Vanilla

Vanilla comes from the fruit of several orchids in the genus Vanilla, especially Vanilla planifolia. This climbing vine is native to parts of Mexico and Central America. It produces long, narrow pods containing many tiny seeds surrounded by fragrant pulp. Natural pollination is unusual because the flowers depend on specific pollinators found in their native range.

Elsewhere, growers generally pollinate them by hand. Freshly harvested pods have little of the familiar vanilla aroma. They must be cured through stages such as heating, sweating, drying, and conditioning. During curing, chemical reactions produce vanillin and other compounds that create vanilla’s characteristic smell and flavor.

Vanilla flavors desserts, chocolate, ice cream, pastries, drinks, sauces, and other foods. Its aroma does not come from vanillin alone: natural vanilla contains a complex mixture of aromatic substances. Vanilla extract is made by extracting these compounds from cured pods, usually with water and ethanol.

Vanillin can also be produced industrially from other raw materials, so vanilla-flavored products are not necessarily made entirely from vanilla pods. Genuine vanilla is relatively expensive because cultivation, hand pollination, harvesting, and curing require considerable labor. They are often called vanilla beans, although botanically they are fruits.