Traditionally, they are harvested around the Veracruz, Huesteca, and Puebla areas. Mexican vanilla beans are vanilla beans that have been grown, harvested, and cured in Mexico. Mixed drinks, such as spiced cocktails and margaritas, are also enhanced by rich vanilla flavor. These beans enhance ginger snaps and other spiced cookie varieties. Mexican vanilla beans also pair well with citrus fruits, spicy salsas, and barbecue sauces. The robust flavor of Mexican vanilla beans excels in rich dessert recipes, such as cheesecakes, sweet breads, chocolate confections, custards, ice creams and crème brulee. Make pure vanilla extract or simply use the fresh vanilla bean pods in your favorite recipes. Both the beans and seeds infuse enduring flavor into extracts. Vanillin is the strongest and most easily recognized compound, but the other 130 compounds and approximately 50 aromatic substances are responsible for the tantalizing mix of flavors the Mexican vanilla bean is known for.Ī toasted, spice heavy aroma with hints of rum and dried fruit adds nuance, and the bean is known for adding notes of cinnamon, cocoa, raisin, and tamarind to foods and beverages. The beans contain almost 200 volatile compounds. Vanilla beans grown in Mexico range from a classic spectrum of sweet, creamy, smooth caramel flavors to rich, deep woody notes similar to nutmeg or clove. Mexican vanilla beans have a complex flavor profile that tends to be mellower and smoother than Madagascar vanilla beans. Vanilla beans were finally grown in other locations when one person realized that a bamboo shoot could be used to pollinate flowers by hand.īean Length: 5 to 7 inches Color: Dark Brown to black Moisture Content: 25-30% Flavor: Bold, Sweet, Spicy, Gourmet/Grade A/PrimeĪlthough Mexico and Madagascar both grow Planifolia vanilla beans, there are flavor differences. Botanists were puzzled until they realized that the milipona bees, found only in Mexico, were the main pollinators for vanilla flowers. The first attempts to uproot and transfer vanilla plants didn't end well. Mexico remained the only source of vanilla until the late 1800s when various explorers began exporting the plants to other countries. How Vanilla Became A Favorite Spice Worldwide Xocohotl was a rich beverage created with a combination of chocolate and vanilla. The use of chocolate in beverages began with the Aztecs, and they were the first people to create a delicious drink from vanilla beans as well. The Aztec Empire conquered the Totonacs in the 1400s. It was also used as a perfume and for medicinal purposes, but it was not commonly used as a flavoring. Vanilla was a sacred herb with an honored place in ritual offerings. The Totonacs of Veracruz are known as one of the first people to harvest and use vanilla beans. Mexican vanilla extract has a bad rap, because a lot of what we see on the market is synthetic.Buy vanilla from Mexico, the country of origin for all vanilla beans. Today, Mexico produces some of the world’s rarest and most sought-after vanilla beans.
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