Now for Something Completely Different

Is anyone else old enough to remember the Bullwinkle show? That phrase always reminds me of Bullwinkle. The rest of this post has absolutely nothing to do with moose and squirrel though, it is about Vanilla.

Last year I made my first batch of vanilla. I actually made three different kinds. Tahitian, Indonesian and Madagascar Bourbon. I was surprised by how different the three were. The Tahitian and Indonesian were much lighter than the full bodied Madagascar Bourbon. My favorite of the three is the Madagascar, it is more like a traditional vanilla for baking and I use it all the time.

This year I purchased additional vanilla beans to make vanilla as gifts and found that due to major storms through the vanilla growing area as well as some market speculators the cost of vanilla beans has more than doubled! Yikes! I still bought the beans and my vanilla is happily seeping away.

The whole experience had me researching how vanilla is made, where it is grown, what affects the blooms, etc... so what did I do, I bought two vanilla plants. I enjoy gardening and growing interesting plants and since Vanilla is not native to Nevada it will be a houseplant. A lovely green, viney houseplant that requires lots of love an attention.

I ordered 2 plants from a nursery in Florida for roughly $20. I then spent almost $100 on their new home.

 

Here are my two vanilla plants. They are sitting in a tray of rocks covered in water to increase the humidity around them.

The vanilla plant is an orchid and a vine. It will attach itself to the trellis as it grows and if I am lucky, once it has grown up and over the trellis it may bloom. If that happens I will be hand pollinating the blooms and then, maybe, about 9 months later will have a vanilla bean. Fortunately, I am willing to wait for 5 or so years to see if my vines ever produce vanilla beans.

for those of you interested in making vanilla at home...

I used Madagascar bourbon beans and Kirkland Vodka. Ratio of 7 beans to 1 cup of vodka. Slice each bean lengthwise then cut into small (2-3 inch) pieces and place in a seal-able bottle, cover with vodka and shake. I store mine in the pantry and shake it every couple of days for the first month, then once a week (or when I remember) for the next month. You can start using is after 2 months though in my experience vanilla ages beautifully and the flavor deepens over time.

As sources for vanilla beans and information on vanilla I like both Beanilla and Vanilla Bean Kings. Both are great sources for information and beans :)

Enjoy!