Family : Orchidaceae
English name : Vanilla
Indian name : Vanilla (Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam,Tannil).
Species : Vanilla fragrans (Salisb) syn., V. planifolia Andrews V. pompon V. tahitensis
Distribution : Mexico, Guatemala, Central America, Java, Comoro Islands, Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, Tahiti, Zanzibar, Uganda, Tonga, Jamaica, West Indies.
Uses : Food flavourant
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Vanilla Iragrans (Salisb) (syn.V.planifiolia Andrews) is an orchid belonging to the family Orchidaceae. It is cultivated for its beans, which have a sweet scent, a heartful aroma and a pleasant flavour. Vanilla is the costliest spice in the spice horizon and is the important source of vanillin, which is used to flavour ice-cream, chocolate, beverages, cakes, custards and other confectionery. It also finds use in perfumery and medicine.
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The chief constituents of vanilla beans, in addition to natural vanillin (1.3-3.8%) are resins, fat, glucose, fructose, about 26 numbers of volatile constituents as well as 144 numbers of other volatile compounds and moisture. 'Vanilla sugar', obtained from the beans, is used in the manufacture of chocolates. Vanillin, the most abundant aromatic compound, is produced during the curing process.
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The synthetic vanillin produced from the waste sulphite liquor of paper mills, coal-tar extracts and from eugenol obtained from clove oil is much cheaper, but inferior in quality to the natural vanilla flavour. Further, after realising the carcinogenic effects of synthetic vanillin, the demand for natural vanilla in the developed countries has shot up several-fold increasing its prospects for large-scale cultivation.
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