Visit to Vanilla Farm

The vanilla plants are grown in net covered sheds.  This family had four good sized ones.  The flowers are hand pollinated to assure that beans will from.  The beans (see below) actually look like green beans.    After harvest they are left outside during the day to dry being brought inside at night or when it rains.  A recent harvest is shown above bundled in a burlap cloth as it had recently rained.  The price for FOUR beans was about $40 packed hermetically and acceptable to be brought into the us.  Needless to say I did not buy any.   This is Tahitian vanilla and I remember from my McCormick days is very fragrant and floral--quite different from the Madagascar vanilla which McCormick was importing for their vanilla extract when I was there.  (BTW Mexican vanilla is also different--often prized as a "take home" by visitors to Mexico.  Unfortunately this vanilla is most often not pure vanilla but contains fragrant, aroma enhancers to supplement the natural vanilla.  This results in the popular sentiment that it is stronger!)  We also were given a sample of vanilla enhanced rum--delicious, and vanilla ice cream cones flavored with Tahitian vanilla.  Much fun and very interesting.