The Natural Flavour of Vanillin
Wayapi people are familiar with the delicious taste, tantalizing flavors and fragrant power of vanilla. But the secret to beautiful vanilla beans is that they have a natural aroma called vanillin. Indeed, vanillin is what is called a natural aromatic aldehyde. It is an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. A natural component of vanilla, vanillin is used to make extracts and natural flavors.
In the past, vanilla was cultivated as a flavoring by the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people, during their conquest by Hernán Cortés, the Aztecs used it as a flavoring to remove the bitterness of chocolate.
The history of vanillin
Vanillin was first isolated as a relatively pure substance in 1858 by Nicolas Theodore Gobley who obtained it by evaporating a dry vanilla extract and recrystallizing the resulting solids in hot water.
In 1874, German scientists Ferdinand Tiemann and Wilhelm Haarmann deduced its chemical structure, finding at the same time a synthesis of vanillin obtained from coniferin, an isoeugenol glycoside found in pine bark. Tiemann and Haarmann founded a company Haarmann and Reimer (now part of Symrise) and began the first industrial production of vanillin using their process in Holzminden, Germany. In 1876, Karl Reimer synthesized vanillin from guaiacol.
Where does it come from?
Natural vanillin is mainly extracted from the pods of the Vanilla planifolia variety, which is mainly found in the Indian Ocean. However, this orchid is native to Mexico. Today, it is cultivated in tropical areas around the world where the conditions for vanilla cultivation are present. Moreover, it is Madagascar which holds the monopoly since it is one of the largest producers of vanilla with nearly 80% of world production!
Vanillin is the main flavor of vanilla. Dried vanilla beans (pod mass of about 3.5g to 5g) contain about 2% dry weight of vanillin. A high quality vanilla bean will have white dots on it, which are synonymous with extremely pure vanillin. This is called « frosted vanilla » or crystallization!
Synthetic products in the heart of dishes –The Natural Flavour of Vanillin
Synthetic products are common in culinary preparations. For example, the vanilla sugar crunch that you use in your creations is a synthetic product made from sugar and vanillin. Unlike vanilla extract, which is 100% natural, vanilla flavoring is a synthetic product. A small quantity is more than enough to perfume your dishes with its intense and sweet aroma.
Vanillin in other foods
At lower concentrations, vanillin contributes to the flavor and aroma profiles of foods as diverse as olive oil, butter, raspberry, and lychee. In other foods, heat treatment generates vanillin from other compounds. In this way, vanillin contributes to the flavor and aroma of coffee, maple syrup, and whole grain products, including corn tortillas and rolled oats.
In short, vanillin is the most widely used flavoring in the world!
Discover our 100% natural vanilla extracts made from Madagascar bourbon vanilla. Delicate with an appealing and appealing scent, the vanilla extracts made by us will take you to the heart of the vanilla plantations. Our 100% natural extracts combine notes of cocoa and chocolate, volcanic and sweet at the same time. We use an extraction method by maceration to produce an extract of optimal quality. Our vanilla extract is composed of water, food grade ethanol and 300g of beans per liter. Our vanilla extract « Mamy » is also composed of water, ethanol, sugar (or tapioca fiber) with a concentration of 280g of beans / liter.
Impressive no?
