A key baking ingredient in most kitchen cupboards is cheap vanilla essence, but how much do we really know about what's in it? Educating people about the difference between pure vanilla, one of the world's favourite flavours, and vanilla essence, is East Devon-based LittlePod, writes Anita Merritt
We could lose pure vanilla within a generation, predicts Janet Sawyer rather alarmingly, as she picks up a squeezy aluminium tube of natural vanilla paste made by LittlePod to send off to a customer.
It's the East Devon-based company's signature product, and since its launch in 2010 it has been hailed as an 'evolution in the kitchen' by chefs and food lovers.
Fans include celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi, much-loved cook Mary Berry, food critic Tom Beeston, Vanilla Queen Patricia Rain and River Cottage who have featured its paste in its Handbook No 8.
Janet founded LittlePod, and the key to its success has been showing people there is an alternative to the cheap, artificial vanilla essence found in supermarkets.
LittlePod's vanilla paste contains at least 20 pods' worth of extract and, as they say, the proof is in the pudding – or cake, in this case – because once people taste the difference they never go back to vanilla essence.
It comes in a 100ml tube, and one teaspoon is the equivalent of one vanilla pod. You don't even need to taste it to tell; each serving is visibly packed with vanilla seeds.
Janet explains: "In the food industry, 97 per cent use vanilla essence, an artificial substitute that's chemically synthesised and contains just one flavour compound.
"What a lot of people don't know is that vanilla essence is the by-product of a petrochemical used in the woodpulp industry; it's never seen a vanilla pod. Real vanilla in the form of extract and vanilla paste, on the other hand, is far from ordinary. It contains more than 250 well-being compounds and has been used as a calmative during MRI scans, and studies have been carried out as to whether it can stave off sugar cravings."
Another pure vanilla fact is it's one of the most labour-intensive crops and second most expensive spice in the world.
"Our vanilla is sourced from Madagascar," reveals Janet. "Although it is one of the most
expensive spices, Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world with 69 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. As a result, the vanilla farmers are growing palm oil, which is in much higher demand, to earn a living."
To raise vital funds to help towards preserving Madagascar's fragile ecosystems, LittlePod has teamed up with charitable organisation Blue Ventures to donate 10 per cent of all online sales to the charity.
LittlePod is also helping farmers by making real vanilla accessible to everyone, and educating people about it.
"I think that it's fantastic that the baker in the kitchen can directly impact the farmers in the field in Madagascar," says Janet.
"Our paste makes using real vanilla accessible for everyone to use every day without the hassle of scraping and splitting a vanilla pod.
"It's completely natural and has a two-year shelf life once opened, so you can keep it in your store cupboard and use it as and when you need it; in your porridge, custard, ice-cream, baking and even with meat and fish.
"Chefs use vanilla in everything! Put it with chilli and it acts as a calmative, add it with lemon to round out the bitterness or in a marinade with meat to enhance the flavour.
A little bit of vanilla paste goes a long way."
The humble beginnings of LittlePod began back in 2006 when Janet hosted a vanilla day for her local community in Farringdon.
Her friend from the States, an expert in the vanilla industry, came to the village to tell people about the history and cultivation of the exotic spice.
The talk inspired Janet to spread the word of natural vanilla, which is generally underused in modern cooking, and LittlePod was born four years ago.
Since then it has grown from being a one-woman operation to employing a team of five workers, and it has moved from Farringdon village hall to a dedicated production unit.
The product range has also diversified.
As well as selling vanilla pods, paste and extract, LittlePod has also launched coffee and chocolate extracts, and has even brewed its own beer.
Customers now come from far and wide, including Austria, France, Hong Kong and Portugal, while awards include One of 10 Top New British Brands 2012; and Great Taste Gold for Vanilla Beer 2012.
Janet, herself the recipient of an honour – the British Empire Medal for services to employment and culture in East Devon – says: "The future of real vanilla remains dependent on our use of it in the West. If people continue to use artificial vanilla then farmers will increasingly turn to cultivating more lucrative crops such as palm oil to make a living."
When Janet founded LittlePod she had three aims, remaining as important as ever today.
"From the start I wanted to create products which promote exciting new ways of using vanilla in the kitchen," says Janet. "I also wanted to inform people of the diverse applications of vanilla, and describe the benefits of using the natural stuff over its artificial counterparts.
"My final aim was to help communities which rely on vanilla cultivation and conserve the fragile ecosystems in which vanilla is grown."
Janet's vanilla mission gathers momentum later this year by launching National Real Vanilla Day by hosting a two-day event at Bickleigh Castle on October 17 and 18. It also incorporates the launch of Janet's first book being published by Ryland Peters & Small due out early October. The, as yet unnamed, book will include 50 vanilla based recipes, both savoury and sweet, to show the diverse uses of the spice.
For more details visit www.littlepod.co.ukThe vanilla story
Vanilla is a seed pod cultivated from an orchid which grows 23 degrees north and south of the equatorial belt.
It is widely thought that vanilla originated in Papantla (near Vera Cruz, in Mexico). Papantla is known as 'the city that perfumed the world'.
The Totonac Indians of Mexico were early fans. They called it 'Tlilxochitl'.
Vanilla was first brought to Europe in 1520 by Spanish explorers.
Elizabeth I was introduced to the exotic flavour by her apothecary and found it so irresistible that she subsequently demanded it be used in many of her meals.
In nature, the vanilla orchid is pollinated by animals native to Mexico such as Malipona bees and hummingbirds.
Elsewhere, growers must meticulously hand-pollinate individual plants, a process invented by a slave named Edmond Albius in 1841. The time period between planting and eating is normally around 4.5 years, and the plant's vines can grow up to an impressive 75 feet long. Often referred to as 'black gold', some Madagascan pods bear a unique tattoo to identify the grower and to prevent theft.
