To this day the liana is. The most expensive spices in the world. Muzhegon flower: folk signs

Use of vanilla spice in cooking
Vanilla has a subtle sweet aroma, but tastes bitter. The vanilla spice is used primarily in the preparation of sweets: cakes, pastries, curd products, cookies, waffles, vanilla ice cream, fruit compotes, jam, jellies, creams, puddings, candies, chocolate, cocoa, biscuits, sweet sauces...

From the moment of its discovery to the present day, vanilla is an expensive spice, sold in the form of whole pods, powder, and alcohol solution. A cheap synthetic substitute for the vanilla spice is used - vanillin.
Natural vanilla is used to flavor only the most expensive sweets.
In products subject to heat treatment, vanilla is introduced either immediately before cooking, or into the finished dish before it has cooled. Vanilla spice is added to cold dishes after cooking. In products that require impregnation, vanilla is used in the form of vanilla syrup after heat treatment.
Vanilla pods (about 1 stick per 500 g of sugar) are ground with powdered sugar until smooth. You can also get vanilla sugar by simply storing vanilla sticks and sugar in one hermetically sealed container.
To prepare liqueur with vanilla, it is enough to infuse it on vanilla sticks, which are removed before use.
Traditionally, we prepare Guryev porridge with vanilla. In Latvia, the spice vanilla is included in semolina porridge with whipped cream. In the USA, spice is added to the flavoring of cigars and tobaccos. Americans are famous fans of vanilla ice cream.

The modern culinary trend of fusion allows you to experiment and add vanilla to seafood, poultry, and vegetables.
Vanilla goes well exclusively with saffron and cinnamon.
Vanilla should be stored in a hermetically sealed container.
To prepare vanilla extract, pour 4 halved vanilla pods with 100 ml of vodka and leave for 3 weeks in a cool place.
Indians prepare vanilla extract in a special way - they boil vanilla pods in milk and then add it to dishes.
You need to be careful with vanilla - too much spice will add bitterness to the dish.

Medicinal uses of vanilla spice
Vanilla pods contain the following substances: glucovanillin glycoside (during fermentation it is broken down into vanillin - the main aromatic substance, and glucose), essential oil (up to 1%), mucous and tannins.
Traditional medicine uses vanilla for fever, nervous system disorders, drowsiness, and rheumatism. Vanilla excites and stimulates muscle activity.
In aromatherapy, vanilla scent is indicated to improve appetite, calmness, and peace of mind.
The smell of vanilla is widely used in perfumery to add oriental notes to perfumes: Mat Chocolat (Masaki Matsushima), Hypnose (Lancome), Pink Sugar, C`est la Fete (Christian Lacroix), Trouble (Boucheron).

Description of vanilla spice
Vanilla (lat. Vanilla) – genus perennial vines of the Orchidaceae family, the fruits of which are also called vanilla and are used as a spice.
The name comes from the Spanish Vanilla - a small pod.
Vanilla is a vine with a long stem that climbs high on trees, forming aerial roots. The leaves are fleshy, oblong-oval and ring-shaped, yellow-green flowers are in racemes, one stamen and pistil are hidden in a petal-tube, which makes pollination difficult. The fruit is a narrow triangular pod 7–30 cm long.

There are more than 100 types of vanilla, but only 3 of them are cultivated to produce the spice:
- Vanilla planifolia - best quality vanilla, with long pods 20 - 25 cm;
- Vanilla pompona - short pods of lower quality;
- Vanilla tahitensis - Tahitian vanilla.
Other types of vanilla are considered ornamental orchids.
Vanilla comes from Mexico and Central America and is cultivated in the countries of the equatorial belt. Largest producers vanilla spices – Madagascar, Indonesia, China.
The technology for producing vanilla spice is quite complex. At the beginning, the unripe fruits (the essential oils that give vanilla its special aroma are contained only in the unripe pods; the aroma appears only during processing) are collected and immersed for 20 seconds in hot water(80-85°C). Next, fermentation (fermentation) of the fruit occurs at a temperature of 60 °C for a week. Only after the second stage of processing does vanilla acquire its characteristic aroma and Brown color. The vanilla is then dried in the shade on outdoors for several months. After appearing on the pods white plaque the spice is considered ready for use.
The quality of vanilla depends on many factors; it is divided into 8 varieties.
Vanilla is still one of the most expensive spices on the world market. This was led to by a difficult technological process its processing and the complexity of growing vanilla as a crop (the need for artificial pollination). The high cost of this seasoning prompted the synthesis of its artificial substitute - vanillin. But, as with all substitutes, it was not possible to completely replicate the subtlety and durability of real vanilla - due to the presence of minor odor components caused by heliotropin and other components essential oil vanilla.
Vanilla pods good quality should be 10 - 20 cm long, soft, elastic, rounded, oily to the touch, dark brown or almost black. The best varieties covered with white crystals. The aroma of vanilla is incredibly persistent and can last up to 30 years. Due to improper storage or preparation, vanilla pods lose their elasticity, become brittle and discolored, losing their valuable spice qualities.

