什么是香草？

What is vanilla?

    香草，或香草属，是热带攀缘兰（兰科）的任何一个亚种。生活中常用于烘焙、料理的香草豆荚，是生香草豆荚经过杀青、发酵、晾晒、生香等一系列步骤后得到的黑褐色豆荚，具有浓烈的特殊香气。目前商业上最常使用的香草豆荚是墨西哥或马达加斯加波旁香草（Vanilla planifolia）、塔希提香草（V. tahitensis）以及西印度香草（V. pompona）。十六世纪西班牙征服者首次将香草和巧克力一同从中美洲带入了欧洲大陆。如今，香草被用于各种甜食和饮料，特别是巧克力、糖果、冰淇淋、烘焙食品和香水。

Vanilla, (genus Vanilla), is any of the subspecies of tropical climbing orchids (Orchidaceae). Vanilla pods, which are often used for baking and cooking, are dark brown pods with a strong special aroma obtained from raw vanilla pods after a series of steps including curing, fermenting, drying, and aromatizing. The most common vanilla pods used commercially today are the Mexican or Madagascar bourbon vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), the Tahitian vanilla (V. tahitensis) and the West Indian vanilla (V. pompona). Vanilla was first brought to the European continent from Central America in the sixteenth century by the Spanish conquistadors, along with chocolate. Today, vanilla is used in a variety of sweets and beverages, especially chocolate, candy, ice cream, baked goods and perfumes.

    香草的植株具有肉质攀援茎，通过气生根附着攀缘。花期到来，香草的花一次盛开数朵，但花期只有一天，花期大约持续两个月。由于花朵结构娇小，只能由某些特定品种的蜜蜂进行自然授粉。为了提高产量，香草种植区的农户们通常在花朵一开放时，就用木针进行人工授粉。香草的果实生长迅速，在6周内就可以长成大约20厘米的的豆荚，但其成熟则需要长达九个月的时间。香草豆荚的生产一般采用未成熟的果实，所以当香草豆荚底部变成金绿色，农户就会进行采收。

Vanilla plants have fleshy climbing stems that attach and climb by means of aerial roots. When the flowering season arrives, the vanilla's flowers bloom several at a time, but only for a day, and the flowering period lasts about two months. Due to the delicate structure of the flowers, they can only be naturally pollinated by certain species of bees. In order to increase yields, farmers in vanilla-growing areas usually hand-pollinate the flowers with wooden needles as soon as they open. The vanilla fruit grows rapidly, into pods of about 500px in six weeks, but takes up to nine months to mature. Vanilla pods are generally produced from immature fruit, so farmers harvest the vanilla pods when they turn a golden green color at the bottom.

    刚采摘、未加工的香草豆荚是没有香气的。杀青过程使得香草豆荚中的酶发挥作用，从而使得香草豆荚产生了特有的香气。香草豆荚的香气来源于香兰素。发酵后的香草豆荚大约具有2%的香兰素。香兰素含量越高，表明香草豆荚的品质越好。香兰素是由香草豆荚内壁的毛状组织分泌，并通过香草籽周围的粘稠油状液体扩散出来。发酵后的香草豆荚中还含有一些其他有机成分，包括香兰酸（无气味）、油树脂、糖、树胶、草酸钙、醇、醛和酯，它们一起为豆荚带来了浓郁的香气和风味。

Freshly picked, unprocessed vanilla pods have no aroma. The curing process allows the enzymes in the vanilla pods to work, which gives the pods their characteristic aroma. Vanilla pods derive their aroma from vanillin. Cured vanilla pods have approximately 2% vanillin. The higher the vanillin content, the better the quality of the vanilla pods. Vanillin is secreted by the hairlike papillae in the inner wall of the vanilla pod and diffused through the viscous, oily liquid surrounding the vanilla seeds. Cured vanilla pods also contain a number of other organic constituents including vanillic acid, oleoresins, sugars, gums, calcium oxalate, alcohols, aldehydes and esters, which together give the pods their intense aroma and flavour.

不同产区的香草豆荚有什么区别？

What is the difference between vanilla pods from different regions?

