Vanille. Vanille.

No. 1668. - This is a genus of orchidaceous plants that are natives of South America, the West Indies, and Mexico. It is a fleshy, dark green perennial, climbing plant, with a long, smooth, dark green stem, much branched, and finished at the nodes with aerial roots, which cling to and obtain nourishment from the tree supporting the plant. The dark green tough leaves are oval, sessile, fleshy and veinless. The pale, greenish-yellow flowers are about two inches in diameter. The fruit is a slender pod about eight inches long, filled with an oily mass containing numerous small, black, shining seeds. The pods are collected before they are quite ripe, dried in the shade, covered with a coating of fixed oil, and then tied in bundles which are surrounded with sheet lead, or enclosed in small metallic boxes, and sent to market. Several varieties of Vanilla exist in commerce. The most valuable is the Manza Vanilla. It has a peculiar, strong, agreeable odor, and a warm aromatic, sweetish taste. The interior pulpy portion is the most aromatic. The Simarona Vanilla is smaller, of a lighter color, and less aromatic. The pods are dry, and contain no Vanilla. The Pompona or Babo Vanilla has pods that are from five to seven inches long, of a dark brown color, and possessing a strong odor something like anise. Vanilla is used in medicine, in perfumery, and for flavoring in cookery.

Vanilla Flavor

No. 1669. - Cut four Vanilla beans in pieces one inch long; then split them, and put them in a quart bottle. Pour over them some wine spirits or white whiskey, and cork the bottle tightly. Shake it well every day for a week, and then it will be ready for use. Keep the bottle tightly corked always.

Vanilla Beans

No. 1670. - A Vanilla Bean may be boiled in the milk when making custards or creams. When it is boiled, remove the Bean, and put it back in the bottle, as it may be used several times. After repeated usage when almost all of the flavor has been extracted from the Bean, put it in a mortar with some powdered sugar and pound them to a fine powder. Then sift it through a fine sieve, put it in a bottle, keep it tightly corked, and use it for flavoring cakes, etc.