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Vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from which the vanilla spice is obtained. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old enslaved child who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand-pollination, hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. Noted French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. By the end of the 20th century, Albius was considered the true discoverer ...
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Vanilla Florentine Codex
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from which the vanilla spice is obtained. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old enslaved child who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. Noted French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. By the end of the 20th century, Albius was considered the true discoverer. Three major species of vanilla currently are gro ...
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Vanilla (genus)
''Vanilla'', the vanilla orchids, forms a flowering plant genus of about 110 species in the orchid family (biology), family (Orchidaceae). The most widely known member is the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''), native to Mexico and Belize, from which commercial vanilla flavoring is derived. It is the only orchid widely used for industrial purposes in flavoring such products as foods, beverages and cosmetics, and is recognized as the most popular aroma and Flavor (taste), flavor. The key constituent imparting its flavour is the phenolic aldehyde, vanillin. This evergreen genus occurs worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions, from Neotropical realm, tropical America to tropical Asia, New Guinea and West Africa. Five species are known from the contiguous United States, all limited to southern Florida. The genus was established in 1754 by Plumier, based on J. Miller. The word vanilla, derived from the diminutive of the Spanish word vaina (vaina itsel ...
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Vanilla Planifolia (6998639597)
''Vanilla planifolia'' is a species of vanilla orchid. It is native to Mexico and Belize. It is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. Common names include flat-leaved vanilla, and West Indian vanilla (also used for the Pompona vanilla, '' V. pompona''). Often, it is simply referred to as "the vanilla". It was first scientifically named in 1808. With the species' population in decline and its habitats being converted to other purposes, the IUCN has assessed ''Vanilla planifolia'' as Endangered. Habitat It prefers hot, wet, tropical climates. It is cultivated and harvested primarily in Veracruz, Mexico, Tahiti, Indonesia, and Madagascar. Description Like all members of the genus ''Vanilla'', ''V. planifolia'' is a vine. It uses its fleshy roots to support itself as it grows. Flowers Flowers are greenish-yellow, with a diameter of 5 cm (2 in). They last only a day, and must be pollinated manually, during the morning, ...
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Vanilla Tahitensis
''Vanilla tahitensis'' is a species of Orchidaceae, orchid in the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla''. It was Species description, first described by the botanist John William Moore (botanist), John William Moore in 1933 from Raiatea in the Society Islands, where it was found growing on trees, having escaped plant, escaped from cultivation. History ''Vanilla tahitensis'' is a polyploid species and has been shown to be a cross between ''Vanilla planifolia'' and ''Vanilla odorata''. This hybridisation may have happened naturally or inadvertently in the period 1350-1500 in tropical America. It was used by the Aztecs and the flavour proved popular with the Spaniards. Hernán Cortés brought vanilla pods to Europe where they were grown in greenhouses, and cultivation was attempted in various tropical locations. Seeds from Madagascar were taken to Tahiti in 1848 by the French Admiral Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin, and it was this foundation stock that is now cultivated as ''Vanilla tahitens ...
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Vanilla Pompona
''Vanilla pompona'' is a species of vanilla orchid. It is native to Mexico and northern South America, and is one of the sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. ''Vanilla pompona'' found in the Peruvian Amazon has been tested using HPLC analysis showing a concentration of vanillin content up to 9.88g/100g making it suitable for the food or cosmetic industry. Description Like all members of the genus ''Vanilla'', ''V. pompona'' is a vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems .... It uses its fleshy roots to support itself as it grows. Its leaves and stems are generally thicker than in '' V. planifolia'' and '' V. phaeantha''. References External links * * pompona Orchids of Mexico Orchids of Central America Orchids of South Americ ...
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Orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. The Orchidaceae have about 28,000 currently accepted species, distributed in about 763 genera. (See ''External links'' below). The determination of which family is larger is still under debate, because verified data on the members of such enormous families are continually in flux. Regardless, the number of orchid species is nearly equal to the number of bony fishes, more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. The family encompasses about 6–11% of all species of seed plants. The largest genera are '' Bulbophyllum'' (2,000 species), '' Epidendrum'' (1,500 species), '' Dendrobium'' (1,400 species) and '' Pleurothallis'' (1,000 species). It also includes '' Vanilla'' (the genus o ...
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Edmond Albius
Edmond Albius (1829 – 9 August 1880) was a horticulturalist from Réunion. Born into slavery, Albius became an important figure in the cultivation of vanilla. At the age of 12, he invented a technique for pollinating vanilla orchids quickly and profitably. Albius's technique revolutionized the cultivation of vanilla and made it possible to profitably grow vanilla beans away from their native Mexico. Early life Albius was born in St. Suzanne, Réunion. His mother, a slave, died during his birth. The colonist keeping Edmond in slavery was Féréol Bellier Beaumont. Vanilla pollination French colonists brought vanilla beans to Réunion and nearby Mauritius in the 1820s with the hope of starting production there. However, the vines were sterile because no insect would pollinate them. In the 1830s, Charles Morren, a professor of botany at the University of Liège in Belgium, developed a method of hand-pollinating vanilla, but his technique was slow and required too much effort to m ...
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Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in eastern Mexico and is bordered by seven states, which are Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Tabasco. Veracruz is divided into 212 municipalities, and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez. Veracruz has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico on the east of the state. The state is noted for its mixed ethnic and indigenous populations. Its cuisine reflects the many cultural influences that have come through the state because of the importance of the port of Veracruz. In addition to the capital city, the state's largest cities include Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Minatitlán, Poza Rica, Boca Del Río and Oriz ...
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Totonac
The Totonac are an indigenous people of Mexico who reside in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo. They are one of the possible builders of the pre-Columbian city of El Tajín, and further maintained quarters in Teotihuacán (a city which they claim to have built). Until the mid-19th century they were the world's main producers of vanilla. Etymology The term "totonac" refers to the people living in Totonacapan. There is no agreement as to the origin of the term. Some authors have translated the term "totonac" as a Nahuatl word meaning "People of Hot Land". The translation for this word in the Totonac Language, according to sources, is "toto-nacu" meaning "three hearts" signifying their three cities or cultural centers: Cempoala, Tajin and Teayo. Evidence, however, is inconclusive. Geography and traditional lifestyle In the 15th century, the Aztecs labeled the region of the Totonac " Totonacapan"; which then extended roughly from Papantla in the north to Cem ...
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Spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are sometimes used in medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics or perfume production. For example, vanilla is commonly used as an ingredient in fragrance manufacturing. A spice may be available in several forms: fresh, whole dried, or pre-ground dried. Generally, spices are dried. Spices may be ground into a powder for convenience. A whole dried spice has the longest shelf life, so it can be purchased and stored in larger amounts, making it cheaper on a per-serving basis. A fresh spice, such as ginger, is usually more flavorful than its dried form, but fresh spices are more expensive and have a much shorter shelf life. Some spices are not always available either fresh or whole, for example turmeric, and often must be purchased in ground f ...
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