How to smell vanilla without perfume. Description of the smell of vanilla perfume for women: how to choose a scent

The smell of food is of great importance to us.

Once you smell the aroma of the food being cooked, you may feel hungry.

Humanity has been improving the smell of food for thousands of years.

Vanilla is one of the most common spices around the world that excites the appetite.

Most people like the smell of vanilla. There are a small number of people who remain indifferent to the aroma of this spice.

Description of vanilla

Vanilla is native to Central America. The spice grows on a perennial orchid, which is pollinated only by a special species of local bees and hummingbirds.

Vanilla fruits develop from the pollinated flower. But only half of the pollinated flowers form vanilla ovaries.

People have learned to pollinate the plant themselves in order to obtain more spice. Due to this labor-intensive production method, vanilla is the most expensive spice in the world.

Currently, the largest supplier of vanilla spice is the island of Madagascar. It produces 2000 tons of vanilla per year. This is 60% of the annual world spice production.

Unfortunately, many of us do not consume real vanilla. People have learned to industrially synthesize powder from wood with a similar odor. It's called vanillin.

But real vanilla has a creamy, sweet smell that is a combination of tannins, essential oils, and many other substances.

It is easy to distinguish real spice from vanillin. The spice has a slightly brownish tint, and the synthesized powder is white.

Beneficial properties of vanilla

• The spice has a very pleasant sweet smell. This smell has a beneficial effect on the emotional state: it calms and relaxes.
• Some people experience less cravings for chocolate. If you want to eat chocolate, smell the vanilla and you won't want it.
• This property of the spice can help with weight loss. Especially for people who cannot refuse sweets. Also, during diets, depression often appears due to a lack of sugars in the body. Vanilla not only reduces chocolate cravings, but also improves mood and calms you down.
• The spice is considered a natural aphrodisiac. A remedy that improves mood by producing serotonin. It also enhances attractiveness in men and women.
• Vanilla can stop the growth of harmful bacteria in the body.
• But not only harmful microorganisms, but also cancer cells cannot resist the spice. The spice can reduce their growth.
• Essential oil is obtained from vanilla. It is actively used in perfumery. The aroma oil also improves the condition of the skin, rejuvenates it, restores its firmness and elasticity.
• The smell of the oil calms, relaxes and improves sleep.

Vanilla contraindications

How to choose vanilla

To buy real spice, you need to purchase vanilla pods.

The pods should be almost black in color. They should have an oily coating. A white coating is also possible.

How to store vanilla

Store at room temperature in a dark place. The pods are stored in a container.

Each pod must be individually wrapped in cling film and placed in a container.

Containers for storing cigars are ideal.

Every 2 months, the pods must be unfolded and ventilated, then wrapped again in cling film.

Vanilla can be stored this way for up to 36 years.

How to use vanilla

The spice pod can be cut into pieces and added to different dishes. Make vanilla sugar at home.

Vanilla is also infused with alcohol. This alcoholic liquid is then added to various dishes.

At home, you can also infuse vanilla with alcohol or cognac. It is necessary to soak the vanilla pod in alcohol for some time.

Then take out the pod, wipe it dry and put it in a container with sugar for several months so that the granulated sugar is saturated with the vanilla smell.

The aroma of vanilla cannot be confused with any other, and in perfumes and eau de toilette this note often comes to the fore, creating cozy, warm, enveloping perfume compositions. The note of vanilla combines perfectly with its related caramel, cinnamon, spices, oriental chords of sandalwood, amber and musk, as well as with many floral and fruity notes, each time offering new interpretations and opening up new facets of the perfume.

We present to you a list of 20 scents with a dominant note of vanilla.

Tobacco Vanille (Tom Ford): vanilla, tobacco, spices

One of Tom Ford's signature scents, which captivated girls with its contrasting combination of sweet vanilla and smoky, deep notes of tobacco. An elegant perfume released in 2007.

Composition:

• top notes: tobacco leaf, spices;
• middle notes: tonka bean, tobacco flower, vanilla, cocoa;
• base notes: dried fruits, woody notes.

Oud Vanille (Franck Olivier): vanilla, rose, caramel

In 2017, the Franck Olivier brand expanded its perfume line with a sweet oriental unisex fragrance with notes of vanilla, rose and caramel, which are perfect for the winter season.

