Flower power

Vanilla is more than just a flavour; it’s an essential ingredient for chefs, bakers, mixologists and chocolatiers worldwide. Derived from orchid plants, vanilla beans undergo a meticulous process from cultivation to extraction, resulting in a diverse range of flavour profiles suited to various applications.

It’s also available in a range of formats dependant on usage. From pods to pastes, extracts to sugars, this versatile ingredient is a kitchen must-have – but which one best suits your needs?

The origins of vanilla

There are three varieties of vanilla, which are primarily grown by small producers in countries such as Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia:

Planifolia makes up 90% of global vanilla production and is soft and sticky, cylindrical in shape, with a black and shiny exterior.

Tahitensis makes up 9% of world production and is black and shiny with a flat shape and a soft and sticky feel.

Pompona is flat, brown and feels dry. It accounts for 1% of world production.

Patience required!

Growing vanilla is a lengthy process requiring patience and know-how. It takes three years from planting a vanilla tree to yield the first flowers.

The pods are harvested 7-9 months after pollination, and then undergo a process of scalding (to stop maturation), sweating (to kickstart the enzymatic process) and drying.

A Prova-n track record

Prova Gourmet is a French, family-owned business specialising in the production of sweet brown extracts and flavours.

Founded in 1946, it’s now one of the world’s leaders in the extraction of cocoa and vanilla.

Their flavour experts have created a complete range of vanilla flavours – each with its own unique taste signature – using only the finest quality, Grade A vanilla beans, sourced from around the world.

Bean around the world

Vanilla beans offerdifferent flavour profiles depending on their origins, allowing chefs to choose the most suitable variety for their application.

Within the Prova Gourmet range there are six options:

The Unique – Madagascar – intense and woody

The Exceptional – New Caledonia – intense and powdery

The Subtle – Papua New Guinea – spicy and fruity

The Vegetal – Tanzania – powdery and vegetal

The Surprising – Tahiti – sweet and fruity

The Outstanding – Uganda – woody and powdery

Other products in the range include:

• Tahitensis vanilla extract with seeds (500ml bottle)
• Bourbon vanilla extract from Madagascar with or without seeds (1 litre)
• Vanilla powder made from 100% whole vanilla beans – perfect for liquid sensitive preparation such as meringues (200g)
• Colombian 100% Arabica authentic single origin coffee extract (1 litre)
• Complex slow cold brew 100% Arabica coffee extract (1 litre)
• Caster sugar with vanilla (1kg)

Flavour Fusion

Fusion is Prova Gourmet’s exciting range of flavoured cocoa butters which offer the perfect combination for flavouring in one single step.

This clean label solution features only two ingredients: deodorised cocoa butter + concentrated oil-soluble extract.

Fusion is perfect for a wide range of applications:

• Bakery – dough, glacage, macaron, mousse, mirror glaze, cremeux, emulsions, cookies, viennoisserie
• Chocolatiers – chocolate bars and ganache
• Pastry chefs – glazing, flocking, mousses, cocoa butter coating
• Restaurant – flavoured fat for multi-use including savoury
• Ice cream makers – cocoa butter as a fat base, décor, couverture

Aroma-therapy to ease the cocoa crisis

The latest ground-breaking product from Prova Gourmet aims to provide a solution to help mitigate the cost of cocoa-based goods. 

With chocolate prices currently experiencing an all-time high, Prova Gourmet Natural Cocoa Flavouring allows makers to reduce the amount of cocoa in their creations without compromising on flavour.

The addition of 1% of the natural flavouring compensates for the loss of 30% cocoa powder – resulting in a 20% reduction in cocoa cost – with no impact on colour. 

Paste purity

Also new to the Prova Gourmet range this month is Caviani – a natural, ultra-concentrated vanilla paste.

Aimed at professionals looking to simplify their use of pure vanilla and save time, it contains only three ingredients: exhausted vanilla seeds, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract and glycerin.  It has a visually rich presence of seeds, and the optimal dose is 2g per kilo mass.

A 100g jar of Caviani will flavour 50kg