History of vanilla spice
In ancient times, vanilla pods were used by Indians as money. The Totonac tribe, which was the first to cultivate vanilla vines, was captured by the Aztecs and paid them tribute with vanilla pods. According to Totonac mythology, vanilla grew from the blood of a goddess and her mortal lover, who were beheaded by her angry father.
The first written mention of the cultivation and use of vanilla was left by the Natuatl tribe.
During the reign of Emperor Montezuma, the Aztecs also prized the spice vanilla and collected taxes from vanilla pods. Vanilla was used to flavor chocolate and a cocoa-like drink.
The Spaniards, who discovered the Old World and conquered America, began to monopolize the import of vanilla spice from Mexico in the 16th century.
In Europe, a very expensive spice was used to make chocolate and cocoa; it was used to flavor tobacco and simply chewed it, considering it a cheerful aphrodisiac.
In 1602, the court pharmacist of Elizabeth I came up with the idea of ​​adding vanilla to the spice.

American settlers fell in love with vanilla after the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, traveled to France, tasted vanilla dessert and popularized the spice in its homeland.
In nature, vanilla flowers, which bloom in the 3rd year of the vine’s life and delight the eye for just one day, are pollinated by small bees and hummingbirds. The hand pollination method still used today was invented by a 12-year-old slave in 1841.
In the late 19th century, several European countries invented vanillin, a cheap substitute for vanilla - "a by-product of the production of rosin from pine resin."
Nowadays, 2000 tons of vanilla spice are sold annually in the world. The Madagascar prefecture of Antalaje is considered a vanilla paradise and a center for the production of the spice. Vanilla is also cultivated in the Caribbean - in Jamaica, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, in the tropical part South America, Ceylon, Malaysia, Reunion, Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius and Polynesia.
In most developed countries, vanilla flavored product labels must indicate how much of the natural spice was used.

Vanilla is a genus of perennial vines of the Orchidaceae family, the fruit-pods of which are also called vanilla and are used as an aromatic spice. The plant is native to Central America and Mexico, but in modern world More than half of the world's spice production comes from Madagascar, as well as Indonesia and China. In ancient times, vanilla fruits were used as money, and the Aztecs collected taxes with them. From the mid-16th century, the spice became known in Spain, Italy, Austria, and in the rest of Europe from the beginning of the 19th century.

Vanilla is still one of the most expensive spices on the world market. This is due to both the long technological processing process and the complexity of growing fruits. An artificial substitute was created as a budget alternative natural product– vanillin. Real vanilla has high cost and is used for cooking only expensive types chocolate, desserts and luxury perfumes. Product High Quality retains its aroma for more than 30 years and its consumption for aromatizing the product is negligible due to its strong, rich aroma. For example, to flavor 1 kg of regular sugar, just place it in closed jar with 1 cm of vanilla pod - you get natural vanilla sugar with a persistent aroma for sprinkling baked goods and making desserts.

Calorie content

The calorie content of 100 g of ready-to-eat vanilla beans is approximately 287 kcal. If the spice is used as part of sugar or powdered sugar, then, of course, the calorie content of such a mixture is the calorie content of sugar (399 kcal).

Nutritional value per 100 grams

100 grams of vanilla boxes (or pods, as they are commonly called) contain 1.2 g of protein, 0.1 g of fat, and 12.6 g of carbohydrates. Small amounts contain B vitamins, vitamin A, as well as some micro- and macroelements (potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc).

Since vanilla is used in negligible quantities, it the nutritional value does not play a special role in nutrition. Its unique aroma comes first. The aromatic substance that gives the spice its characteristic smell, the aldehyde vanillin, is contained in an amount of 1.5–3%, depending on the variety and technology of preparation of the fruit.

