174 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



Spices are used, for the most part, whole or powdered, 

 but hquid extracts may also be obtained. These liquid ex- 

 tracts have the advantage over the solid spices that the 

 flavors, being already extracted, blend at once with the food 

 to which thev are added. 



The essential oils of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and other 

 spices obtained from the spices by distillation, alcoholic solu- 

 tions of these oils, and alcoholic extracts of the spices them- 

 selves have been used for many years in medicine, and to 

 some extent in foods, and recently a complete line of acetic 

 acid extracts have been placed on the market by Squibb, the 

 well-known drug manufacturer. 



The alcoholic extracts are quite expensive, owing in large 

 degree to the alcohol which they contain, but are suitable for 

 all purposes where the spices themselves are used. The 

 acetic acid extracts, on the other hand, are comparatively 

 cheap, but, owing to the acid, are suitable only for pickles, 

 catsups, and other meat sauces. Acetic acid extracts of 

 pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, celery 

 seed, and garlic may be seen in the exhibition case. 



The flavoring extracts of the grocery and drug trade are, 

 however, for the most part, alcoholic solutions and other 

 preparations of vanilla, lemon, orange, strawberry, raspberry, 

 banana, pineapple, almond, rose, pistachio, etc. Of these, 

 vanilla and lemon extracts are by far the most popular. 



Genuine vanilla extract is prepared from the so-called 

 vanilla bean, the fruit of a vine belonging to the orchid family, 

 a native of Mexico, but now cultivated in South America, 

 Reunion, Mauritius, Java, Tahiti, and other tropical coun- 

 tries. The term " bean " is a misnomer, as the plant is not 

 a legume and neither the fruit nor the seeds resemble beans. 

 The elongated fruit pods are from five to eight inches long 

 and about as big around as a small lead pencil. They are 

 black, glossy, and somewhat wrinkled on the surface, and 

 contain thousands of exceedingly minute black seeds. 



The grades of vanilla beans sold in the United States are 

 the Mexican (whole, $6.75 to $11; cut, $5.75 to $11 per 

 pound), the South American ($5 to $7), the Bourbon ($3 to 

 $6.75), and the Tahiti ($1.45 to $1.50). This range in price 

 from $1.45 to $11 per pound is due to the great difference in 

 the delicacy, not the amount, of flavor in the beans from 

 different localities. 