Composition:

• top notes: orange, raspberry, caramel;
• middle notes: rose, violet, jasmine, patchouli, incense;
• base notes: woody notes, spices, musk, vanilla.

Vanille de Madagascar (Chopard): vanilla and caramel

In 2017, another vanilla-caramel interpretation appeared, this time from the French jewelry brand Chopard. The fragrance bottle is reminiscent of the brand's original direction - it looks like a sapphire jewelry framed in yellow gold.

Composition:

• top notes: bergamot, tea, orange blossom;
• middle notes: Madagascar vanilla, caramel;
• base notes: white cedar, Tahitian vetiver.

Hypnôse (Lancôme): vanilla and flowers

In 2005, Lancôme introduced its first Hypnôse, a warm and sweet enveloping fragrance that intertwines soft vanilla with floral notes. If the vanilla in the original perfume is too heavy for you, then pay attention to flankers, for example, Hypnôse Eau Légère, which contains a note of lemon in the composition.

Composition:

• Top notes: passion flower;
• middle notes: jasmine, gardenia;
• base notes: vetiver, vanilla.

Si (Giorgio Armani): vanilla, blackcurrant leaf, patchouli

In 2013, Giorgio Armani presented its first fragrance Si, which subsequently acquired several sequels in the form of flankers. The original Si is a classic and very feminine perfume that combines vanilla with blackcurrant leaf and patchouli.

Composition:

• top notes: black currant leaf;
• middle notes: freesia, May rose;
• base notes: vanilla, patchouli, ambroxan, woody notes.

Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum (Roberto Cavalli): vanilla, orange blossom

A rich vanilla-floral elixir, a real gift for those who adore oriental sweetness. The fragrance was released in 2012.

Composition:

• top notes: pink pepper;
• middle notes: african orange blossom;
• base notes: benzoin, tonka bean, vanilla.

Spiritueuse Double Vanille (Guerlain): vanilla, benzoin

Warm vanilla-balsamic perfume appeared in the Guerlain line in 2007. A thick, noble perfume for women who are delighted with sweet oriental compositions.

Composition:

• top notes: pink pepper, bergamot, incense;
• middle notes: ylang-ylang, cedar, Bulgarian rose, jasmine;
• base notes: benzoin, vanilla.

Valentina (Valentino): vanilla, strawberry, truffle

Sweet and warm, a very feminine scent in the classic sense. It combines vanilla and strawberry, shaded with noble truffle, bitter jasmine and tuberose. The first “Valentina” went on sale in 2011.

Composition:

• top notes: bergamot, truffle;
• middle notes: jasmine, African orange blossom, tuberose, strawberry;
• base notes: Virginia cedar, amber, vanilla.

Poison Girl (Dior): vanilla, almond, tonka bean

Poison Girl opens with bright citrus notes, which give way to a floral heart, gradually turning into a warm oriental base, where vanilla and almond are the soloists. The fragrance was released in 2016.

Composition:

• top notes: bitter orange, lemon;
• middle notes: Damask rose, Grasse rose, orange blossom;
• base notes: tonka bean, sandalwood, vanilla, almond, tolu balsam, cashmeran, heliotrope.

Eau Duelle (Diptyque): vanilla, elemi, cardamom

A unisex fragrance with a bewitchingly beautiful vanilla composition. A good scent for the winter, as it combines elegant, warming oriental notes that are not suffocating with heaviness or sweetness.

Composition: cardamom, elemi, olibanum, bergamot, pink pepper, juniper, saffron, black tea, musk, ambergris, Bourbon vanilla.

Vanille Noire (Yves Rocher): vanilla and sandalwood

A smooth and unobtrusive vanilla scent in a stylish brown bottle from Yves Rocher appeared in 2010. A soft vanilla note combines with deep sandalwood and mimosa, giving birth to a beautiful oriental powdery perfume.

Composition: sandalwood, vanilla, mandarin, mimosa, orange blossom.

Olympéa (Paco Rabanne): vanilla, salt

The Olympéa fragrance, which appeared in the Paco Rabbane perfume collection in 2015, is an unusual version of the dominant vanilla in perfumery, which is combined with salt, water jasmine, and mandarin. It has good longevity with a delicate sillage.

Composition:

• top notes: green mandarin, water jasmine, ginger flower;
• middle notes: vanilla, salt;
• base notes: ambergris, cashmere wood, sandalwood.

