Description of the spice. Useful properties, alleged harm and contraindications to the use of vanilla powder. How the seasoning is made. Dishes in which the product is used. In addition, vanilla helps to regulate hormones and helps to normalize blood sugar.
It is important to remember that the spice is useful for those women who, at the slightest frustration, seize their problems with something tasty and then face the issue of excess weight. Vanilla will help you calm down and relax. For this purpose, you can use baths with the addition of seasoning or consume it with honey. The choice is yours.
Contraindications and harm of vanilla powder
Providing a beneficial effect on the body, sometimes vanilla can harm it.
Who should refrain from consuming this spice:
- Pregnant women … It has already been mentioned about the benefits of vanilla for ladies, namely about the property of influencing the contraction of the uterus, for this reason the spice is not recommended for this category of people.
- People with individual intolerance … Vanilla powder, like any product, can cause allergic reactions.
How to make vanilla powder
The powder is prepared from the pods of the plant of the same name. First of all, they need to be assembled correctly. This should be done when the vanilla is not yet fully ripe and its fruits are green in color.
After collecting the pods, they must be held in hot water for a few seconds for a kind of short-term blanching. Then we wrap the fruits in a warm woolen blanket for 7 days. During this time, the air temperature there will be about 60 degrees - this is necessary for the fermentation of vanilla. This procedure helps to dry the product, change the color to brown and acquire a distinct aroma.
Further, to prepare vanilla powder, we continue the process of drying the pods in the fresh air, but preferably without direct sunlight. They are dried in this way for 2-3 months.
The pods are wrinkled, slightly bent, and a white coating appears on them - the product is ready. To obtain "powder", these dry fruits must be ground to form a powdery mass. Our spice is ready to be consumed.
Vanilla Powder Recipes
The aromatic qualities of vanilla are revealed when exposed to heat, therefore they are used in the preparation of confectionery, i.e. pastries, as well as sauces for desserts. Ice cream, cocktails and other dairy and curd products acquire a bright persistent taste and aroma with the addition of vanilla. Sweets will also taste better if this spice is used as one of the ingredients. Vanilla is also used in the preparation of some alcoholic beverages.
The aroma of this spice is wonderful, but it tastes bitter, so you need to use it when cooking in small portions.
Vanilla Powder Recipes:
- Sponge cake with peaches … First of all, whisk 2 cups of 40% cream with vanilla pudding powder (1 piece). Then we strain out 1 can of canned peaches (the liquid is not useful to us for our dish) and cut into small pieces. Combine them with a creamy vanilla mass and mix. After that, we take the finished biscuit base for the cake, we need 3 pieces. Spread two cakes with the resulting mass with peaches, and cover the cake with the third. In a water bath, melt 100 g of dark chocolate with 50 g of butter, pour it onto the top cake and leave to saturate and cool for 6 hours.
- Coconut Cream Cookie Cake … Beat 2 yolks with 0.5 cups of sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of vanilla pudding powder and 0.5 cups of milk and work with a mixer again. Now pour 350 g of milk into a saucepan and add 0.5 cups of sugar, bring to a boil. Add the already cooked mass and cook until the pudding is thick. We cool it down. Beat 200 g of butter and pour into the chilled mass. Pour in 150 g of coconut and mix everything. Put the cake in layers in a round dish: cracker (we need 400 g) and brewed dough. Sprinkle the top layer with 50 g of coconut flakes and 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar.
- Hot mocha with vanilla … Mix 3 tablespoons of sugar and cocoa powder with 3 teaspoons of ground coffee. Pour this powder into a Turk, add 1 glass of water and brew coffee. Pour into a saucepan, pour in 3 cups of milk and continue to cook over low heat until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. Pour in 0.5 teaspoon of powdered vanilla. The drink is ready!
- Square banana pudding … Ingredients: 400 g puff pastry, 4 bananas, 12 tablespoons of sugar, 1 liter of milk, 30 g of confectionery sugar, 1 package each of banana pudding powder and vanilla powder. First, in a preheated oven, you need to defrost 400 g of puff pastry. Then we proceed to the design of the pudding itself. Roll out the dough. We make 2 cakes. Put the filling on one. To prepare it, peel 4 bananas, cut them into pieces and distribute evenly on the cake. Cooking using 1 liter of milk, 12 tablespoons of sugar, 1 package of banana and vanilla powder each, sweet pudding filling. Pour the vanilla-banana mass over the bananas, cover with another crust - and in the oven for 35-40 minutes. We take out the product, let it cool and sprinkle with 30 g of confectionery sugar.
