II 
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- 