Mon Guerlain (Guerlain): vanilla and lavender

A classic calm scent for winter, sweet, girly, well suited for winter. New from Guerlain 2017.

Composition:

• top notes: lavender, bergamot;
• middle notes: jasmine sambac, iris, rose;
• base notes: Tahitian vanilla, Australian sandalwood, coumarin, benzoin, licorice, patchouli.

Vanille Insensée (Atelier Cologne): vanilla, oak, lime

The woody-vanilla perfume composition appeared from Atelier Cologne in 2011. The warmth and softness of oriental notes is diluted with citrus fruits - lime and citron.

Composition:

• top notes: coriander, lime, citron;
• middle notes: vetiver, jasmine, oakmoss;
• base notes: vanilla, oak, amber.

Pure DKNY A Drop of Vanilla (Donna Karan): vanilla and sandalwood

The bottle is like a pure drop of water, and inside is a real vanilla-sandalwood elixir with calming flowers, created for lovers of delicate feminine classic perfumes.

Composition: dew, jasmine, freesia, lotus, orchid, amber, sandalwood, vanilla, Bulgarian rose.

Havana Vanille / Vanille Absolument (L’Artisan Parfumeur): vanilla and rum

The charming and multifaceted, delicious and deep aroma of Havana Vanille from the selective brand L’Artisan Parfumeur was released in 2009. It has the sweetness of vanilla, heady rum, and smoky tobacco that will recreate the atmosphere of a noisy Cuban bar.

Composition:

• top notes: clove, vanilla, dried fruits;
• middle notes: immortelle, narcissus, tonka bean, licorice;
• base notes: resins, musk, woody notes, leather, rum, tobacco.

Vanille 44 Paris (Le Labo): vanilla, guaiac wood, incense

The vanilla-woody scent Le labo appeared in the brand's collection in 2007. Many call it the most beautiful vanilla scent - vanilla combines so flawlessly with guaiac wood and incense.

Composition: mandarin, vanilla, guaiac wood, incense, bergamot, aldehydes.

Tangier Vanille (Aerin Lauder): vanilla and sandalwood

In 2016, Aerin Lauder launched this stunning deep oriental scent. The first violin here is played by the duet of soft vanilla and warm amber, and the composition is complemented by sandalwood with musk and bright rose with bergamot, which open it.

Composition:

• top notes: vanilla, bergamot, rose;
• middle notes: amber;
• base notes: sandalwood, musk.

Vanilla (1907): vanilla, sandalwood, musk

In 2014, the Slovak brand 1907 presented its perfume “Vanilla” for women and men. It opens with exotic sweetness, which gives way to a thick floral heart, leaving behind a classic oriental trail of vanilla, sandalwood and musk.

Composition:

• top notes: coconut, orange blossom, ylang-ylang;
• middle notes: Egyptian jasmine, Turkish rose, lily of the valley, heliotrope, hyacinth;
• base notes: Madagascar vanilla, Australian sandalwood, white musk.

Vanille Exquise (Annick Goutal): vanilla and almond

In 2004, niche brand Annick Goutal released this cozy, creamy vanilla-almond scent in a beautiful bottle with vintage decoration.

Composition: angelica, almond, vanilla, musk, sandalwood, guaiac wood.

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“When I feel sad, I open a jar of vanilla beans that I brought from my vacation in Bali. Rough to the touch, the dark brown, fragile pods smell of childhood and sweet grandma’s buns. I inhale this aroma and feel it - I relax, I stop being nervous and irritated,” admits 38-year-old Alena. Today, vanilla notes are heard in many perfumes; they are added to body creams, candles, lip glosses - literally everywhere. There is something simultaneously erotic and innocent in this aroma: oriental incense intertwined with a floral bouquet and exhaling confectionery sweetness. Sometimes vanilla is even considered an aphrodisiac.