Beneficial features

1. Vanilla is known not only among cooks and healers - even poets praise its aroma. Vanilla scent has a calming effect on nervous system, causing a feeling of security, comfort and coziness.
2. Eating vanilla effectively relieves spastic pain in colitis, intestinal colic, and inflammatory diseases of the large intestine, as it has a calming, carminative, and regenerative effect.
3. Vanilla normalizes the acidity of gastric juice, which makes it useful in the treatment of gastritis and other pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
4. Known beneficial influence vanilla for various types of hormonal disorders.
5. This exquisite spice (when consumed regularly in small doses) stabilizes blood sugar levels.
6. Addition to the diet is recommended for women with cycle disorders, severe premenstrual syndrome, increased nervous excitability, depressive and asthenic conditions.
7. Vanilla increases appetite and gastric secretory function, improves sleep, neutralizes the effects of harmful substances on the body, including alcohol.
8. With regular consumption of natural vanilla, a persistent aversion to alcoholic beverages develops. This has long been used by representatives traditional medicine in the treatment of alcohol dependence and had a lasting positive effect.
9. The psycho-emotional effects of the spice are widely known. Natural vanilla is a strong aphrodisiac that awakens libido in both men and women. For this purpose, it is added to massage creams, aromatic baths, perfumes and other perfume products.
10. In addition, vanilla will help make the skin smoother, more elastic, and eliminate fine wrinkles and acne.

Considering that vanilla has a very strong aroma, it should be used with caution for pregnant women and small children (under 7-8 years old), as well as for those with individual intolerance.

Use of vanilla spice in cooking

Vanilla has a subtle sweet aroma, but tastes bitter. The vanilla spice is used mainly in the preparation of sweets: cakes, pastries, curd products, cookies, waffles, vanilla ice cream,fruit compotes, jam, jellies, creams, puddings, candies, chocolate, cocoa, biscuits, sweet sauces...
From the moment of its discovery to the present day, vanilla is an expensive spice, sold in the form of whole pods, powder, and alcohol solution. A cheap synthetic substitute for the vanilla spice is used - vanillin.

Natural vanilla is used to flavor only the most expensive sweets.
In products subject to heat treatment, vanilla is introduced either immediately before cooking, or into the finished dish before it has cooled. Vanilla spice is added to cold dishes after cooking. In products that require impregnation, vanilla is used in the form of vanilla syrup after heat treatment.
Vanilla pods (about 1 stick per 500 g of sugar) are ground with powdered sugar until smooth. You can also get vanilla sugar by simply storing vanilla sticks and sugar in one hermetically sealed container.

To prepare liqueur with vanilla, it is enough to infuse it on vanilla sticks, which are removed before use.

Traditionally, we prepare Guryev porridge with vanilla. In Latvia, vanilla spice is included in semolina porridge with whipped cream. In the USA, spice is added to the flavoring of cigars and tobaccos. Americans are famous fans of vanilla ice cream.
The modern culinary trend of fusion allows you to experiment and add vanilla to seafood, poultry, and vegetables.
Vanilla goes well exclusively with saffron and cinnamon.

Vanilla should be stored in a hermetically sealed container.
To prepare vanilla extract, pour 4 halved vanilla pods with 100 ml of vodka and leave for 3 weeks in a cool place.
Indians prepare vanilla extract in a special way - they boil vanilla pods in milk and then add it to dishes.
You need to be careful with vanilla - too much spice will add bitterness to the dish.

Description of vanilla spice

Vanilla (lat. Vanilla) is a genus of perennial vines of the Orchidaceae family, the fruits of which are also called vanilla and are used as a spice.
The name comes from the Spanish Vanilla - a small pod.
Vanilla is a vine with a long stem that climbs high on trees, forming aerial roots. The leaves are fleshy, oblong-oval and ring-shaped, yellow-green flowers are in racemes, one stamen and pistil are hidden in a petal-tube, which makes pollination difficult. The fruit is a narrow triangular pod 7–30 cm long.

There are more than 100 types of vanilla, but only 3 of them are cultivated to produce the spice:

Vanilla planifolia - best quality vanilla, with long pods 20 - 25 cm;
- Vanilla pompona - short pods of lower quality;
- Vanilla tahitensis - Tahitian vanilla.

Other types of vanilla are considered ornamental orchids.

