Changes

'''Whether you're visiting exploring a national park in the SAVA region or just passing travelling through Sambava, the de facto world capital of the world's vanillaagriculture, a tour of a vanilla plantation combined with a visit to a vanilla plantation production facility will give visitors an insight into the lenghty and a preparation facility offers a take-away experience from labour intensive process of transforming the green fruits of vanilla orchids into the fragrant black natural vanilla spice that is the regionworld's favourite ingredient in quality ice creams, pastries and countless other food products.'''

What can be seen depends on the activities that are ongoing at the time, which changes slightly from season to seasonof a visit. Generally, during Between May and June, harvesting of green vanilla beans is happening close to done across plantations on the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha, and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside. At inland, while at higher altitudes, around Andapa and Marojejy, the harvesting usually takes place in July or and early August.

After harvesting, the green vanilla beans crops are traded at market places brought by the farmers to vanilla markets across the vanilla producing regions where buyers place competing bids with farmers and cooperativesbid for their produce. These yearly markets are regulated whereby a A minimum price is set by the governmentgovernent each year, which in 2022 was 75,000 Ar per kilogram of green vanilla.

The green vanilla is crops are sold mostly mainly to local exporters and producers who manage the approximately three months-long transforming transformation of the green beans into black vanilla beans. As the beans into lose moisture and shrink during the drying process, every six kilos of green beans will produce approximately one kilogram of black pods that are familiar to consumersvanilla beans.

Througout the transformationstransformation, known as the curing process, the beans are graded and classified in into different end-usesgrouped by classifications: Grade A being Gourmet Quality, Grade B being Extract quality and Grade C that are so-called known as Cuts & Splits. The These classifications , sometimes mistaken for indicators of quality, are defined by the level of based on humidityand thereby suitability for different endn-uses.

Low-humidity beans are most suitable suited for large -scale food processing purposes since dryer beans are more as they can easily be ground into powder and mixed into with various food products than the moist black beans. Grade B, or Extract gradevanilla beans, is a loose definition for the vanilla beans grade that are is typically suitable used for the production of vanilla extracts, while Grade A beans, being or gourmet qualitybeans, which have the highest humidity, are selected typically favoured by chefs and end-consumers who will split open the pods to scrape out its seeds to mix into various cooking and baking creations. But all grades can be used in part based by their visual cooking and baking. While grade A may have a stronger scent and a better overall appearance, being Grade B or even C with its lowest moisture content will offer the black unsplit pods usually preferred by chefs highest volume per kilogram, effectively providing more vanilla and anyone home bakingflavouring for the same weight at a lower price than Grade A beans.

The above saidIn Madagascar, all grades can be vanilla is rarely used in home cooking and bakingalmost exclusively farmed for export purposes. While grade A may have a stonger scent Since the price of vanilla peaked at around USD 500 per kilo in 2018 and better appearance2019, the drier Grade B or even C with countless farmers have invested their low moisture level, although lacking visual appearance, will however offer greater volume per kilogram, giving more time and efforts in cultivating vanilla and more flavour for the weightas their primary cash crop.

In Madagascar, vanilla is rarely used in cooking and home baking and almost exclusively sold as a cash-crop for export purposes. Since the last peak price of black vanilla at around USD 500 per kilo in 2018 and 2019, many farmers have invested their time in cultivating 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. Historically, the type of vanilla grown in Madagascar is the Planifolia species, also known as Bourbon vanilla or simply Madagascar vanilla. The species originates from Mesoamerica where it grew centuries ago. The "Bourbon" part is a hostorical reference a French owned slave on La Reunion, then known as Île Bourbon, who discovered how to pollinate the vanilla orchids by hand to bear fiuits, since in their original habitat, pollination can only occur by bees native to Mexico. Apart from flavouring sweets in countless food and drink products, vanilla is used in essential oils, cosmetics, toiletries, perfumes as well as in medicines. The medicinal values are ... The price of different vanilla has in part been determinded by its vanillin percentage, the higher the vanillin percentage, the the higher the price, with the Thaitian variety having fetched record prices in recent years while the Mexican variately (Pompona) having had the lowest and the Magascan planifolia usually placed between. However, studies have shown that high values of 2% or more does not necesssarily equate to an improved taste quality. So a high vanillin percentage is something that can just look good on paper. Instead, beans with a vanillin percentage value of around 1.7% were considered to have the most balanced flavour profile and the highest overall score. There are subtle taste differences, which may easily only be distinquisged by a master chef or gourmandise, and while the terroir makes a difference, Planifolia is known for its floral notes, Pompona for having a more subtle flavour and Thaitian being known for its anaise notes and sweetness. As Thaitian is hybrid between Planifolia and Odorata, it may prove difficult to tell the differnce between a Planifolia and Tahitian grown in a same terroir in for example Madagascar.  == Videos == Sorting Cuts & Splits * WB-sx4b1JLg