“This is definitely a sensual scent,” says aromatherapist and cosmetologist Elena Evseeva. “But her sensuality is not aggressive, not animal, it has a different nature. Vanilla calms, reduces stress, liberates and, most importantly, gives a warm, enveloping feeling of security - like at home, in childhood, in a mother's embrace. In such a peaceful state, those of our emotions and desires that we did not notice due to stress and worries become more obvious, obvious, and significant. Hence the eroticism that is often attributed to this fragrance. By combining with others - rose, ylang-ylang or pine - vanilla helps them open up. It is for this property - to enhance the surrounding aromas - that many perfumers love vanilla. (Except for those who are convinced that “culinary ingredients should stay in the kitchen,” as provocateur perfumer Geza Schoen, creator of Escentric Molecules, says.) “For me, vanilla is a holiday, a spontaneous smile, an explosion of emotions ", aristocrat Kilian Hennessy, creator of the by Kilian fragrances, describes his feelings. Another perfumer, Romano Ricci, grandson of the legendary Nina Ricci and author of fragrances under the brand name Juliette Has a Gun, recalls that in the past vanilla was always favored by kings and emperors: “Vanilla sounds interesting on men’s skin.”

ITS SENSITIVITY IS NOT AGGRESSIVE: VANILLA IS SOILING AND REVEALS OUR SENSATIONS – HENCE THE EROTICITY WHICH IS OFTEN ATTRIBUTED TO THIS FRAGRANCE.

“Many people like vanilla, but definitely not everyone,” comments Elena Evseeva. – The reaction to a particular smell certainly reflects our emotional state at the moment and emotional needs. Perhaps now we just need not the sweet, soothing smell of vanilla, but the invigorating bergamot or the ritual, deep sandalwood.” In addition to its unconditional aromatic benefits, vanilla is also valued in cosmetology. “I add a few drops of essential oil to my dry skin care: it makes it denser and more elastic,” continues Elena Evseeva. Green fruits and flowers of Madagascar vanilla became the basis for the active component Planifolia in the Sublimage, Chanel cream. This valuable ingredient protects skin cells from damage, moisturizes, evens out skin tone and gives the face radiance. It is not easy to obtain: one kilogram of the active component requires 60 thousand green pods and 14 thousand flowers. Both dry vanilla beans and essential oil are not cheap. The reason is labor-intensive production. The first flowers on the plant appear only three years after planting. Green fruits must spend at least nine months on the branch, after which they are picked by hand and then dried for a long time, step by step... It remains to add that according to legend, vanilla was brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus. Once on the American continent, he tasted liquid chocolate flavored with vanilla, which was presented to him by the leader of a local tribe - as a sign of peace and kindness.

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Important things to know about vanilla

Aromatic vanilla is a fragrant spice with a memorable juicy and unique smell, which has a beneficial effect on all areas of human life: health, beauty, food and love.

Its consumption per year is 2,000 tons - this indicates the super popularity of vanilla and all because it has a delicate smell and a magical aroma, which consists of 250 components. I want to stay in it and enjoy it forever.

Vanilla is in demand in the food industry, medicine, perfumery, cosmetology and everyday life.

After saffron, vanilla is the most expensive spice; its scent lasts for 35 years! and it is very expensive: 4 vanilla pods are 700 rubles, and 10 g of ground vanilla are 300 rubles. This is because the vanilla harvesting procedure itself is extremely difficult.

Growing Vanilla

Vanilla is a subtropical tree, its homeland is Mexico and the name “vanilla” means “pod”. This is a flat-leaved plant, the Orchidaceae family, and the tree lives for 10 - 12 years.

The vanilla family has more than 150 species: fragrant, Antillean, Tahitian and others.

Vanilla flowers are amazingly beautiful and they appear in the 3rd year of the tree’s life; in appearance they resemble an orchid, but they do not smell and bloom for 1 day, once a year! Nature has created such a flower shape that pollination should occur in the elongated tube of the flower; but the most difficult thing is that it is impossible to do this on your own: the pistil and stamen are separated from each other by a special partition.

Moreover, you need to have time to pollinate the vanilla flower before lunch, since it blooms for several hours and falls to the ground, so 50% of the flowers are barren flowers.

The only salvation is the small arboreal stingless melipona bees, which pollinate the flowers. The Indians of Mexico specially bred these bees and worshiped them.

The first person to try to figure out the difficulty of pollination was the Belgian botanist Morin, but his experiments were not successful until 12-year-old black slave Edmond Albins discovered the method of hand pollination in 1841.

The vanilla flower is very delicate and fragile, so the entire pollination operation had to be carried out extremely carefully: it was necessary to lift the partition with your fingers and connect the pistil with the stamen - this was called the “vanilla wedding.”

From July to October, all the women and children of the population of Reunion were engaged in this work and could pollinate up to 200 flowers in a day!

After the flower, a green pod remained; it was picked unripe and immersed for 20 seconds in hot water (t70 - 80º), and then wrapped in several blankets to speed up the chemical decomposition reaction (glucose, free aldehydes, essential oils of anise alcohol and other aromatic substances) , which are the carrier of the smell of vanilla.

Then, for 10 days, the pods are dried in the sun for 5 hours, put away at night in special bags, and the last stage of this technology - the raw materials lie under a canopy and ripen for 1 month. The pods turn brown and decrease in size by 7 times.

The ancient Totonac Indians collected tribute from vanilla pods - so great was the importance and price of this spice.

In 1502, the navigator H. Columbus, having visited Nicaragua, was amazed by this plant, and the Spanish conqueror E. Cortes, whom Emperor Montezuma treated to cocoa with vanilla, was stunned by the divine taste of the drink. Thus began the victorious march of vanilla around the world.

In the 17th century, the court physician of Empress Elizabeth advised her to add a pinch of vanilla to her baking dough, and in France it became fashionable to smoke tobacco with vanilla powder.

Today, Madagascar has become the leader in vanilla production - its share is 50% of all production, Indonesia is in 2nd place, and China is in 3rd place. In 2008, 1 kg of vanilla pods cost $500.

There are now 8 varieties of vanilla on the international market: exquisite long, fine long, fairly fine, good fine and so on.

And since growing vanilla is a labor-intensive task, laboratories began to conduct experiments on isolating vanilla crystals; the first was the Frenchman T. Gobley in 1858. Later, chemists developed a method for producing flavors from pine bark, cellulose waste, and rice bran, which turned out to be hundreds of times cheaper than natural vanilla.

This is how artificial substitutes appeared:

• vanillin;
• vanilla essence is a concentrated extract, so add 1-2 drops, otherwise the dish will taste bitter;
• vanilla sugar, used in baked goods and desserts;
• vanillin - white powder, convenient in cooking: added to meat, seasonings;
• vanilla extract (30% tincture) for puddings, for example.

You can make vanilla extract yourself: for 1 glass of vodka, take the seeds of 2-3 pods and leave for 2 months in a sealed container.

The benefits of vanilla

Back in the Middle Ages, it was noticed that vanilla cures many diseases, such as loss of strength, tuberculosis and impotence. And inhaling the aroma of vanilla, anxiety, depression and blues went away. To do this, people wore pendants on their chests, where 1 drop of vanilla exuded a sweet aroma of serenity.

Look at the unique composition of vanilla:

Proteins - 1.2 g.

Fats - 0.1 g.

Carbohydrates - 12.5 g.

Vitamins: B1, B2, B5, B6, PP.

Nutritional value - 287 kcal.

Vanilla in medicine

Vanilla has a beneficial effect on all body systems. Containing various aromatic components, resins, fats and enzymes are part of many medications.

Thanks to the vitamin B group, which tend to maintain the nervous system in good shape, people are cured of depression and stress, efficiency increases, strength and good mood are restored.

This is facilitated by serotonin, the hormone of joy that is produced in vanilla.

Recipe: vanilla tea with a charming aroma

Brew tea with a pinch of vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon, add sugar to taste. Let stand for 5 - 7 minutes and drink. They drink only freshly brewed tea; cold or heated tea does not give the same effect and pleasure.

Vanilla stimulates the digestion process due to the fiber it contains and normalizes the level of acidity in the stomach; it is used for colic and flatulence.

Numerous studies have shown that vanilla fights cervical and breast cancer - this was published in the European Journal of Pharmacology in 2005.

For those losing weight: reduces cravings for sweets, blocks appetite and signals the brain to quickly saturate the body.

Recipe: kefir with parsley, vanilla and cinnamon - a vitamin cocktail for fasting days or at night.

Solves women's problems during menopause and menstrual pain - improves well-being, calms the psyche and regulates hormonal levels.

The antibacterial properties of vanilla are popular for ENT diseases; due to the production of vanilla acid, the proliferation of microbes is stopped.

In folk medicine, vanilla is used for anemia, vitamin deficiency, decreased immunity, rheumatic pain and a tendency to alcoholism.