Vanilla comes from Mexico and Central America and is cultivated in the countries of the equatorial belt. The largest producers of vanilla spice are Madagascar, Indonesia, China.
The technology for producing vanilla spice is quite complex. At the beginning, the unripe fruits (the essential oils that give vanilla its special aroma are contained only in the unripe pods; the aroma appears only during processing) are collected and immersed in hot water (80-85°C) for 20 seconds. Next, fermentation (fermentation) of the fruit occurs at a temperature of 60 °C for a week. Only after the second stage of processing does vanilla acquire its characteristic aroma and brown color. The vanilla is then dried in the shade outdoors for several months. Once a white coating appears on the pods, the spice is considered ready for use.
The quality of vanilla depends on many factors; it is divided into 8 varieties.

Vanilla is still one of the most expensive spices on the world market. This was led to by the complex technological process of its processing and the labor intensity of growing vanilla as a crop (the need for artificial pollination). The high cost of this seasoning prompted the synthesis of its artificial substitute - vanillin. But, as with all substitutes, it was not possible to completely replicate the subtlety and durability of real vanilla - due to the presence of minor odor components caused by heliotropin and other components of vanilla essential oil.

Good quality vanilla pods should be 10 - 20 cm long, soft, elastic, rounded, oily to the touch, dark brown or almost black. The best varieties are covered with white crystals. The aroma of vanilla is incredibly persistent and can last up to 30 years. Due to improper storage or preparation, vanilla pods lose their elasticity, become brittle and discolored, losing their valuable spice qualities.

History of vanilla spice

In ancient times, vanilla pods were used by Indians as money. The Totonac tribe, which was the first to cultivate vanilla vines, was captured by the Aztecs and paid them tribute with vanilla pods. According to Totonac mythology, vanilla grew from the blood of a goddess and her mortal lover, who were beheaded by her angry father.
The first written mention of the cultivation and use of vanilla was left by the Natuatl tribe.
During the reign of Emperor Montezuma, the Aztecs also prized the spice vanilla and collected taxes from vanilla pods. Vanilla was used to flavor chocolate and a cocoa-like drink.

The Spaniards, who discovered the Old World and conquered America, began to monopolize the import of vanilla spice from Mexico in the 16th century.
In Europe, a very expensive spice was used to make chocolate and cocoa; it was used to flavor tobacco and simply chewed it, considering it a cheerful aphrodisiac.
In 1602, the court pharmacist of Elizabeth I came up with the idea of ​​adding vanilla to the spice.
American settlers fell in love with vanilla after the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, traveled to France, tasted vanilla dessert and popularized the spice in its homeland.

In nature, vanilla flowers, which bloom in the 3rd year of the vine’s life and delight the eye for just one day, are pollinated by small bees and hummingbirds. The hand pollination method still used today was invented by a 12-year-old slave in 1841.
In the late 19th century, several European countries invented vanillin, a cheap substitute for vanilla - "a by-product of the production of rosin from pine resin."

Nowadays, 2000 tons of vanilla spice are sold annually in the world. The Madagascar prefecture of Antalaje is considered a vanilla paradise and a center for the production of the spice. Vanilla is also cultivated in the Caribbean - in Jamaica, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, tropical South America, Ceylon, Malaysia, Reunion, Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius and Polynesia.
In most developed countries, vanilla flavored product labels must indicate how much of the natural spice was used.

Currently, in the United States alone, Pueraria covers about 50,000 hectares annually. Pueraria lobes

Pueraria lobata (Pueraria lobata) from the legume family, known on the North American continent as “Kudzu”, is an alien vine-like plant that was brought to the United States from Japan in 1876 to combat erosion. Climatic conditions came to this plant's liking, and it began to spread uncontrollably in the southeastern United States, taking over wastelands and penetrating forest ecosystems. In three days, the kudzu vine can grow 1 meter. Under the canopy of Pueraria, which is one continuous green blanket, others herbaceous plants, shrubs and young trees, as a rule, do not survive. Therefore, it is not surprising that after some time this plant began to be called “the vine that swallowed the south.” Currently, kudzu in the United States invades about 50,000 hectares annually.

It is extremely difficult to fight this plant, since the rhizome of pueraria is capable of penetrating to a depth of over 10 meters. Enterprising Americans decided to fight Pueraria biological methods and they brought in its natural enemy, the “kudzu bug,” which, be damned, in its new homeland was more to the taste of legume crops. As a result, annual direct and indirect damage from Pueraria lobes in the United States has reached $500 million.

