Heilala Vanilla

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• How does Vanilla grow? What plant does it come from?
  Vanilla is the only fruit-bearing member of the orchid family. It has an incredible and fascinating history of over 2000 years. The large orchid plants bear a small creamy/yellow flower and on the day of opening the flower must be hand pollinated. Once this has occurred in approximately nine months a fully grown green bean is ready. This green bean then undergoes a complex and often guarded drying and curing process where the flavour develops and the pod turns dark brown/black. It is the most labour intensive agricultural product in the world.
  
  
• What is different about Heilala Vanilla? Why should I use Heilala Vanilla?
  Our Unique Selling Points include: Freshness, Quality (richest grade in Asia pacific region as rated on www.vanillareview.com direct from Plantation to the kitchen (no traders, distributors and unnecessary handling, less Food Miles), we are the experts on Vanilla, it is all we do. Two families passionate about Vanilla! There is a fair trade story to our brand also. Establishing the plantation in Vavau Tonga has provided employment for the village together with resources that has enabled running water, housing, facilities for education of the children in the family. For our Extracts and Paste are 100% pure! Nothing added. Try a sample, experience the unique aroma and taste of Heilala Vanilla.
  
  
• What variety is Heilala Vanilla?
  The flavour and fragrance of Vanilla varies according to where it is grown. Preference can come down to personal taste. There are four main Vanilla regions: Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, Indonesian Vanilla, Mexican Vanilla and Tahitian Vanilla. Heilala Vanilla is the Bourbon variety, often called Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla. Madagascar Variety are considered to be the best quality, they are described as creamy, sweet, and rich. The French planted the cuttings from Mexico in Madagascar and Reunion (formerly known as Ie de Bourbon) over 300 years ago and now eighty percent of the world Vanilla crop is Madagascar Bourbon. Indonesian Vanilla in the past has been plagued with quality problems due both to growing soils and to a speedy and artificial curing process. Mexican Vanilla, the original home of Vanilla, is known for being creamy, sweet, with a hint of nutmeg and clove notes. Tahitian Vanilla Pods are typically shorter with thicker walls than Bourbon Vanilla and have fewer seeds. They are have a sweet and fruity cherry like flavour. Tahitian Vanilla is grown in Tahiti and then also in other areas such as PNG and Asia.
  
  
• How do you say the name Heilala? What is Heilala?
  Heilala is pronounced, "Hey la la". Easy. It is the national flower of Tonga and is very unique in that it changes colour from white to red when placed in salt water! Additionally one of the daughters of the family in Vavau that we are in partnership with is called Heilala. So Heilala was the original working name and it stuck when we first started selling the Pods to Chefs!
  
  
• Is Heilala Vanilla Organic? The labelling mentions Organic growing conditions and practices.
  When Vanilla is grown by small growers on their lots in third world countries near the equator it is typically grown organically. We have duplicated this in our plantation in Vava’u, Tonga, one of the most pure and natural growing environments in the world. We complete all weeding, mulching, pollination, picking, drying, curing and grading by hand. So we practice organic growing conditions. There are large Vanilla Plantations in the world where there has been findings of soil contamination, sewage run off and alcohol used in the drying and storage of the Pods ( to extend shelf life and give critical shine). Due to the prohibitive cost and logistic issues obtaining organic certification in such a remote place we are not certified organic but we do follow organic practices.
  
  
• What is in Heilala Extract? How is it made?
  Our Heilala Vanilla Beans are brought back to Tauranga New Zealand where we then chop the beans and use a cold extraction method where we continually pass water and ethanol alcohol through the chopped beans for a few weeks to ensure the complex 300+ flavour of Vanilla are extracted. Then this mixture is diluted with mineral water and placed in barrels for ageing then filtered and bottled. For our retail Extract contains nothing but vanilla, ethanol, mineral water and sugar (4%). The wholesale and food service Extracts have no sugar added. This ensures our Extract is 100% pure. Inferior Extracts have numerous additives and although labelled pure extract can in fact by law still add various syrups, caramel or other flavours! If you see a clear liquid labelled as Vanilla, it is artificial and is made using by combining propylene glycol or glycerine with artificial vanillin. The ultimate quality of the finished Vanilla Extract depends as much on the care taken at the beans point of origin and the curing process as it does on the extraction. Another reason why Heilala Vanilla is preferred by chefs, the same people are growing and curing the Vanilla and then completing the extraction process. Pure Vanilla Extract is very concentrated and a little goes along way! The products that are labelled Vanilla Essence is typically imitation Vanilla and is a man made chemical compound that mimics the flavour and aroma of Vanilla! It is manufactured from either paper industry by products or coal tar. Not nice. Of the total world Vanilla consumption, 99% is artificial, only 1% is real. All those mass manufactured Vanilla Ice Cream, Yogurts, Biscuits, Cakes and Chocolate use artificial Vanilla!
  