Vanilla in cosmetology

Self-care done regularly and with love is a home SPA salon.

Baths with vanilla:

• Milk, vanilla oil, herbal decoction and honey - ennobles the skin and state of mind;
• Sea salt 2 tbsp. spoons, vanilla oil 2 drops, milk 50 ml, honey 10 g. Pour all this into the bath, and then rub in the nourishing cream.

The fragrant spice acts as a tonic; it moisturizes and rejuvenates the skin, removes inflammation, disinfecting it. You should add vanilla oil to shampoo, gel, scrub and you will see the result.

Hair Mask:

2 eggs, 5 g honey, 2 drops vanilla oil, 1 teaspoon castor oil and 3 ml cognac. Whisk everything, apply to the entire length of the hair for 1 hour, rinse with warm water and shampoo - the hair will become silky, thick, hair growth will accelerate and the hair follicles will be strengthened.

Cosmetic mask:

1 banana, 1 avocado - grind in a blender, add 2 drops of vanilla oil and apply to face for 30 minutes. The skin tone, its elasticity increases, it is nourished and moisturized.

Cellulite scrub:

1 glass of sugar, 50 g of ground coffee and 15 drops of vanilla oil. Rub on problem areas, the skin is cleansed, and blood flow increases.

Vanilla is the most powerful and popular aphrodisiac. The Indian Mayans also preferred to drink “chocolatl” - a love drink that included vanilla, cloves, and chili peppers. The Aztec leaders drank cocoa with vanilla, which gave them strength for their 600 wives, and the Indians of South America rubbed vanilla into their skin to enhance love.

Vanilla ranks first among aromas; it excites the minds of men and women, enhancing the passion and sexual pleasure of both.

Perfume with a sweet oriental aroma gives a sensual note, seduces and attracts the male half. These are “The One” perfume (Dolce&Gabbana) and “Addict” perfume (Dior).

Vanilla in cooking

Vanilla is an aristocratic spice in cooking. It is added to culinary products, desserts, cottage cheese, chocolate, ice cream, cakes, sweets and liqueurs as a flavoring.

The magical power of vanilla is that it softens the sourness in dishes, so it is minimally added to vegetable dressings, salads, meat, chicken, juices, mineral water, Easter dough, pancakes, waffles. Powdered sugar and vanillin are added to the cream based cream. Natural vanilla is used extremely rarely.

The most brilliant combination of cream, sugar, and vanilla can be tasted in Sheridan’s vanilla liqueur.

Recipe:carrot puree with vanilla

Ingredients: 400 g carrots, 50 g onions, 50 g butter, vanilla, salt, pepper - to taste.

Preparation: saute the onion and add grated carrots, add 100 ml of water and simmer for 20 minutes under the lid. Transfer to a blender, add vanillin, salt, pepper and mix. Serve as a side dish for meat or as a main dish.

Recipe: vanilla mousse

Ingredients: cream 35% 250 ml., milk 1.5 cups, vanilla essence 1 teaspoon, sugar 60 g., eggs 3 pcs., gelatin.

Preparation:pour gelatin with cold boiled water for 40 minutes. Beat the yolks with sugar. Pour the cream into a saucepan, bring to a boil, pour in the yolks, gelatin and add vanilla - mix everything, pour into molds and freeze for 2 hours.

Recipe:coffee-vanilla liqueur

Grind 2 oranges, add 22 coffee beans, 22 pieces of refined sugar, 1 pinch of vanilla - pour everything into 1 liter of vodka and leave for 45 days in an airtight container. Periodically shake the contents and then strain.

Recipe:Viennese coffee

Add 1 spoon of cream, sugar to taste, a pinch of cinnamon and vanilla to a cup of strong coffee. Grate chocolate on top - bon appetit!

Contraindications

Vanilla should always be used in doses, as the smell of vanilla can cause dizziness, nausea and headaches. Do not use if you are intolerant (allergic) or pregnant.

Vanilla in the household for cleanliness

The aroma of vanilla has been used since ancient times in magical rituals to attract good luck and love. Essential oils are volatile substances in plants, this is their life force, it is they that affect the emotional state of a person and have an antimicrobial effect.

To make your home always attractive, add vanilla oil (30 drops per bucket) when washing floors, and when washing linoleum, pour 200 g of vinegar and 20 drops of vanilla oil into a bucket of warm water.