Just the other day, another unpleasant feature of this plant was discovered. Puraria lobata promotes the release carbon dioxide from the soil. As a result of the kudzu invasion of the North American continent, 4.8 million tons of carbon dioxide are released into the planet's atmosphere annually. This is equivalent to the amount of CO2 sequestered in 5 million hectares of forest or burning 2.3 million tons of coal annually (ie equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of an American city of 1 million people).

In Russia, Pueraria lobata (Pueraria lobata) was introduced in the south of the Russian Black Sea region. Just today in the Central region of Sochi I took these photographs of a slope covered by this vine.

This is far from the only place where pueraria grows in Sochi. If you drive along Kurortny Prospekt, you can see in many places (the vicinity of Matsesta, Khosta) slopes taken over by this adventitious species. Nevertheless, the Colchis forests have so far successfully resisted this adventitia.

Now about the methods of struggle. As you know, the most malicious enemy of any species of plants and animals is man. Once this species becomes the object of economic interests. This is how many species of plants and animals became rare and endangered. Kudzu can also be used on the farm. Salads and cabbage rolls are made from its leaves, and good jam is made from the flowers. Cattle are also “crazy” about the leaves of this vine. All that remains is the matter of PR.

They were used by doctors for medicine. Entire expeditions to the ends of the world were sent for them. Without them we don't see cooking. We use spices every day. In this topic we will reveal the secret of the most expensive spices and spices

1. Saffron is the most expensive spice

This spice is native to India and is extracted from the stamens of Crocus sativus flowers. Saffron is sold both in powder form and in in kind(brown threads). 1 kg of saffron costs 6 thousand dollars. This is due to the fact that the collection occurs manually, and to obtain 0.5 kg of saffron you need 35-100 thousand flowers, each such flower has 3 stamens.

2. Vanilla

The fragrant seeds of this spice are contained in vanilla orchid pods. The pods will appear three years after the plant is planted. During growth, the plant is bent towards the ground so that it is not excessively tall. This flower opens for pollination once a year for a few hours, and pollination is done manually. The smell of vanilla promotes the production of serotonin, the pleasure hormone. For 20 shekels they will sell you three pods from Madagascar.

3. Nutmeg color

It is extracted from the fruit of the muscadine tree. This is a red amniotic membrane; it is removed from the fruit and dried under the sun on layers of bamboo. Nutmeg color is sold in the form of solid films and in powder form. It is added to almost all dishes (except fish and mushrooms.)

4. Pink pepper

Grows on a tree. By appearance the berries are similar to ordinary peppers, they are also very aromatic, but at the same time sweeter and not at all spicy. In order to maintain the original pink color, the berries are dried by freezing, then pickled or salted. Pink pepper is heated, ground and added to the finished dish just before serving. Most often they season fish and seafood with it.

5. Kalgan

The root of a plant in the ginger family, it is more aromatic than ginger. The taste of galangal is bitter and sharply spicy. By its red-brown color, galangal is easily distinguished from ginger. The root of the plant is peeled, cut into pieces 5-8 cm long, dried, after which it becomes hard, with a wrinkled surface.

6. Juniper

Fruits are considered a spice coniferous bush. They are collected and dried, after which they should be selected, shiny, black-brown in color. It is not the fruits specifically that are used as a seasoning, but the sauce/marinade to which they are added. It is also used for soaking meat, after which it acquires the taste of real game. In large quantities, juniper is very dangerous!!! 5-6 berries per 1 kg of meat is enough.

7. Asafoetida (hing, asmargok)

This spice smells and tastes like a mixture of onion and garlic. And if you fry it in oil, the smell will become very pleasant, and the taste of food with this spice will bring a lot of pleasure.

8. Iowan (azhgon)

The ripened fruits of this plant contain two seeds, pungent, bitter and with a spicy aroma similar to thyme. They are usually used in the production of sausages from lamb and horse meat; they are added to dough and lentil dishes.

9. Wild ginseng root

This spice is grown exclusively in one of the mountainous regions of China in the province of Jilin. Many people believe in the healing power of ginseng. This plant is included in the International Red Book.

10. Cardamom

Cardamom has a eucalyptus aroma with lemon and camphor undertones. Cardamom is extracted from the seeds of a plant similar to ginger. It is advisable to buy cardamom boxes in their entirety, otherwise they will quickly lose their aroma.