[chajin]

1) Madagascar has the distinction of being the location for the fastest-growing segment of the Lutheran church in the world today.

2) The whole article sounds to me like the start of a global war on terroir...

[DManA]

I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted real vanilla. Just vanilla “flavor”.

[lee martell]

I would have though by now, there would be hothouses and greenhouses aplenty devoted to growing the Vanilla Bean. Maybe Vanilla is like the Coffee Bean, in that it is difficult to artificially reconstruct the conditions readily available in nature, albeit in limited quantities.

[OldNewYork]

Only a terroirist would say that.

[Fungi]

The story neglected one thing: mycorrhizal fungi. Vanilla species are dependent on fungi for plant growth and production of the beans. http://www.mycologia.org/content/99/4/510.full.pdf

[manic4organic]

You can buy vanilla orchids online. Keeping them alive and pollinating them in another matter.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Calling your attention to this thread! I think that Nick posted this with you in mind! Orchids and Vanilla!

[Nepeta]

I worked at RT French (mustard? red pennant? once had their own line of herbs and spices) for several years and worked with vanilla beans.

Real vanilla extract is wonderful. It has at least 1000 different components, which is part of its subtlety. After you've used the real thing, artificial vanilla is a rotgut kind of product, cheap but harsh. Don't waste your money and time using this inferior product. Your sugar cookies and ice creams will make the difference obvious.

Regarding Mexican vanilla. I would not touch it. Mexican food and drug laws are whimsical, and following them seems to be optional--even if you buy a product labeled like the American-made analogue, someone may have used a different component than what is on the label, as I discovered when analyzing some Mexican Crest during my days as a Proctoid. The label doesn't mean what you read on Mexican packages--and I am talking about a major, active ingredient in this particular version of Crest.

Mexican vanilla is commonly spiked with coumarin-related compounds, which make it smell wonderful and a lot of Americans buy it, but these particular compounds were removed from American artificial vanilla decades ago when they were shown to be carcinogenic. They do not naturally occur in vanilla beans.

Find a brand of real vanilla you like, and stick with it.

Or do what I did at RT French, and set up a Soxhlet extraction and make your own!

[blam]

History Of Vanilla