Although it is mainly associated with desserts, vanilla is a spice that has much more to offer than just its sweet aroma. Its smell soothes the senses, and the taste emphasizes the delicacy of baking, drinks and sauces. Vanilla for centuries is considered an aphrodisiac, a drug for stress and a way to improve mood. The spice soothes tension, supports digestion and makes food taste better. So let’s always have it in your kitchen.
The vanilla chick is actually a dried vanilla orchid pod – One of the few plants from this family that gives edible fruit. It originally comes from South America and is still grown, for example, in Mexico. However, the most popular producer is Madagascar, from where even Bourbon vanilla is exported.
How to recognize real vanilla? The pod is thin, long, flexible, slightly shiny and dark brown color. It smells really intense and naturally sweet, never chemically. Real vanilla is much more expensive than its synthetic counterparts. The cultivation process and the long maturation period of pods make the costs rise. The vanilla pod (easily available in Polish supermarkets) costs from 7 to 14 zlotys per piece.
It is worth knowing that vanilla sugar – The most frequently chosen product – with real vanilla has little in common. It contains a synthetic vanilla aroma – cheaper but much poorer in taste and smell. Vanilla sugar In turn, it is the one to which a real vanilla or its grains have been added. It is his (or vanilla pod) that it is worth choosing if you care about the authentic aroma.
Homemade vanilla sugar can be made yourself – just pour a glass of sugar (xylitol or erythritol) into a jar and put vanilla pod cut in a half -cut. After a dozen or so days, the sugar will pass the aroma, and you will receive the ideal spice for baking, pancakes or.
Natural vanilla is not only a beautiful smell and a naturally sweet taste. It is also a treasury of relationships with health -promoting action. Vanilla contains antioxidants that neutralize the harmful effects of free radicals. In this way slow down the aging of the body and support immunity.
Its main ingredient – vanilla – has a gently calming effectwhich is why vanilla aroma is sometimes used in aromatherapy. Already a small dose helps to reduce stress, tension, calm the heart and troubled nerves and improve your mood. Vanilla also shows antispasmodic, anti -inflammatory and soothing effect on rheumatoid and degenerative changes. As an aphrodisiac, it strengthens sexual activity.
Vanilla also supports the digestive system. It helps in digestion of fats (stimulating the secretion of gastric juice), soothes flatulence and a feeling of heaviness. Interestingly, maybe also help losing weight – Its smell inhibits the appetite for sweets (reduces the activity of the hunger center in the brain), which is why it is often used in Fit desserts or for natural yogurt.
However, not everyone should consume it in excess. In extremely sensitive people, it can cause allergic reactions, AU children – hyperactivity, if products with a lot of synthetic vanilla are used. Therefore, it is best to choose natural vanilla in moderate doses – then it works favorably, not irritating.
Vanilla is an extremely versatile spice in the kitchen. It is most often used for desserts – ice cream, cheesecakes, creams, puddings, rolls, pancakes, fruit salads, gruel and rice dishes, porridge or cakes. However, it will work great too For cocktails and drinks, including coffee and hot chocolate.
It is also added in French and Italian cuisine to marinades and saucesespecially for poultry or seafood, where her sweetness contrasts interestingly with salty notes.
In desserts, vanilla is simply irreplaceable (even to Crème Brûlée, Miss Cotty, Crème Anglaise). It gives them a characteristic, pleasant aroma that is associated with homemade pastries. It combines great with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, orange, turmeric, nutmeg, cocoa and chili. It can also be used for jams, compotes, liqueurs and tinctures.
All you need is a bit of grains from the pod to change the taste of each dish. It is its characteristic sweet taste that makes vanilla a delicate but very expressive spice. It is worth reaching for it in a natural, not synthetic character.
Source: NowowoPuje.pl, Sklecz.to