When wiping the dust, drop 2 - 3 drops of vanilla oil onto a napkin - and you will feel the attractive aroma.

You can add 3 drops of oil to liquid soap, or freshen the air by spraying water with vanilla oil around the house - this will disinfect the air in the apartment.

You can add a few drops to the washing machine and your laundry will smell fragrant.

You can remove the unpleasant smell in the refrigerator by placing a jar of baking soda and 2 - 3 drops of oil there. The baking soda will absorb odors, and the vanilla will help balance the atmosphere in the refrigerator.

It is even possible to clean your computer keyboard from bacteria by adding 2 drops of vanilla oil to a dampened cloth.

Vanilla gives us joy and lightness, reminds us of the most pleasant moments of our lives: childhood, holidays with delicious croissants and ice cream. The enchanting and magical aroma is always with us!

Live healthy! Vanilla. aromatic spice

Ruchkina N.

(“HiZh”, 2011, No. 1)

What kind of plant is vanilla? Homeland of fragrant vanilla ( Vanilla fragrans), aka flat-leaved vanilla ( V. planifolia) - Central and South America. This is a perennial vine of the orchid family with a long, up to 35 m, herbaceous stem. Large whitish-yellow or yellow-green vanilla flowers are collected in clusters of 20-30 pieces, the fruits are long pod-like boxes 15-30 cm long and only 0.7-1.0 mm in diameter. When they ripen and dry, they become brownish-black. This is probably why the Aztecs called vanilla tlilhochitl - “black flowers”. They used the fruits, dried and ground into powder, as a spice that was added to cocoa.

In addition to vanilla fragrant, people cultivate another American species, pompom vanilla ( V. pompona). It has shorter pods, shaped like bananas, and the spice they produce is worse. An even lower grade product made from Tahitian vanilla ( V. tahitiensis), which is a hybrid of a local species of vanilla ( V. odorata) and brought by the French to Polynesia V. planifolia. The remaining types of vanilla, and there are about 110 of them, have purely decorative value.

Why is vanilla so expensive? When Europeans discovered overseas spices, they cost incredible amounts of money. But over time, strange plants migrated to plantations and ceased to be rare, and spices became significantly cheaper. However, natural vanilla is still very expensive. Its flowers are pollinated by stingless melipona bees ( Meliponula ferruginea), which live only in Central America. Attempts to move them to other regions were unsuccessful, so vanilla was grown outside Mexico exclusively as an ornamental plant. It was not until 1841 that Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old black boy from a plantation on Reunion Island, came up with a simple method of artificial pollination. This is an extremely labor-intensive task, since each flower must be processed by hand, and it only opens for a day. Fruits are set in only half of the pollinated flowers and develop for 7-9 months. It is not surprising that prices for vanilla in other years can reach up to $500 per kg.

What does vanilla smell like? The vanilla bean is odorless. To obtain the aromatic spice, you need to collect unripe fruits, immerse them in hot water for 20 seconds, and then steam them for a week in woolen blankets at a temperature of 60°C. At this time, enzymatic processes occur in the pods, as a result of which the glycoside glucovanillin is broken down into glucose and free odorous aldehyde - vanillin. Then the pods are dried for a long time and difficultly in the shade in the open air, during which they lose two-thirds of their mass, darken and are covered on the outside with white vanillin crystals. But vanilla does not smell like vanilla alone: ​​cinnamon esters, anise alcohol and aldehyde also participate in creating its unique aroma. Therefore, fruits that contain relatively little vanillin often smell more pleasant and stronger than fruits with a high vanillin content.

How to choose vanilla? High-quality vanilla should have a pleasant, strong and persistent aroma. These qualities depend partly on the harvesting process, and partly on the plant itself. The best varieties retain their aroma for up to 36 years. Low-grade pods quickly crack and the smell disappears. The lowest quality varieties contain mainly not vanillin, but heliotropin (piperonal) and smell like heliotrope, but this is not the same, you know.

A high-quality vanilla pod (stick) is long, soft and elastic, slightly twisted and oily to the touch, dark brown in color with a touch of vanillin crystals. Light colored, cracked or open pods are not suitable. Based on the totality of properties, manufacturers distinguish from three to eight varieties of vanilla sticks. In the simplest division, the first grade (category A) includes pods longer than 15 cm with a moisture content of 30-35%. They are also called “gourmet” or “prima”. Category B pods 10-15 cm long contain 15-25% moisture. Class C includes everything else shorter than 10 cm.

