Volume 11, Issue 112 - December 5, 2006

Good Day %name%,

Madagascar Vanilla:

Yesterday we talked about Mexico, the birthplace of vanilla. For more information on Mexican growers and Mexican vanilla, visit www.vanilla.com and go to "Meet the Growers" or "Stories." We'll move now to Madagascar.

After conquering Mexico in 1520, Hernan Cortes took vanilla to Spain. The Spanish enjoyed vanilla almost as much as they enjoyed chocolate. They blended it with chocolate, cinnamon, almonds, sugar and milk and drank it as a hot beverage. But it was the French who truly adored vanilla, and they used it to flavor sweets and beverages, to perfume snuff and to put in pomanders. The French obtained cuttings of vanilla from the Conservatory in London and took them to their tropical outposts around the world. The vanilla grew beautifully and flowered, but it never produced fruits. No one understood why, and it was rumored that it was the Curse of Moctezuma—the Spanish had taken the vines against the will of the indigenous Mexicans.

It wasn't until 1841 in Reunion (also know as the Ile de Bourbon) that a young slave boy named Edmund Albius solved the mystery. Orchids are unable to self-pollinate and must be artificially pollinated in order to reproduce. Bees and other inspect pollinators do this in the vanilla's native habitat, but even then it's hit-and-miss as the vanilla orchid lives for less than one day. Edmund tried pollinating the vanilla orchids in the same way he hand-pollinated other orchids. It worked, and his discovery launched the vanilla industry in the Indian Ocean, Indonesia and Tahiti, and greatly expanded vanilla production in Mexico.

Vanilla was taken to Madagascar around this time, but it didn't become a cash crop until the French colonized Madagascar in the late 1890s. They developed huge plantations using the local Malagasy as their workers. Ironically, the French, who, by now, used vanilla in savory dishes as well as desserts, never explained that vanilla is used to flavor foods as well as in perfumes. To this day, most of the farmers who grow vanilla in Madagascar have no idea how vanilla is used. They have no electricity or running water, and as few Malagasy have access to the few big cities in their country. The farmers have no easy way to learn about vanilla's uses.

Source: Patricia Rain, Vanilla.com

Vanilla.com Wholesale and retail boutique selling premium vanilla products. Your Source For All Things Vanilla!

Vanilla-Fragranced Duckling, Madagascar Style

Ingredients:

1 whole fresh duckling
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 yellow jumbo onion, split into quarters
1 orange, cut into four wedges
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
2 cups duck or chicken stock

Preparation:

Rinse the duckling inside and out, removing the neck, heart, gizzard, and liver. Place the "innards" in the bottom of a roasting pan.

Season the duckling inside and out with salt and pepper. Place onion pieces into the duck cavity. Squeeze juice of the orange over the duckling, then put rinds into duck cavity. With a thin knife, cut a slit on each side of the breast and in each leg/thigh, and insert the vanilla bean halves. Put duckling on top of "innards" in roasting pan.

Roast duckling for 15 minutes in a 500 degree oven, then lower oven to 350 degrees and roast until a thermometer inserted into the duckling registers 165 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Remove and discard onion and orange rinds. Using a cleaver, remove the back bone by standing the roasted duck on its neck end and cutting down each side of the back bone. Remove the rib cage and hip bones by slipping your finger tips around them, then lifting up and twisting the bones off the meat. The wing and leg bones remain.

Set innards aside and defat the roasting pan. Deglaze pan with the duck or chicken stock. Bring stock to a boil, adding bones and innards, and reduce stock to 1 cup. Remove the two half beans from the legs of the duckling and add to the cup of reduced stock, then reduce again to 1/2 cup.

Reheat the two duck halves in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes until hot and the skin is crisp. Place on two hot serving plates with the breast halves still pierced with the vanilla bean halves. Ladle the hot sauce (with the vanilla bean pieces) over the duck breasts. Serve with green vegetables and jasmine rice.

