Vanilla
VANILLA FRAGRANS | VAINILLA | EXTRAIT DE VANILLE
DESCRIPTION: Because of the extremely labor-intensive, time-consuming process by which it's obtained, pure vanilla is still relatively expensive today. The saga begins with the orchid blossoms, which open only one day a year (and then only for a few hours). Because this particular orchid has only one natural pollinator (the Melipona bee), which cannot possibly handle the task in such a small period of time, the flower must be hand-pollinated - otherwise, no vanilla bean. After pollination, pods take 6 weeks to reach full size (6 to 10 inches long), and 8 to 9 months after that to mature. The mature pods, which must be hand-picked, are green and have none of the familiar vanilla flavor or fragrance. For that they need curing, a 3- to 6-month process that begins with a 20-second boiling-water bath followed by sun heating. Once the beans are hot, they're wrapped in blankets and allowed to sweat. Over a period of months of drying in the sun by day and sweating in blankets at night, the beans ferment, shrinking by 400 percent and turning their characteristic dark brown. The better grades of beans become thinly coated with a white, powdery coating called vanillin (which is also produced synthetically). Today, the three most common types of vanilla beans are Bourbon-Madagascar, Mexican and Tahitian.
NUTRIENT NOTES:
This is a low FODMAPS food. The term FODMAP is an acronym, derived from Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols. FODMAPs are short chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine. FODMAP restriction has been found to improve symptom control in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional gastrointestinal disorders
IN RECIPES
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