- Caramel pears with vanilla … First, in 1 liter of boiled water, mix 0.5 teaspoon of vanilla, a glass of sugar and a bag of vanilla sugar. Bring the liquid to a boil and put 4 medium pears in it for 15 minutes. After that, we prepare the caramel. We prepare it from 0.5 cups of powdered sugar, 25 g of butter, a glass of heavy cream and a pinch of salt. The caramel has acquired a dark color - remove it from the heat and add butter, cream and salt. Mix everything well and send it back to the fire, bring it to a boil - and turn off the stove. Put cookies on a dish, put pears on them and pour caramel on them. Such a delicious dessert can be prepared without much difficulty.
- Vanilla sauce … Grind 2 yolks in 150 g of sugar and place in a steam bath. Boil 0.5 liters of milk and slowly, stirring occasionally, pour into the sugar-yolk mass. Cook the sauce until thick, but do not bring it to a boil. Add 0.5 teaspoon of vanilla. This sauce is perfect as a cake decoration or ice cream fondant.
- Coffee and orange liqueur with vanilla … We need 2 oranges, 22 coffee beans, 1 liter of vodka, 22 pieces of refined sugar and a pinch of vanilla powder. We wash the oranges, dry them with a towel and make cuts in which we will place the coffee beans. Put the citrus fruits with "filling" in a jar and fill with vodka. Add spice, i.e. vanilla, as well as sugar. We close the can tightly and infuse our drink for 45 days. From time to time, the contents in the dishes need to be shaken. After this period, we squeeze the oranges into a drink, and filter the liquid thoroughly. Enjoy your meal!
Note! Vanilla powder has a very self-sufficient smell, keep this in mind when using other spices that it can simply drown out.
Interesting facts about vanilla
Vanilla was grown by the ancient tribes of the Aztecs and called it the "black flower". This spice was used to make the chocolatl chocolate drink, and its ingredients were products such as vanilla, hot water, cocoa beans, honey, red pepper and annatto seeds.
One of the ancient leaders, his name has not survived to this day, was very fond of a drink made from cocoa beans and vanilla, because it increased his male strength. This is evidenced by the fact that he had 600 wives and 50 children. Scientists believe that such an activity of the emperor is associated with the consumption of the spice we are considering.
But during the reign of the Aztec leader Montezuma, vanilla pods replaced money. People paid taxes and other payments with this plant.
And vanilla was also considered a symbol of tranquility. For a person with a bad mood, it was enough to breathe in the wonderful aroma of this spice, like all sorrows, the bad mood vanished as if by hand.
Europeans started using vanilla in the 16th century after visiting America. For a long time it was consumed only by monarchs and very rich Europeans. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the spice was more expensive than gold, so it did not become popular among the common people.
The inhabitants of Russia got acquainted with vanilla in 1602. Elizabeth I drank tea with vanilla cakes with great pleasure.
The French added this spice to tobacco and liquor. The Germans, considering it the strongest aphrodisiac, used it for medicinal purposes in the 18-19th century.
Of the existing 103 types of vanilla, several varieties are used for the preparation of powder, the rest are decorative.
In almost all European languages, the word "vanilla" is spelled the same way. Only the endings of the words are different. There are no other names for this spice.
Now you can buy this natural product not only in the form of a powder (the powdered spice has a stronger aroma), but also in the form of pods or an alcoholic extract of the plant.
Vanilla blooms one day a year, and then in the third year of life. The ovary is formed for 9 months. But not all flowers, even dusty ones, give an ovary. And only a certain group of insects pollinates this plant. All this makes vanilla one of the most expensive spices on the world market. The price for it depends on the weather and natural elements, as well as the political situations in the countries where it is produced.
There is a way to artificially pollinate vanilla. It was invented by a slave boy in 1841 in Mexico. Watch a video about vanilla powder:
So, vanilla powder is what every housewife needs to have on hand. And the dishes will be tastier, and health problems can be solved. And it is also worth considering the fact that we live in a very stressful society, and it is the baths with this spice that will soothe and relieve moral stress. Vanilla powder is easy to purchase. You just need to choose a natural spice. You can also buy vanilla pods (they are sold in hermetically sealed containers) and make the spice yourself.
