Flavoring: Vanilla

Are these real rums? Is a chocolate flavored Bistec de Palomilla a steak? Maybe. Some are of lower proof. Some use real flavoring. And as for some, may we never drink worse than this!
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Capn Jimbo
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Flavoring: Vanilla

Post by Capn Jimbo »

You don't like vanilla? Tough beans!

I'd have to say that vanilla and sugar must surely be among the most common additives or flavorings used to market rum. Sadly, I suspect that most of the "vanilla flavored" rums - especially those of the mega companies like Cruzan or Barcardi - are not made with real vanilla at all, but rather with artificial chemical "flavorings".

Why?

Pretty simple. Real vanilla is very expensive, artificial chemical flavoring is not. And artificial vanilla is really pretty bad:
Most imitation vanillas contain vanillin, only one of 171 identified aromatic components of the real vanilla beans. Vanillin can be produced synthetically from lignin. Most synthetic vanillin is a byproduct of the pulp and paper industry, and is made from waste sulfate, which contains lignin-sulfonic acid.
Still some of the smaller distillers claim to use real vanilla. We can believe that and can taste the difference; so can you. Read the reviews.

One of the myths about vanilla is that this wonderful bean originated in Mexico. One rum blogger even tries to credit Mexico for peppers. Neither is true.
Originally cultivated by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s...

Mesoamerica was the region that included southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, western Honduras, and the Pacific lowlands of Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica.

There are currently three major cultivars of vanilla grown globally, all derived from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern day Mexico. The various subspecies are Vanilla planifolia (syn. V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; V. tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific; and V. pompona, found in the West Indies, Central and South America.
Peppers orginated from an even bigger area which included both Central and South America. And that's the rest of the story.

Bottom line:

It is fashionable to credit Mexico for both "vanilla" and "peppers" in the food and beverage racket, mostly I believe to create a marketing myth that supports the sales of Tequila, et al.


*******

Note: If you'd like to create a terrific flavored rum of your own, just buy a couple of real vanilla pods and use a good white rum (Matusalem would be an excellent choice). Then add a little simple syrup to taste.

Be sure to check out the recipes later in this thread!

The highest quality real vanilla is probably that labeled "Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla" (from the Bourbon islands). Indonesia is the second largest producer - its vanilla is reputed to add some lightly fruity, flowery anise notes. Mexican vanilla is often adulterated, but if pure is alleged to add some mildly spicy notes.

Personally, we find the Madagascar is hard to beat. If you can't find actual pods, its probably just as effective to buy some real extract for your experiments.
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Sun Apr 04, 2010 12:58 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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For those who care...

Post by Capn Jimbo »

For those who care...

Here's an excerpt from the Boston Vanilla Bean Company:
Madagascar Bourbon (planifolia) is the most common bean used in extracts. Bourbon beans from Madagascar and the Comoros are described as having a creamy, hay-like, and sweet aroma, with strong vanillin overtones.

Mexican vanilla beans, also planifolia, are very similar to Madagascar beans though they have a mellower, smooth quality and a spicy, woody fragrance. Dark chocolate, dairy desserts, beverages, poultry and meat are complemented by Mexican vanilla. Madagascar and Mexican vanillas both provide the familiar natural vanillin flavor that we associate with vanilla ice cream and other vanilla-flavored desserts and beverages. They are the gold standard of the vanilla market.

Tahitian vanilla beans (vanilla tahitensis) originate from planifolia stock that was taken to Tahiti, where it mutated in the wild. It is now classified as a separate species (Vanilla tahitensis) as it is considerably different in appearance and flavor from Planifolia vanilla. The beans are often described as smelling like licorice, cherries, prunes, or red wine. Tahitian beans offer a more floral fruity flavor most suitable in savory and fruit dishes.
This article also stated that due to cost, 97% of "vanilla flavoring" is artificial. This is primarily due to the fact that growing of vanilla beans - like a good cigar tobacco - is one of the most labor intensive crops to grow. Every stage - even including pollinating the bean - is done by hand!

Accordingly good vanilla beans can cost from $1.50 to $2.50 per bean! Here's a free plug for Boston Vanilla Bean...

Link to Boston Vanilla
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Sun Mar 21, 2010 10:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Recipes...

Post by Capn Jimbo »

Recipes...

I was impressed to find the Boston Vanilla Bean Company has provided some competent recipes which may help you in your rum endeavors...
Vanilla Extract Recipe

1 Cup of 80 Proof Vodka
For 1X Strength 6 Vanilla Beans or 24gm/.8oz
For 2X Strength 12 Vanilla Beans or 48gm/1.7oz
For 3X Strength 18 Vanilla Beans or 72gm/2.5oz
For 4X Strength 24 Vanilla Beans 96gm/3.4oz
1/4 TSP corn syrup (optional)

Split the beans with a sharp knife and chop into half inch pieces. Place Vodka, chopped beans and corn syrup in an airtight glass container. Store in an cool place for 3-6 months to allow the extraction to take place.

You will have usable extract in about 1 month give or take.
Shake the container once a week. Use the extract in your recipes that call for vanilla but for:

2X use 1/2 of the recipe amount
3X use 1/3 of the recipe amount and for
4X use 1/4 of the recipe the amount.
And...
Kalua Recipe

Makes 3 1/2 pints. Equipment: 8 quart pot, 1 gallon glass bottle, 3 one pint gift bottles, Coffee filter and funnel.

List of Ingredients

4 Cups of water
4 Cups of sugar
1 Cups of Folgers intant coffee
750ml or a fifth of vodka
2 Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans split lengthwise
10 coffee beans

Vanilla Bean Recipe Directions:

Heat water and sugar in pot until boiling or all the sugar is dissolved,
Add instant coffee and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature and add Coffee Beans, Vanilla Beans and vodka. Store in gallon bottle for at least 3 weeks. Strain with coffee filter into gift bottles.
Hope that helps...
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And yet more flavored factoids...

Post by Capn Jimbo »

And yet more flavored factoids...

It's already clear that Mexico is given unearned credit for being the "origin of vanilla". A Wikipedia (Caution!) posting states that Cortes introduced "...both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s".

And that may be true.

But far, far more persuasive is a recently published scientific paper wherein a team of investigators used DNA analysis in an attempt to trace Tahitian vanilla back to its origins.
Norman Ellstrand, a professor of genetics in UC Riverside's Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, claims to have traced Tahitian vanilla back to its true origins.

In the August issue of the American Journal of Botany, Lubinsky and colleagues use genetic and ethnohistoric analysis to argue that Tahitian vanilla began its evolutionary journey as a pre-Columbian Maya cultivar inside the tropical forests of Guatemala.
According to the article historians credit the Manila Galleon trade as bringing the original vanilla to the Phillipines from the New World, specifically Guatemala. According to Science Daily:
The Manila galleons (1565-1815) were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice each year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines and Acapulco, Mexico. The ships brought Chinese porcelain, silk, ivory, spices, and other exotic goods to Mexico in exchange for New World silver.
Other galleons traded between this region and Europe, apparently including those of Cortes (from Mexico). Still, the DNA evidence is clear: Tahitian vanilla can be traced - quite specifically - to Guatemala, by Mayan cultivators.

In the meanwhile, the researchers are continuing to study cacao-vanilla gardens in Guatemala, Belize and southern Mexico.
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