目前全球主要的香草豆荚产区及其香草豆荚具有以下不同的特点：

Currently the world's major vanilla producing regions and their vanilla pods have the following different characteristics:

• 波旁香草豆：产于马达加斯加，香草豆荚较粗，香兰素含量非常高，香气浓郁。由于马达加斯加香草产业发展较好，杀青、发酵技术好，香草豆荚产品品质上乘，是目前世界上最大的香草豆荚产区。

• 印度尼西亚：香草豆荚偏瘦，烟熏味较重，但价格相对便宜。

• 墨西哥香草：香草豆荚的香兰素含量较低，但果味较浓。产量低，中国市场上比较少见。

• 大溪地：大溪地香草豆荚是兰科的另一个品种，味道更柔和醇厚，产量低，中国市场上比较少见。

• 其他的产区还有巴布亚新几内亚、乌干达、新西兰、中国云南等。

• Bourbon Vanilla Bean: Produced in Madagascar, the vanilla pods are coarser, with very high vanillin content and strong aroma. Due to the better development of Madagascar's vanilla industry, good technology of curing and fermentation, the vanilla pod products are of high quality, and it is currently the world's largest production area of vanilla pods.

• Indonesia: Vanilla pods are lean and smokier, but relatively inexpensive.

• Mexican vanilla: vanilla pods have a lower vanillin content, but fruity tones. Production is low, and it is relatively rare in the Chinese market.

• Tahiti: Tahitian vanilla pods are another variety of Orchidaceae, with a softer, mellower flavor and low production, and are relatively rare on the Chinese market.

• Other producing regions include Papua New Guinea, Uganda, New Zealand, China Yunnan etc.

为什么香草豆荚这么昂贵？

Why are vanilla pods so expensive?

    香草豆荚非常昂贵主要有两个原因：首先是产量低，其次是其生产过程具有劳动密集型的特点。因为香草的授粉、采摘、杀青、发酵等，是非常耗时耗力的工作，无法实现机械化、自动化。

Vanilla pods are very expensive for two main reasons: firstly, they are low yielding, and secondly, their production process is labour-intensive. This is because the pollination, harvesting, curing and fermentation of vanilla are very time-consuming and labour-intensive tasks that cannot be mechanised or automated.

    香草的花期虽然有2个月，但是每朵花每年只开放1天。加之必须进行人工授粉才能提高产量，因为香草的花结构特殊，有且只有一种天然授粉者-- Melipona 蜜蜂。农民在香草豆荚底部变成金绿色时手工采摘。接下来的工作包括清洗、分拣、杀青、发酵、日晒、生香、杀菌、包装等。整个生产过程需要3到6个月的时间。且相比采收的香草豆荚重量，成品香草豆荚会有大幅缩减。

Although the flowering period of vanilla has 2 months, but each flower blossoms only 1 day per year. This is compounded by the fact that artificial pollination is necessary to increase yields, as vanilla has a special flower structure and there is one and only one natural pollinator - the Melipona bee. Farmers’ hand-pick the vanilla pods when they turn a golden green colour at the bottom. The next step is to clean, sort, cure, ferment, sun-dry, aromatize, sterilization and packaging. The entire production process takes 3 to 6 months. The weight of the cured vanilla pods is significantly reduced compared to the weight of the harvested pods.

    除此之外，香草豆荚价格也受到全球供求关系影响，需求增加、供应减少。由于香草豆荚的产地少，加之最大产区马达加斯加种植区发生了一系列自然灾害，更加加剧了香草豆荚产量的下滑。

In addition to this, the price of vanilla pods is also affected by global supply and demand, with demand increasing and supply decreasing. The decline in vanilla pod production has been exacerbated by the small number of sources and a series of natural disasters in Madagascar, the largest growing region.

我们的香草豆荚原料的供应。

Our supply of raw vanilla pods.

    Chef Gusto目前已经推出的产品中包括马达加斯加香草精、香草膏，以及醇香香草精、香草膏。

Chef Gusto has now launched products that include Madagascar Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste, and Pure Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste.

    马达加斯加香草精和香草膏的原料，采用的是马达加斯加进口香草豆荚。在马达加斯加，我们拥有专业的供货农场，并为我们提供品质具有保障的香草豆荚。这也为Chef Gusto能够为市场提供稳定的香草产品提供了不可替代的保障。

Madagascar Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste are made from vanilla pods imported from Madagascar. In Madagascar, we have a professional supply farm that provide us with guaranteed quality vanilla pods. This provides Chef Gusto with an irreplaceable guarantee of being able to offer the market consistent vanilla products.

    Chef Gusto拒绝并强烈谴责使用其他产区香草豆荚假冒马达加斯加香草豆荚的行为。我们始终秉持着用心做好产品，服务好每一个客户，为消费者带来不一样的香气体验。

Chef Gusto rejects and strongly condemns the use of vanilla pods from other regions to counterfeit Madagascar vanilla pods. We have always been committed to making good products with care, serving every customer and bringing consumers a different aroma experience.

图. Chef Gusto的专业的供货农场

Fig. Chef Gusto‘s professional supply farm