vanilla pod

Vanilla a pod full of flavour

Gillian Hirst

GROWING wild on the fringes of Mexico's tropical forests is a vine whose pods have been touched by the most famous chefs in the world.

Its small greenish flowers open for, at the most, eight hours when they are said to be pollinated exclusively by the humming bird or the melipona bees. The fruit develops within four weeks – a green/yellow pod up to 30cm long. The pods are harvested before fully ripe then plunged into hot steam and lastly, left to cure for four weeks. We are talking, of course, of the vanilla bean.

Recipe: Oranges in Heilala vanilla syrup

Recipe: Vanilla orange syrup

The pollination of vanilla is still a bit of a mystery and natural pollination only occurs in the aforementioned Mexican forests. It wasn't until the 1800s when a man named Alibus worked out a way to artificially pollinate the plant that commercial production could actually begin.

Once cured, the bean, if stored correctly, may be kept almost indefinitely. High quality beans after some time can start to form a white coating on the outside. This is known as frosted vanilla and is the vanillin from the bean crystalising. The frosted beans are very highly prized, so rather than be concerned if your long-held bean is white it is time to rejoice.

When buying vanilla extract, make sure it is labelled just that – Pure Vanilla Extract. The alterative goes under the title of vanilla flavouring. Pure vanilla extract will state in its ingredients at least 35 per cent alcohol, extract of vanilla bean, water and sugar. Vanilla flavouring is a synthetic vanillin made from the sap wood of certain conifers or even coal tar extracts. Even though it can be up to 20 times cheaper, I know which I'd rather have in my body.

The use of vanilla goes back to the Aztecs. It was used as a flavouring in an early form of hot chocolate. It was also recorded in 1529 by a Franciscan friar who saw the spice on sale in Mexico under the label Aztec food.

For the past few months I have been using exclusively Heilala vanilla in my cooking and love the results.

Heilala began as an aid project to assist a village in one of the most beautiful and remote places on the globe, Vava'u Islands, Kingdom of Tonga.

There, the Boggiss family fell in love with the people and the environment, and using their horticultural background and research facilities in Tauranga New Zealand, they established a vanilla plantation. Heilala practises organic growing principles in the most perfect and natural growing environment.

Their vanilla is grown in organic virgin soil, on coconut husk frames, hand pollinated and dried under the Pacific sun, then stored at optimum conditions to ensure full flavour develops.

The result is the richest grade of vanilla in the Asia-Pacific region with a distinctive aroma, shine and plumpness. Heilala vanilla is then packaged in small batches for each order.