Vanilla | OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

What Is the Vanilla Plant?

A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of apple pie

Vanilla is a climbing orchid vine that produces one of the world’s most popular and expensive flavors. Its scientific name is Vanilla planifolia, and it holds a unique distinction: it is the only orchid out of more than 25,000 species that produces an edible crop. The vine can grow over 30 feet long, clinging to trees with its thick green stems and aerial roots in the shady understory of tropical forests. Vanilla is native to Mexico and Central America, where it grew wild in the rainforests for thousands of years. The flavoring we know and love comes from the plant’s long, slender seed pods, which are often mistakenly called beans.

The Totonac Discovery

The Totonac people of eastern Mexico are believed to be the first humans to cultivate and use vanilla. According to their legend, the vanilla orchid sprang from the blood of a princess who was forbidden from marrying the young man she loved. The Totonacs used vanilla to flavor their chocolate drinks and as a perfume and medicine. When the Aztecs conquered the Totonacs, they adopted vanilla as well, adding it to their royal chocolate beverage called xocolatl. Spanish conquistadors brought vanilla back to Europe in the 1500s, where it became a prized flavoring among royalty and the wealthy.

Hand-Pollinated Flowers

Growing vanilla is incredibly labor-intensive, which is a big reason why it is the second most expensive spice in the world after saffron. In its native Mexico, vanilla flowers are naturally pollinated by a specific type of tiny bee called the Melipona bee and possibly by certain hummingbirds. When vanilla was transplanted to other tropical regions like Madagascar and Tahiti, these natural pollinators did not exist. In 1841, a 12-year-old enslaved boy named Edmond Albius on the island of Reunion figured out a technique for hand-pollinating vanilla flowers using a thin stick, a method still used today. Each flower blooms for only one day, so workers must check the vines every morning and pollinate each blossom by hand.

From Pod to Flavor

After pollination, vanilla pods take about nine months to grow to full size, roughly the same amount of time as a human pregnancy. The green pods are harvested just before they are fully ripe and then undergo a long curing process that takes several months. Workers blanch the pods in hot water, then wrap them in blankets to sweat during the day and spread them out to dry at night, repeating this cycle for weeks. This patient process allows enzymes to break down compounds in the pod and create the complex flavor and aroma we associate with vanilla. A single vanilla pod contains hundreds of chemical compounds that work together to produce its distinctive taste.

Vanilla Today

Madagascar is the world’s largest producer of vanilla, growing about 80 percent of the global supply. Because vanilla production is so labor-intensive and time-consuming, the price of real vanilla can swing wildly from year to year, sometimes costing more per pound than silver. Most of the vanilla flavor used in foods, ice cream, and baked goods today is actually artificial vanillin, a single chemical compound synthesized in laboratories. However, real vanilla extract contains that complex blend of hundreds of flavor compounds that artificial versions cannot fully replicate. The word “vanilla” has come to mean plain or boring in everyday language, but there is nothing plain about this rare and complex plant.