![]() The Totonac used vanilla as a fragrance in temples and as a good-luck charm in amulets, as well as flavoring for food and beverages. The Totonac people, who live along the eastern coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, were among the first people to domesticate vanilla, cultivated on farms since at least 1185. Vanilla planifolia traditionally grew wild around the Gulf of Mexico from Tampico around to the northeast tip of South America, and from Colima to Ecuador on the Pacific side, as well as throughout the Caribbean. 1580) and description of its use and properties written in the Nahuatl language History Drawing of the Vanilla plant from the Florentine Codex (c. Nevertheless, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume production, and aromatherapy, as only small amounts are needed to impart its signature flavor and aroma. Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice (as measured in terms of average price by unit of weight) after saffron because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive. Madagascar's and Indonesia's cultivations produce two-thirds of the world's supply of vanilla. planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia. The majority of the world's vanilla is the V. pompona, found in the West Indies, Central America, and South America. × tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific and V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean V. Three major species of vanilla currently are grown globally, all of which derive from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern-day Mexico. By the end of the 20th century, Albius was considered the true discoverer. Noted French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. ![]() Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand-pollinated. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from which the vanilla spice is obtained. Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla ( V. planifolia). Vanilla planifolia, flower Dried vanilla beans For the Japanese band, see Vanilla Beans (band). At this point, they should be cut from the plant with scissors or pruners and cured, which is a required part of the harvesting process."Vanilla bean" redirects here. You'll know it's time when the tips of the pod begin to turn yellow. Once the pod starts forming, it'll be about another nine months before the pod is fully grown and ready to harvest. Done! If pollination was successful, you'll see a pod forming in about a week.Gently apply the pollen you collected from the anthers onto the stigma. Pull the shield around the stigma back.Collect pollen from the anthers on the end of a toothpick or chopstick.Specifically, you need to be able to identify the anther (which is the female part that produces pollen) and the stigma (which is the male part that the pollen gets deposited on.) The stigma has a petal "shield" around it, and you can gently pull that back to reveal the sigma. When a blossom opens, inspect it so you can identify the different parts.This is best done during the morning, before the flower begins fading. In the wild, certain types of bees would have pollinated Vanila planifolia, but in your home, you'll have to undertake the task yourself.
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