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Do
you do a lot of baking with vanilla? Ever
wonder why it is so expensive?
Vanilla is a genus of orchids that contains
roughly 110 species that span the tropical regions of the globe. They are
vining orchids, climbing trunks of trees in an attempt to make their bid for the
canopy. Some Vanilla orchids have lost their leaves entirely, relying solely on
their green, photosynthetic stems and roots. The species that gives us the
highly coveted vanilla flavor is Vanilla planifolia from Central America &
Mexico.
Vanilla planifolia plants themselves don't even
start producing vanilla beans until after 3 years, & when they do produce
flowers they are very short-lived. They open up as the sun begins to rise and
are mostly closed by the afternoon. Vanilla is not self-fertile so if the
flower has not been fertilized by afternoon, it will simply wither and fall
off. In the wild, Vanilla relies on stingless bees for pollination. In most
cases, Vanilla growers do not rely on the bees, because, if they are present,
fertilization rates are often extremely low. If the bees are not present, the
plants will not reproduce on their own. Because of this, Vanilla growers must
hand-pollinate all the flowers individually.
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| Wikipedia |
There is no rushing the production of pure vanilla extract, which is why this liquid spice remains so expensive.
Sources: In Defense of Plants, 09/14/15 via Extension Master Gardener 12/13/19. Vanilla
https://tinyurl.com/vanilla-bean-info-1 and Vegetable gardener contributor Chris McLaughlin. Vanilla2