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Background:
Collected in the wild by the native tribes of southern Mexico for thousands of years prior to their domination by the Aztecs, vanilla was rare and considered a precious commodity. The pod or bean grows on orchids in the genus Vanilla. Of the 35,000 or more species of this family, the vanilla orchid produces the only edible fruit.The common name is from the Spanish
word vainilla, (little sheath) the Aztec name was tlilxochitl. tlilli (black) and xóchitl (flower.) The pod is black. The flower is pale greenish-yellow.
The main species harvested for vanillin is Vanilla planifolia.
Papantla, Mexico is considered to be the originatin point of vanilla. The wild plant is abundant in the Mexican States of Vera Cruz and Oaxaca. It is now cultivated throughout the tropics. Madagascar is the world's largest producer. Additional sources include Vanilla pompona and Vanilla tahitiensis. Each contains a lower vanillin content than Vanilla planifolia.
Vanilla as a vine grows by climbing an existing tree, pole, or other. Unattended it will reach to 80 feet and feature few flowers. Seasonally, the plant is trained to maintain heights accessible for pollination and collection purposes which also stimulates its flowering.
Vanilla planifolia flowers are hermaphrodite: they carry anther (male) and stigma (female) with a membrane separating the two. Insect pollination is the work of one special bee thriving only in Mexico. Attempts to adapt the bee to other locations have failed. The species of orchid most cultivated worldwide to satisfy the large consumer demand for vanilla flavor is Vanilla planifolia.
Pollination by humans has provided the solution and was first documented for western cultivation practices in 1840. Developed on Réunion island by a child, a 12 year-old enslaved boy, it involved using a bevelled sliver of bamboo and the delicate handwork of folding back the membrane which separates anther from stigma, then pressing the anther onto the stigma to achieve a timely pollination and so, the controlled production of the pod. The flower in full bloom is present for as few as 40 hours, so plants are examined daily. The pods reach their full size in from five weeks to eight months, depending upon altitude and shade. Ripening is seen when slight yellowing of the pod occurs. They are picked, sorted, and curing begins.. Further ripening causes pods to split and deteriorate. Fresh vanilla fruit lacks the familiar vanilla aroma which is developed during the curing process.
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