Vanilla plant is an annual plant belonging to the orchid plant of the Orchidaceae tribe which has many species (more than 1500 species). Vanilla planifolia is a type of plantation crop that has high economic value with relatively stable price fluctuations compared to other plantation crops. Vanilla plant has high economic value because of its fruit extract which is known as a source of fragrance in foods and beverages. The distinctive aroma of the vanilla extract is caused by the vanillin substance.
Vanilla plants in Indonesia in Indonesia are favored by many consumers, both domestically and from abroad. This is because the quality of Indonesian vanilla is superior to that of Mexico, the United States, and Madagascar, which are also known for producing high-quality vanilla. On this basis, it is necessary to develop a vanilla cultivation method that is able to produce high quality vanilla seeds in a short time or quickly.
Vanilla plant (Vanilla planifolia Andrews or Vanilla fragrans) is not native to Indonesia. Historically, this annual plant only entered Indonesia in 1819. However, vanilla plants grow more fertile and more productive in Indonesia, which has a tropical climate, compared to its home country (Mexico) and the original vanilla producing country. In fact, according to Rosman (2005), the quality of Indonesian vanilla, known as “Java Vanili” is still the best in the world. This is based on the vanilla content which is quite high, which is around 2.75 percent. This level is higher when compared to the vanilla content of Madagascar which is only 1.91-1.98 percent, Tahiti 1.55-2.02 percent, Mexico 1.89-1.98 percent, and Sri Lanka 1.48 percent. From a spatial and business perspective, Indonesia is comparatively superior to other vanilla producing countries in the world. In general, vanilla has high economic value and relatively stable price fluctuations when compared to other plantation crops. But in reality it is ironic, even though the quality of Indonesian vanilla occupies the highest position in the world, in terms of quantity, Indonesia can only supply about 10 percent of the total world market needs.
Vanilla plant (Vanilla planifolia) has the following classification system:
Kingdom : Plantae
Subkingdom : Tracheobionta
Superdivision : Spermatophyta
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Subclass : Liliidae
Order: Orchidales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Vanilla
Species: Vanilla planifolia
Harvest and Post Harvest
- Harvest
Harvesting is done when the green vanilla has turned dark brown and the aroma released by the vanilla is very fragrant. Harvesting is done before the fruit is really old, that is, when it is ripe, the vanilla will break, giving off a very attractive aroma. If harvesting is done after the ripe period, the yield obtained will also decrease because the vanilla yield has been lost a lot.
2. Post-harvest
To produce good quality vanilla and have a high selling price, good post-harvest handling is needed. Post-harvest handling consists of several interrelated stages where one stage of activity will affect the results of activities in the next stage. The following describes the stages of post-harvest activities.
- Sorting wet fruit
The aim is to obtain fruit that is uniform in size, shape, and level of ripeness. After sorting, the fruit is washed with clean water to remove dust, latex and other impurities that stick to the vanilla fruit and then drained to speed up the drying process because the fruit no longer contains water.
- Fruit sorting
Based on the uniformity of size, shape, level of maturity and position of the fruit in the bunch, it will provide several advantages, including making it easier to monitor and implement quality grading at the end of the processing process, save time in the final process and will produce quality dried vanilla fruit. uniform.
- Withering
aims to encourage the working process of enzymes for the formation of vanillin and aroma as well as facilitate the drying process. The withering process is carried out by dipping the vanilla fruit into hot water for 95 seconds at a temperature of 65 0 C. This withering process is carried out to allow the operation of the aroma- forming enzymes (glucosidase and peroxidase enzymes). This condition will give a greater possibility to encourage the formation of high levels of vanillin (2.4%), quite high yields (21-23%), darker color and good aroma.
- Fermentation process
aims to provide an opportunity for the enzymatic process in vanilla to get the desired flavor and aroma. The length of fermentation greatly affects the level of processed vanilla. Fermentation time of 60 hours showed the lowest vanillin yield, while to obtain higher levels of vanillin, 48 hours of fermentation could be carried out (combined with 95 seconds of withering time at 65°C).
- Drying (drying)
aims to reduce the water content so that the vanilla fruit is not easily affected by fungi, especially during storage and transportation. This drying stage aims to reduce the water content to a certain extent (25-30%). Vanilla fruit drying can be done by using the oven, in the sun, or by aerating.
Drying using the oven is a very good drying method to do. The advantage of this method is that it can shorten the drying time to 1 week. Drying in the oven is done by placing the vanilla fruit in an oven whose temperature has been set at around 45o C. In the oven, bowls filled with water are placed to maintain the humidity of the oven room so that the fruit does not dry out too quickly. