vanilla cultivation

Do you ever wonder why vanilla is so expensive? According to wikipedia.com, vanilla is the second-most expensive spice in the world: saffron being the most expensive.

Vanilla is only pollinated by the Melipona bee. The Melipona bee is native to Mexico, and all efforts to relocate the species to other locations have failed. As a result, under cultivation, the vanilla orchid is largely hand-pollinated. The flowers are open for only one hour for pollination. A hand-pollinator can pollinate about 1000 flowers per day. Each flower produces one fruit. After harvesting the fruit, the vanilla beans are subject to months of elaborate care before they are ready for commercial use.

Per the New World Encyclopedia, there are three main commercial preparations of natural vanilla:

• Whole pod
• Powder (ground pods, kept pure or blended with sugar, starch or other ingredients) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires at least 12.5 percent of pure vanilla (ground pods or oleoresin) in the mixture (FDA 1993).
• Extract (in alcoholic solution). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires at least 35 percent vol. of alcohol and 13.35 ounces of pod per gallon (FDA 2007).

The New World Encyclopedia article about vanilla contains rich details about vanilla cultivation and fascinating photos of the vanilla orchid vines under cultivation.