P & F Magazine  Creation/Application Sponsored by  Email This
Item! Increase Text Size  Review: A Flavor of Vanilla  By:
Patrick Dunphy, Flavor and Vanilla Consultant, and Krishna Bala,
Firmenich  Excerpt only Purchase This Article   Vanilla bean
curing is a traditional process that has been carried out for
hundreds of years, originating with the Totonac tribe of Mexico
in the early 16th century. A major stimulus to its global
proliferation was the development of hand pollination and
vegetative propagation in the 1830s. The process is fairly
simple, comprising five stages—blanching (or killing), sweating
(or fermentation), sun drying/night storage, rack drying and
conditioning.  The Biochemistry and Chemistry of Curing  The
curing process is a complex and multifaceted sequence of
interventions that takes place over a period of about 150 days,
turning an unflavored ripe vanilla bean containing ca. 80% water
into a cured vanilla pod that is aromatic, dark brown and which
contains a water content of 20–30%. The