56 SPICES 



CHAP. 



four hours afterwards the smaller beans are taken out, 

 and twelve hours later the larger ones. During this 

 process the vanilla has sweated and acquired a fine 

 chestnut colour. Now they have to be dried. 



The pods are spread on matting and exposed every 

 day to the sun for nearly two months. When the drying 

 is nearly complete, sun heat is no longer required, and 

 the pods are spread out in a dry place till they are 

 sufficiently dry. They are then tied in bundles for 

 market. 



This process has been employed successfully at 

 Reunion for some years, says Delteil. It requires some 

 judgment and skill in the baking process, as vanilla 

 from dry places should have a higher temperature in 

 the oven than those from wet localities. The time that 

 the pods must be left in the oven also depends on the 

 number of bundles and the size of the pods. 



4. The Boiling Water Process. This has given good 

 results in Reunion. Large iron cauldrons full of water 

 are put on the fire, and as soon as the water is nearly 

 boiling, at about 194 Fahr., the pods are lowered into 

 it in cylindrical baskets of rattan. Sometimes they are 

 dipped only once for fifteen to twenty seconds, at other 

 times they are dipped and taken out again two or three 

 times, remaining three or four seconds in the hot water 

 each time. After this the baskets are emptied on tables 

 covered with black cloth, or on mats to drain. When 

 all the pods have been scalded they are piled together, 

 covered up and put in an oven for a quarter of an hour. 

 They are then spread on tables covered with blankets, 

 and exposed to the sun until two or three o'clock, and 

 afterwards rolled up in the blankets and transferred to 

 a shut-up room, where they will keep warm till the next 

 day, or they can be put in cases lined with wool, where 

 they can retain their heat longer. This is continued 

 for four, six, or eight days, according to the weather. 

 During the process the pods are examined from time to 

 time, and those that have reached the stage at which 

 further heat would hurt them are taken out. 



