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HIS SPICE

The sweet one

FOR MULTIPLE USE Vanilla flower

There was a time when vanilla cultivation was a fad, especially in Kerala. Lucrative prices in the market made almost everyone fancy being a vanilla cultivator to reckon with. There were many who began with a couple of vanilla creepers in their kitchen garden. A friend told me about the running joke in her family which owes a few laughs to the vanilla. The spice demands manual pollination. By the time my friend’s enthusiastic father mastered the art of pollinating the flower, the vanilla prices had come crashing down.

Vanilla, therefore, is a stubborn spice, demanding constant attention and care. Quite like pepper, this creeper finds it way around well-nourished trees and plants. The plant belongs to the orchid family and has thick leaves. However, vanilla cultivation can be a test to an amateur’s patience. Tending to the flower and pollinating it will turn into a daily morning ritual and a little error would mean there are no fruits. Further, vanilla flowers have a short life span. Manual pollination had to be adopted for a reason. It is believed that vanilla is pollinated by the melipone bee found exclusively in the vanilla native — Mexico. So, wherever else vanilla is cultivated across the world, the only choice was manual pollination. If the painstaking process is carried through correctly, it will gift you the fruit, commonly called the vanilla pod.

Local farmers sell these pods, which later undergo tedious processing. It is from the fruit and seeds that vanilla acquires its flavouring qualities. Unlike other spices, vanilla is one which is marked for its sweetness. The spice is a pleasant one, lending a breath of fresh air to the cuisine — giving it a distinct aroma and flavour.

Vanilla is used extensively in baking, ice creams, pudding, pastries as also in the cosmetic industry. One item vanilla is distinctly identified with is vanilla ice cream. The spice gives the sedate ice cream its serene flavour. Madagascar and Mexico are especially known for the super fine vanilla it produces. Well, it’s all the hard work that goes into extracting the vanilla flavour, which makes the spice one of the most expensive ones in the fray.

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