Difference between revisions of "Vanilla discovery tour"

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'''Whether exploring a national park in the SAVA region or just travelling through Sambava, the de facto capital of the world's vanilla, a tour of a vanilla plantation combined with a visit to a vanilla production and export facility offers an insight into the lenghty and labour intensive process of transforming the green fruits of the vanilla orchid into the fragrant black vanilla spice that is appreciated around the world mostly as an ingredient in ice creams, chocolates and countless other sweets.'''
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'''Whether exploring a national park in the SAVA region or just travelling through Sambava - the de facto capital of the world's vanilla - a tour of a vanilla plantation combined with a visit to a vanilla production and export facility, offers an insight into the lenghty and labour intensive transformation process of the green fruits of the vanilla orchid into a fragrant black vanilla spice that is mostly appreciated around the world as an ingredient in ice creams, chocolates and countless other sweets.'''
  
 
What can be experienced depends the time of the year and the activities that happen to be ongoing during a visit. Between May and June, the plucking of green vanilla beans are done across plantations along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside, while at higher altitudes around Andapa and Marojejy, the harvesting usually takes place in July or August.   
 
What can be experienced depends the time of the year and the activities that happen to be ongoing during a visit. Between May and June, the plucking of green vanilla beans are done across plantations along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside, while at higher altitudes around Andapa and Marojejy, the harvesting usually takes place in July or August.   

Revision as of 14:53, 29 July 2022

Whether exploring a national park in the SAVA region or just travelling through Sambava - the de facto capital of the world's vanilla - a tour of a vanilla plantation combined with a visit to a vanilla production and export facility, offers an insight into the lenghty and labour intensive transformation process of the green fruits of the vanilla orchid into a fragrant black vanilla spice that is mostly appreciated around the world as an ingredient in ice creams, chocolates and countless other sweets.

What can be experienced depends the time of the year and the activities that happen to be ongoing during a visit. Between May and June, the plucking of green vanilla beans are done across plantations along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside, while at higher altitudes around Andapa and Marojejy, the harvesting usually takes place in July or August.

The green vanilla beans are thereafter brought by the farmers to organised green vanilla markets across the vanilla producing regions where buyers will place competing bids for the yearly harvests. A minimum price is set by the farmers in cooperation with the government, which in 2022 was 75,000 Ar per kilogram of green vanilla.

The green vanilla is will be bought mainly by exporters who manage the months-long transforming process of the green beans into black vanilla beans. For every six kilos of green vanilla, approximately one kilo of black vanilla beans can be produced as the bens shrink and lose moisture during the drying process.

Througout the entire transformation, known as the curing process, the beans are graded and grouped into classifications: Grade A being Gourmet Quality, Grade B Extract quality and Grade C which are known as Cuts & Splits. The classifications are not indicators of overall quality but of suitability for different end-uses and their levels of himidity. Low-humidity beans are simply suitable for large-scale food processing purposes, since they can easily ground into powder and mixed into various food products. Grade B, or Extract grade vanilla beans, is a definition of the vanilla that is typically suited for the production of vanilla extracts, while Grade A beans, or gourmet quality beans, are selected in part for their appearance.

Grade A beans are usually preferred by chefs and for home baking purposes, especially by end-consumers. Yet, all grades can be used in cooking and baking. While grade A may have a stronger scent and a better overall appearance, the drier Grade B or even C with their relatively low moisture offer the greatest volume per kilogram, effectively providing more vanilla and flavour for the same weight and likely a lower price.

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

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

Historically, the type of vanilla bean grown on Madagascar is of the Planifolia species, also known as Bourbon vanilla or simply Madagascar vanilla. The "Bourbon" part is dues to the history of a French owned slave on La Reunion, known as Bourbon Island, who discovered the hand-pollination method since in their original environment, natural pollination occurs ony by a bee native to Mexico.

Apart from flavouring sweets from countless deserts to ice cream and drink products, vanilla is used in essential oils, cosmetics, toiletries, perfumes as well as in medicines.