Vanilla Research

During 2007 Réunion Food conducted extensive food technology research to improve our Vanilla Extract process and also develop a natural formulation for our new product Vanilla Paste. The result has been fantastic and both products are receiving great feedback from both casual foodies and serious gourmads. This section details some of the interesting research and facts discovered. Due to commercial reasons we cannot provide details our final processes and formulations but much of the background material has been included. This section will be expanded as time permits.

Special thanks to Shannon Swan (Massey University) who lead this research.

1. Introduction

Vanilla is one of the world's most expensive and widely used flavouring ingredients and the international demand for natural vanilla is currently exceeding supply from the world's growing regions. Vanilla beans contain over 182 volatile compounds which give vanilla its characteristic and flavour and aroma (Taylor, 1993). Of these, vanillin is the most commercially important compound, however natural vanillin, extracted from vanilla beans, accounts for only 1% of the total world ? wide production (Walton et al., 2003).

Vanilla extract is a light brown / golden solution that, according to FDA (2006) specifications, must be produced using a minimum of 100g of vanilla beans per litre of ethanol and water solution (containing no less than 35% ethanol). The quality of vanilla extract can be determined by the quantification of the vanillin content, however this does vary as a result of the, species of vanilla bean, global origin, the curing methods, the concentration of ethanol used throughout the extraction process and the method of extraction (Ranadive, 1994). According to Ranadive (1994) Tongan vanilla beans, from the Vanilla planifolia species, contain approximately 2.5% vanillin.

2. Literature Review

This section is available in PDF ReunionFoodLiteratureReview.pdf (594kb) containing the following content:

Vanilla

History
Consumption
Vanilla Products and their Applications
Varieties of Vanilla Beans
Growth Conditions of Vanilla planifolia
The Vanilla planifolia Plant
Vanilla planifolia Flowers
Vanilla planifolia Beans

Development of Vanillin

Curing

Vanillin

Glucovanillin in Vanilla Beans
Enzymatic Activity in Vanilla Beans
Distribution of Glucovanillin and ? - Glucosidase Throughout the Green Vanilla Bean
Structure of Vanillin