The best spice, as we remember, comes from flat-leaf vanilla. Mexican is considered the highest quality, followed by bourbon - varieties V. planifolia, which are cultivated in Madagascar and Reunion. (Bourbon is the old name for Reunion.) And if you see West Indian vanilla, it's already V. pompona.

What can you make from natural vanilla? First of all, having a pod, you can provide yourself with vanilla sugar. One or two sticks are covered with 500 g of sugar and stored for a week in a tightly closed jar in a cool place. During this time, it is saturated with the aroma of vanilla. As you consume it, you can add new sugar to the jar; a pod will last for six months.

A very convenient thing is vanilla extract. You need to take four pods (category B is usually used), split them in half and pour in 100 g of vodka so that it completely covers the pods. Be sure to cap the bottle tightly. After two to three weeks in a cool place, the extract is ready. And if you take two pods and a whole bottle of vodka, you get vanilla vodka. They insist on it for only a few hours, so you won’t have to languish in anticipation for long.

Ready-made vanilla sugar and extract are commercially available. They also produce essence, a more vanilla-rich version of the extract, and vanilla powder (ground pods).

What products is vanilla used with? Having become acquainted with vanilla, the Europeans initially used it in the same way as the Aztecs - they added it to cocoa. Then they began to flavor smoking and chewing tobacco with it, and even later they began to use it in cooking. Queen Elizabeth I of England was very fond of vanilla cakes.

Vanilla is added to all sorts of sweet dishes and flavored with coffee, cocoa and liqueurs. It should be borne in mind that vanilla is bitter, so before use it is thoroughly ground into powder along with powdered sugar. Take a quarter of a stick per kilogram of food. If you take more, the food will be bitter, and no amount of sugar will save it.

Heat-resistant vanilla powder is added to baked goods and other dishes that will be cooked. Extract and essence lose their aroma at high temperatures and are only suitable for cold products. Sometimes they impregnate ready-made biscuits and cakes. You can also flavor the dish with milk in which the pods have been boiled.

Flavored vanilla sugar is sprinkled on baked goods, fruits and desserts. Cinnamon and saffron are sometimes added to dishes with vanilla; it does not go well with other spices.

What is synthetic vanillin? Vanilla is so beautiful and yet so expensive that it was the first spice for which people found an artificial substitute. Attempts made in the second half of the 19th century by English, German and French scientists were not very successful: artificial vanillin was more expensive than natural one. However, by the beginning of the twentieth century, it was possible to establish the production of a cheap product, first from clove oil, and then from safflower, a component of the essential oil of camphor laurel, from young pine wood. So the white powder in sachets that most of us replace with black-brown oily sticks coated with vanillin frost is a by-product of the production of rosin from pine resin. It cannot stand comparison with a natural product, because the smell is sharp, unstable and lacking in nuances. But it costs a penny.

How to handle synthetic vanillin? Synthetic vanillin is sold either pure or mixed with powdered sugar; in this case, the bag says “vanilla sugar.” There is little vanillin in this mixture, and it fizzles out quickly. Therefore, it is better to buy pure powder and grind it with sugar immediately before use.

Vanillin must be diluted before use. But in cold water it dissolves very poorly and precipitates. Hot water is also not good: in it, vanillin quickly fizzles out and gives off bitterness. What remains is alcohol. Experienced chefs recommend diluting one packet of vanillin in 50 ml of vodka, then pouring the solution into cooled sugar syrup (400 g of sugar per glass of water) and using as needed.

What are the benefits of vanilla? Oil is obtained from vanilla pods. In addition to vanillin, it contains various resins, fats, tannins, and enzymes. Its aroma is healing, it relieves irritation and helps with insomnia, stimulates digestion and neutralizes alcohol, acts as a mild pain reliever and generally improves well-being. The smell of vanilla increases adrenaline levels, so it serves as a mild stimulant. The oil can not only be smelled, but also added to baths, rubbed with it, and made into compresses (it has a beneficial effect on the skin).

Experts also claim that vanilla oil reduces cravings for sweets: you drop a drop on a piece of cake, and you don’t want it anymore.