Essential Pantry Tahitian Vanilla Bean
1 Bean Pod
The noble vanilla bean conjures, in many people's minds, a bland flavoring (or worse yet, an imitation flavoring) for inferior confections, mass-produced baked goods, and sluggish coffee served in paper cups - and even a feeble epithet for all things terminally boring.
Today, vanilla is cultivated mainly in Mexico, Madagascar, and Tahiti. The odorless beans are immersed in hot water, then commence a six-month curing process. Warmed under tropical skies by day, swaddled in blankets and straw mats by night; the darkened beans are placed on racks in special curing rooms until they graduate to export.
Vanilla History
Vanilla beans are the exquisite pod-like fruit of the scentless vanilla orchid flower. Of more than 50 varieties of vanilla orchid, only three produce the delicious fruit connoisseurs crave. Vanilla orchids have existed for eons, probably first appearing in the West Indies and Mexico, where it was used by indigenous groups long before the first millenium AD. Aztecs appropriated their discovery about 1,000 years ago, then passed it on to Spanish Conquistadors 500 years later. Europeans embraced the singular flavor of vanilla, establishing plantations across the globe in temperate lands, hugging the equator.
Tahitian Vanilla Beans
Vanilla Tahitensis yields fatter beans, more moist than Mexican or Bourbon, but possessing a singular floral sweetness. Many vanilla experts have developed a fierce loyalty to this rare and costly bean.
Origin: Tahiti
THIS PRODUCT IS PACKAGED IN A FACILITY THAT ALSO HANDLES WHEAT FLOUR, SOY FLOUR, TREE NUTS, PEANUTS, CHOCOLATE (MILK), AND OTHER ALLERGENS
