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Vanilla tahitensis
Also called Tahitian Vanilla, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Orchid, Vanilla Pod
Vanilla × tahitensis is a hybrid orchid in the genus Vanilla. It was first described by the botanist John William Moore in 1933 from Raiatea in the Society Islands, where it was found growing on trees, having escaped from cultivation.
The seed is planted at the foot of a small tree and the vine scrambles up the trunk. When it gets too tall to be easily reached, it is detached from the trunk and wound round it, the trunk becoming surrounded by multiple layers of vine. The plant starts flowering when three years old, and as the flowers only last for a day, they need to be hand-pollinated in a timely manner. The pods develop over a period of about nine months, and they are picked by hand when they turn reddish-brown. They are then sun-dried by day and placed in sweatboxes by night. The curing and fermentation process lasts for about three months, during which time the pods lose much of their moisture and become supple and oily.
The pods are relatively flavourless when first picked and the typical flavours and aromas arise during the curing process. The main active ingredients are vanillin, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and vanillic acid.
Vanilla andamanica · Vanilla aphylla · Leafy Vanilla · Chamisso's Vanilla · Vanilla humblotii · Vanilla imperialis · Vanilla moonii · Vanilla odorata · Leafy vanilla · Vanilla phalaenopsis · Vanilla pilifera · Vanilla
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vanilla × tahitensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
