Vanille de l'île de La Réunion

Appearance & taste

The pods are whole, at least 14 cm long and still contain their seeds. Surface marks or damage may affect at most 20 % of their length. Dried vanilla looks oily, is an even medium brown to deep chocolate brown, supple and flexible; it can be bent without breaking. It contains 25 to 42 % moisture and at least 1.8 % vanillin in the dry matter and may be split for at most 3 cm.

Fresh vanilla is fleshy, glossy and an even chestnut brown with a reddish tinge. It feels stiff and cannot be bent; it contains 60 to 80 % moisture and at least 2 % vanillin in the dry matter and may be split for at most 6 cm. In crystallised vanilla, dried or fresh, a kind of hoarfrost of natural vanillin crystals, faceted, star- or needle-shaped, forms during maturing. According to the specification, it is the vanilla with the most intense and finest aroma.

Production

Growing and harvesting the green vanilla and curing it by killing, heat treatment, drying, maturing and sorting take place in the area. The vines are fastened with a special looping technique, the “bouclage des lianes”; this makes the plant form new roots and keeps the flowers within easy reach, so that they can be pollinated by hand. Limiting the number of flowers or pods per inflorescence makes the pods particularly large.

The pods are dried for at least 20 days, first in the sun, then in the shade, and then mature for at least seven months in special boxes. According to the specification, these two steps prevent a creosote taste, which vanilla that has been dried too quickly and matured in vacuum bags can have. Throughout the process, defective pods are sorted out and evenly dried batches are put together. The vanilla is packed in airtight, indestructible containers so that it loses no aroma and does not dry out too much.

Origin & history

The area lies in the east of the island of Réunion, on the so-called windward side, in the municipalities of Bras-Panon, Saint-André, Saint-Benoît, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Philippe, Sainte-Marie, Sainte-Rose and Sainte-Suzanne, up to 700 m above sea level. The island lies near the Tropic of Capricorn; the ocean and the trade winds bring mild temperatures. In the east more than 3,000 mm of rain falls each year. According to the specification, the mild, humid climate promotes the formation of aroma precursors such as glucovanillin during growing, and sustained enzyme activity and slow drying during curing.

According to the specification, Réunion is the birthplace of vanilla-producing know-how: the pollination method was developed here and curing by killing and heat treatment was perfected. A vanilla vine was displayed above the island’s coat of arms, designed by Governor Merwart in 1925; the coat of arms bears the motto of the French East India Company, “florebo quocumque ferar” (I will flourish wherever I am planted). Fresh vanilla with a particularly high moisture content has been available for around twenty years. Visits to vanilla plantations and curing facilities are part of tours of the island.