Gourmet vanilla beans have become the most precious spice in the world, after saffron. Gourmet is so special that most culinary experts agree that the best synthetic vanillin still can’t reach the taste of the original one. What is gourmet vanilla? Why is it so special? Here are the pieces of information.

Vanilla, The Best Spice For Cakes, Drinks, And Ice Creams

There are a lot of spices in the world. Some of them are specially used in food, meat, vegetables, or other food ingredients. Other spices are suitable for body care, while others can use as fragrance and aromatherapy.
Vanilla is one of the spices that come from plants like orchids. These plants grow with vines that hold to other trees’ stems or to a pole. They grow from seed or from cutting. Gourmet vanilla beans are one of the most vanilla species that grow in the world. It is the best choice for food and drinks.

5 Information You Need To Know About Gourmet Vanilla Beans

There are some species of vanilla plants, but the most planted is vanilla planifolia. What is the connection between this species to gourmet vanilla?

Vanilla Planifolia

Vanilla has some species. Three of the usual plants for the pods are Vanilla Planifolia, Vanilla tahitensis, and Vanilla Pompona. Vanilla Planifolia is the most species planted by vanilla farmers in the world.
Vanilla plants need several years to grow. Even if it starts with cutting, it still takes several years to grow and reach time for blossoming flowers. When the flowers blossom, they need help to do pollination. In Central America, where vanilla plants came from, the pollination is helped by melipona bees. But the bee lives only in their original habitat. So in other places, pollination is helped by a human.
The pollination can help with a small stick to meet the pollen from the anther with the female part called stigma. This simple pollination method was discovered by Edmond Albius in 1841. His discovery is very useful to this day to help vanilla farmers get the vanilla pods. The problem is, that vanilla flowers don’t blossom together. There might be 15-20 flowers in a branch that blossoms only once each day. It means farmworkers should come to the branch every day to help the pollination so that the work in vanilla farms almost never stops.
When the pollination is done, the pods will grow. It came from small green pods. It will grow until it reaches the maximum amount in 6–8 months. Then, the pods will riped. The sign of harvest time is the appearance of yellow lines on the pod’s surface and the yellow color on its edge.
Harvesting vanilla pods must do by hand with the help of a scissor or cutter. Cut only the ripe pods to keep the high quality. The rest can harvest next time.

Gourmet Vanilla Beans

Gourmet vanilla is the other name of grade A vanilla planifolia pods. This species is planted in many countries, but the most amount came from Madagascar and Indonesia. In that two countries, vanilla beans are planted in the farms.

The Flavour

Gourmet vanilla has a strong vanilla taste and creamy. It spread the fruity and winy aroma. This flavor is widely used in foods, desserts, drinks, and ice creams. The special flavor will invite appetite to enjoy what serve on the table.

The Physical Condition

Gourmet vanilla has a big size if compared with the extract grade. It is longer and bigger. It also looks so full. The color is attractive, without any spot or separated color. It looks oily and moist. The looks itself can show the quality.

The Benefit Of Using Gourmet Vanilla

Using gourmet vanilla, known as prime, will give a lot of benefits. The taste of the food that uses this spice won’t lie to the tongue. It creates a strong taste and excellent aroma at once.
If this vanilla is used in desserts and drinks, they’ll become tasty, too. Ice cream will feel rich in flavor if these original and high-quality beans are used.
As it contains full natural chemical compounds, so that only a small amount of the extract will be enough. This can compress the need for vanilla beans. If using the other grade, to reach the same taste, it may need several beans. Of course, it will need more money to buy.
Gourmet vanilla is also available for storage for a long time. The vanilla extract could keep for months and still give the same flavor.
Gourmet vanilla beans are the best quality in the world for this time. It is widely used in desserts, foods, drinks, ice creams, and many more. Most gourmet vanilla came from Madagascar. It looks oily, moist, and smooth. Using gourmet vanilla can give a lot of benefits.