  
• What does "fold" refer to?
  The "fold" of Vanilla Extract or Paste refers to the concentration of Vanilla per litre of Liquid that is the relative strength of the Vanilla Extract. Our retail products are single fold. The food service and gourmet food manufacturers use our double, triple or highest concentration five fold. There are standards for Vanilla Extract set by the FDA in the US. We are happy to make recommendations for which vanilla is right for any type of product or manufacturing operation. The higher concentrations offer a more economical option in larger scale applications and also reduce the proportion of liquid being added.
  
  
• What is Vanilla Paste? How is Heilala Vanilla Paste made?
  Vanilla Paste has been developed as a convenience product. Recipes often call for the whole beans to be cut in half and the seeds scrapped out (referred by some as ‘Vanilla Caviar’). With Vanilla Paste the Vanilla Seeds are suspended in our Vanilla Extract, matching the Vanilla Extract in flavour, allowing the paste to be spooned out as required, the scrapping is done for you and will save a step in the kitchen. Vanilla Paste should be stored in a cool dark place (the pantry) not the refrigerator! One tablespoon of paste equals approx I tablespoon of extract in terms of flavour and one scrapped Pod. Use when the appearance of the seeds is required! Great stirred through cream, cream fraiche and served with deserts. Also great with stewed fruit! A gourmet touch to shortbread, ice cream, and an essential for crème brulee.
  
  
• What flavour does Vanilla add?
  Vanilla has been referred to as the “underwear of baking”, that is an invisible essential! It supports, balances, mellows and gives depth to dishes. It can also be its own star in say ice cream, custard or crème brulee! At various doses and concentration Vanilla can enhance the flavour of chocolate, coffee, nut and fruit flavours. When used with citrus for example it tends to cover the acid bite. There is an updated recipe section on our website. For food manufacturing we can make recommendations on applications.
  
  
• What to do with a Heilala Vanilla Pod and what to use it in? How to store it?
  Heilala Vanilla Pods are glossy, dark brown and supple. These are all indications of quality and freshness. Vanilla Pods in the supermarket are often stiff, dry and brittle! If you happen to see Pods that appear to be dusted in sugar crystals, these are prize-winners! The white crystals are in fact vanillin crystals! The vanillin crystals can appear to the naked eye when they are stored in a cold environment. Store your Vanilla Pods, Extract and Paste in a cool dark place, the pantry is perfect. To use the pod, split lengthwise and scrap the seeds. Some recipes will also ask for the pod to be immersed in the liquid and then discarded. This ensures all the flavour from the pod is carried into the dish. The discarded pod can be dried (room temperature over a few days) and placed in sugar jar!
  
  
• Are Heilala Vanilla Products able to be used by Celiacs? Are they Kosher certified? What about Halal certification?
  Heilala Vanilla Extract is made using only our Vanilla Pods, Water and Alcohol with a small amount of sugar (4%) for retail. The Vanilla Paste has a very small natural seaweed extract (under .5%) added to suspend the seeds in the extract. So Celiacs can use confidentially. Heilala Vanilla Products are inherently Kosher and on recent consultation with the NZ Rabbinical Council, we expect to complete the formality of the certification process this year. Currently our Extract and Paste use an alcohol extraction method and therefore are not Halal compliant. Should the market for Halal certified products become a focus, we will research an alternative extraction technique for Halal certified products only.
  
  
• Contact us for answers to your questions not shown in our FAQs.