Vanilla orchids - Kauai Nursery & Landscaping, Inc.

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This booklet is the second in a series and discusses harvesting, curing, and using vanilla beans. The first booklet we produced covered propagating, growing, and pollinating vanilla orchids. We hope that these booklets are helpful and will encourage backyard gardeners here on Kauai to start growing and producing local vanilla. We would like to thank Senator Daniel Inouye’s Kauai Agricultural Development Program for sponsoring this workshop and booklet, and Garden Island Resource Conservation and Development Program for administering the KADP program. January 2011
Introduction Vanilla is a member of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) and there are 110 documented species of the genus Vanilla. It is native to Mexico. Two species of vanilla are used commercially, and Vanilla planifolia is the most common species in the food industry. In this diverse genus of Vanilla, there is a large leaf or “giant” vanilla species and other species that look leafless with small scales instead of traditionally shaped leaves. All vanilla species are vines and will produce flowers under the right conditions. If the flowers are pollinated, they will produce a fruit or pod (commonly called a vanilla bean). These fruits are filled with tiny black seeds. In nature, a bee native to Mexico pollinates vanilla flowers; however, this bee is very specialized and has a small range so commercial growers pollinate vanilla by hand. Hand-pollinating is labor intensive and contributes to the high price of vanilla beans and of real vanilla extract. Much of the vanilla sold in the store is labeled as “imitation” vanilla extract and made synthetically. The Aztec Indians are credited with discovering vanilla’s aromatic properties and were using the vanilla bean as early as the 1500’s. The conquistador Cortez observed the ruler Montezuma drinking a vanilla-scented chocolate beverage and brought it to Europe. For 300 years vanilla was produced only in Mexico. In the 1800’s, a Belgian named Charles Morren discovered that the Melipona bee is the only insect capable of pollinating vanilla and subsequently developed an commercially unfeasible method of artificial pollination. Shortly thereafter, a 12-year old slave in Madagascar, Edmond Albius, created an efficient method of hand-pollinating the vanilla orchid that facilitated worldwide commercial vanilla production.
Page 1 and 2: ABOUT VANILLAORCHIDS KauaiNursery&L
Page 3 and 4: Introduction V anilla is a member o
Page 5 and 6: Trim off dead roots and the bottom
Page 7 and 8: Support: Vanilla orchids will likel
Page 9 and 10: Morphology Stigma Rostellum Stamen
Page 11 and 12: T he labellum looks like a round tu
Page 13 and 14: PHOTO CREDITS Cover, Back Cover: Ke
Page 18 and 19: Artificial vanilla extract verses R
Page 20 and 21: Curing Curing is very important bec
Page 22 and 23: Stunning & Sweating This step invol
Page 24 and 25: Finished product Grading Beans are
Page 26 and 27: Black Bean-Crusted Yellowfin Tuna w
Page 28 and 29: Tuiles Tuiles are thin cookies. The
Page 30 and 31: Vanilla and Armagnac-Roasted Banana
Page 32 and 33: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake by Aimeeboz

Vanilla orchids - Kauai Nursery & Landscaping, Inc.

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