Difference between revisions of "Vanilla discovery tour"

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'''Whether visiting one of the nationals park in the SAVA region or passing through Sambava, a visit to a vanilla plantation and preparation facility offers an insight into the process by which vanilla is transformed from a beautiful orchid into the highly versiitile black spice that will add certain magical flavours to a wide variety of products from craft ice creams, countless sweet deserts, drinks, perfumes and much much more.'''
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'''Whether visiting one of the nationals park in the SAVA region or passing through Sambava, a visit to a vanilla plantation and preparation facility offers an insight into the process by which vanilla is transformed from a beautiful orchid into the highly versiitile black spice that will add certain magical flavours to a wide variety of food products from craft ice creams and countless sweet deserts, drinks as well as essential oils, perfumes and medicinal uses.'''
  
 
What can be seen depends on the activities that are happening at the time, which changes slightly from season to season. Generally speaking, during May and June, harvesting of green vanilla beans are happening along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside. At higher altitudes, around Andapa and Marojejy, harvesting usually takes place in July or August.   
 
What can be seen depends on the activities that are happening at the time, which changes slightly from season to season. Generally speaking, during May and June, harvesting of green vanilla beans are happening along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside. At higher altitudes, around Andapa and Marojejy, harvesting usually takes place in July or August.   

Revision as of 11:45, 20 July 2022

Whether visiting one of the nationals park in the SAVA region or passing through Sambava, a visit to a vanilla plantation and preparation facility offers an insight into the process by which vanilla is transformed from a beautiful orchid into the highly versiitile black spice that will add certain magical flavours to a wide variety of food products from craft ice creams and countless sweet deserts, drinks as well as essential oils, perfumes and medicinal uses.

What can be seen depends on the activities that are happening at the time, which changes slightly from season to season. Generally speaking, during May and June, harvesting of green vanilla beans are happening along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside. At higher altitudes, around Andapa and Marojejy, harvesting usually takes place in July or August.

After harvesting, green vanilla beans are traded at organised market places where buyers will place competing bids for farmers and cooperatives yearly harvest. These markets are regulated and a minimum price is set by the industry and government, which in 2022 was 75,000 Ar per kilogram of green vanilla. The green vanilla is bought mostly by local exporters who manage the months-long transforming of the green beans beans into the black pods that are most familiar to consumers.

Througout the transformations process, also known as the curing, the beans are graded and grouped into classified based on suitability for different end-uses: Grade A being Gourmet Quality, Grade B Extract quality and Grade C which are also so-called Cuts & Splits. The classifications are based by the level of humidity.

Low-humidity beans are suitable for large processing purposes, since the dryer beans are easily ground into powder and mixed into various food products. Grade B, or Extract grade vanilla beans, is a loose definition for the vanilla beans that are typically set aside for the production of vanilla extracts, while Grade A beans, being gourmet quality, are selected in part for their visual appearance, being unsplit pods as usually preferred by chefs and for home baking purposes.

The above said, all grades can be used in cooking and baking. While grade A may have a stronger scent and a better appearance, the drier Grade B or even C with their low moisture levels, although lacking in appearance, will offer greater volume per kilogram, giving more vanilla and flavour for the same weight.

In Madagascar, vanilla is rarely used in cooking or home baking and is almost exclusively sold as cash-crop for export purposes. Since the last peak price of black vanilla at around USD 500 per kilo in 2018 and 2019, countless farmers have invested their time in cultivating specifically vanilla.

Vanilla beans grow best in light but shaded conditions. Partly and fully grown green vanilla beans can be seen at many plantations between March and up until harvesting time.