VANILLA 55 



There are a number of methods in use for artificially 

 curing vanilla, adapted for various climates and con- 

 ditions of weather prevailing at the time of ripening. 

 The best known of these are given in detail. 



1. The Guiana Process. The pods are put in 

 ashes and left there till they begin to shrivel. They 

 are then taken out and wiped, rubbed over with olive 

 oil, and the lower end tied to prevent them from 

 splitting, after which they are left to dry in the open 

 air. 



2. The Peruvian Process. The pods are dipped in 

 boiling water, tied at the end and hung in the open air. 

 After drying for twenty days they are lightly smeared 

 with castor oil, and a few days after are tied in bundles. 



3. The Mexican Process. As soon as the pods are 

 gathered they are piled into heaps in a shed to protect 

 them from sun and rain, and in a few days, when they 

 begin to shrivel, are submitted to the sweating process. 



This is carried out in two different ways, according 

 to the weather at the time. If it is warm and fine, the 

 pods are spread out in the early morning on a woollen 

 blanket, and exposed to the rays of the sun. About 

 mid-day, or one o'clock in the afternoon, the blanket is 

 folded over the pods, and the bundle left in the sun for 

 the remainder of the day. In the evening all the 

 vanilla is enclosed in air-tight boxes, so that it may 

 sweat the whole night. The next day they are again 

 exposed to the direct action of the sun. They then 

 become dark coffee -coloured, the shade being deeper 

 according to the success of the sweating operation. 



If the weather is cloudy the vanilla is made into 

 bundles, and a number of these are packed together in 

 a small bale, which is first wrapped in a woollen cloth, 

 then in a coating of banana leaves, and finally the 

 whole is enclosed in a thick matting and sprinkled with 

 water. The bales containing the largest beans are now 

 placed in an oven heated to 140 Fahr. When the 

 temperature has fallen to 113 Fahr. the smaller beans 

 are introduced, and the oven closed tightly. Twenty- 



