Origin of Vanilla and Puerto Vallarta

The birthplace of vanilla, Mexico produces some of the world’s finest vanilla beans. But there is often a lot of confusion about Mexican vanilla extracts. Vanilla beans cultivated around the world originally all came from Mexico. When Cortés came to conquer Mexico in 1519, he sent samples of the vanilla orchid back to Spain where they eventually spread to other growing areas around the world

All vanilla beans derive their quality not from the region where they are grown, but from their methods of cultivation, harvest, and curing.

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Yes, there are subtle flavor differences in beans from different regions. But as with wine, distinguishing those differences, and describing them, requires a keenly developed palette.

There are numerous words used to label the “vanilla” sold in stores around the world today. BEWARE! The cheap product in the big bottle is not vanilla at all. It is imitation vanilla with unknown ingredients.

Vallarta Botanical Garden – orquidea de vainilla,,

So why do so many people love Mexican vanilla extract and indeed go out of their way to buy it? Clearly there’s something different about Mexican vanilla extract!

To understand why, we have to look at the price of vanilla extract, and U.S. food safety and labeling standards.

What many people don’t know is that in the countries where vanilla is grown, the average person cannot afford to buy it. This has been especially true in the last three years, as bean prices have broken records.

Grown from an orchid, vanilla beans are one of the world’s most difficult crops to cultivate. After harvest, the beans require an arduous and tricky nine-month process of sun drying to cure properly. Vanilla simply does not lend itself to mechanization or other methods of mass production. From start to finish, vanilla beans are produced by hand. This method is feasible only in poor countries where wages are low. As a result, in countries where vanilla is grown, the average person simply cannot afford to spend $$$ on a bottle of vanilla extract.

Artificial vanilla extract is affordable, and is the vanilla extract predominantly sold in countries that produce vanilla beans. This is the paradox of vanilla’s hand-crafted production.

That is why in Mexico, even though the country grows very fine beans, artificial vanillas dominate the market.

Pure Vanilla Extract has a complex flavor, comprised of approximately 300 individual flavor components all working together to create its rich flavor and bouquet. Producing premium pure vanilla extract always begins with the beans. You cannot produce high quality extracts with inferior quality beans! It can be found in several strengths called fold: single (1X) and double (2X) are common for the baking industry. There is even a 60X strength available only to industrial users where excessive liquid is a problem.

Pure Mexican Vanilla has at least a 35% alcohol content and higher natural vanillin concentration. It is therefore best utilized in those items which require high heat, such as baked goods. This allows much of the alcohol to burn off. The color is light brown from the cured beans. Although expensive, this is the BEST vanilla you can buy in Mexico.

Traditional Mexican Vanilla has 10% alcohol (90% water) and less than 1% of natural vanillin. The vanillin helps hold the flavor. Also the less alcohol makes the vanilla much more versatile and can be used for anything that calls for vanilla such as French toast, smoothies, homemade ice cream, whip cream, cookies, cakes, oatmeal, etc.

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Some of the vanilla extracts sold in Mexico are stretched with tonka bean extract, which has a similar taste and aroma to vanilla but contains coumarin which can be toxic to the liver and is banned as a food additive by the US Food & Drug Administration since the 1950s. Most reputable companies avoid this additive. Other countries have less strict regulations.

Artificial Vanilla Extract In the 1880s the first synthetic vanilla extracts came from Germany, providing a cheaper alternative to natural vanilla. Soon it was discovered that synthetic vanillin could be made from the waste water of paper pulp and coal tar processing. Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean began selling cheap synthetic vanillas hoping to cash in on Mexico’s vanilla connection.

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