Recipe Courtesy of Chef Deane Bussiere

More on Madagascar Vanilla:

Once the Madagascar vanilla industry was firmly established, Bourbon beans became readily available in the United States. Over time, extract manufacturers switched to Bourbon beans—they were cheaper than the Mexican beans. In the 1970s and 80s, the Madagascar government funded a campaign to make Madagascar vanilla the vanilla of choice. The majority of vanilla extracts and beans available in the marketplace today are Madagascan.

Madagascan and Mexican vanilla beans are very similar in appearance, though Mexican beans are a bit more moist and plump. Flavors are quite similar as well, having dusty, creamy notes. Madagascan beans are described as being creamy, hay-like and sweet, with strong vanillin overtones. Mexican beans are described as having a more mellow, smooth quality and a spicy, woody fragrance.

Bourbon vanilla is good for baking and flavoring cooked desserts, breads, beverages and savory foods. Mexican and Bourbon vanillas are interchangeable, though Mexican is especially nice to use in savory foods.

Source: Patricia Rain, Vanilla.com

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Bourbon Vanilla Macadamia Nut Tart

Bourbon vanilla is used in three forms—beans, extract, and powder—to contribute its rich, full-bodied flavor to this yummy tart. The filling is soft and chewy, yet crunchy with the texture of the macadamia nuts.

Makes one 11-inch round tart, 14 to 16 servings

Ingredients:

Pastry Dough:

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Bourbon vanilla powder
1/4 cup (scant) vanilla sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, chilled
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

1/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated Bourbon vanilla sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 large egg yolks at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure Bourbon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 Bourbon vanilla beans, split
1 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Garnish:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons Bourbon superfine sugar
1 teaspoon pure Bourbon vanilla extract

Preparation:

For the Pastry Dough:

Place the flour, vanilla powder, and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the bowl. Pulse the mixture using on/off turns until the butter is cut into very tiny pieces, about 1 minute.

Combine the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. With the machine running, pour the liquid through the feed tube. Process the dough until it forms a ball, about 1 minute. Gather the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, until firm.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350F (175C). Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured smooth work surface to a 14 inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Gently roll the pastry around the rolling pin and unroll carefully into the tart pan. Lift up the sides of the pastry and fit against the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Trim off the excess pastry at the top. Line the pastry with a large piece of foil and weight with tart weights. Place the tart pan on a jelly-roll pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and weights; bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the shell is light golden and set. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack while preparing the filling.

For the Filling:

Place the brown sugar, granulated sugar, light and dark corn syrup, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl together. Whisk together until light, about 1 minute. Set aside briefly.

Place the butter in a small saucepan. Using a sharp knife split the vanilla beans lengthwise, scrape out the seeds. Add both the vanilla beans and seeds to the butter, and brown over medium heat. This will take about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the vanilla beans and add the butter to the sugar mixture. Blend in the macadamia nuts and pour the mixture into the pastry shell.

Bake the tart in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until set and golden colored. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 30 minutes, then remove the sides of the tart pan. The tart is best served within 4 hours, but will last for up to 3 days tightly covered in the refrigerator.

For the Garnish:

Whip the cream in the bowl of a stand mixer using the wire whip attachment, or in a mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, until frothy. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whip the cream until it holds soft peaks. Serve a dollop of whipped cream on top of each slice of tart.

Recipe Courtesy of Chef Carole Bloom
(www.carolebloom.com)

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Vanilla Cream Sauce with Baked Fall Fruits

Makes 4 plus servings

Ingredients:

Fall Fruits:

2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced
3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons unbleached, all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Sauce:

1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons arrowroot
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk

Preparation:

Heat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine all fall fruit ingredients, stirring until fruit is evenly coated with the flour and brown sugar. Place in an ungreased baking dish; cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until fruit is crisp-tender.

Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan, whisking until well blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil.

To serve, spoon warm fruit mix into individual dessert dishes. Top each with sauce.

Recipe Courtesy of Chef Bev Shaffer
(www.mustardseedmarket.com)