices like cinnamon, cardamom or nutmeg. This is why it’s a great replacement to use in the same quantity of a flavored spirit in the amount of vanilla.Īnd as long as you bake whatever you’re creating, the alcohol will cook away, leaving you with only the taste, and no alcohol content. Vanilla powder can also be used as a substitute for vanilla extract.īourbon, rum or brandy can also be used since vanilla beans are soaked in alcohol to extract its appealing taste and aroma. Only half the amount of almond extract is required when vanilla extract in a recipe is called for. You can also use almond Extract which is much stronger than vanilla, but if used moderately, it will provide a similar flavor profile. It closely resembles vanilla’s mellow flavor, and an equal amount of maple syrup can be used. Maple Syrup can be a great substitute for vanilla extract, because it has the same sweet scent as vanilla. What Types of Substitutes are Best, and Why It’s used in many Western sweets, particularly baked products such as cakes, cookies, brownies, and cupcakes, as well as custards, ice creams, and puddings. Vanilla vine produces yellowy green flowers that are hand pollinated once a year.īecause the flowers only last one day, workers must work quickly. Vanilla is a tropical orchid with over 150 variations, however, vanilla climbing vine is native to Mexico. The bourbon vanilla name derives from the period when the French Bourbon rulers governed the island of Réunion.

The name “Bourbon vanilla” refers to vanilla beans that originate in the Bourbon Islands, which include Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion. The primary types used now include Madagascar, Mexican, Tahitian, Indonesian, and Ugandan vanilla beans. Nowadays, vanilla extract is the most commonly used form of vanilla. Vanilla extract is created by macerating and percolating vanilla beans in an ethanol and water solution, which gives it it’s dark brown color.

Vanilla farms were created in Indonesia and other tropical nations such as Madagascar in the mid-1800s. This is why processing factories weren’t built in Europe until the end of the 1700s.Īnd then In 1847, Vanilla Extract was invented, by the Europeans. (It’s sad that tax collectors only take hard cold cash these days!)Īfter the European invasion, the locals did an excellent job of keeping the procedure that brings out the flavor in the vanilla beans a secret. Vanilla was used by the Aztecs to flavor their chocolate beverages, and to pay their taxes. There are about 150 kinds of vanilla, but only two are widely used, Bourbon and Tahitian. Vanilla is the only edible fruit in the orchid family, which is the world’s biggest blooming plant family. Therefore, it is good to have some workarounds in your cooking wheelhouse.
