Hawaiian Vanilla Company


Hawaiian Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world. Once the pod is mature, it is picked and dried. Natural drying in the sun is one technique; another is to blanch the pods in water.
					Jim Reddekopp puts the green pods in a basket and blanches them in 150-degree water for about 5 minutes, turning the green pods dark brown. The pods are drained and wrapped in a towel to keep them warm, then allowed to dry wrapped in plastic. The key to drying is to keep vanilla beans pliable. Too dry and they will crack, too soft and the flavorful seeds will ooze out. "A bean that is split is no good;
bacteria and fungus can get in," explains Reddekopp.

A good vanilla bean is long and pliable, fragrant and flavorful. Vanilla is used in a multitude of preparations: to flavor sugar, cream, ice cream, milk and alcohols; for baking in cakes, cookies, pastries; and even in cooking sauces for savory dishes. Without it, life would just be "plain vanilla".

The Hawaiian Vanilla Company is the only commercial grower of vanilla in the United States. We are currently in the process of working with the RETA-H program, and the many displaced sugar workers and interested farmers along the Hamakua Coast, in planting an average of 10,000 Hawaiian Vanilla orchids each year for the next five years.
We have established the Hawaiian Vanilla Vineyards in micro-climate conditions as part of our research and development to bring forth the very best vanilla in the world.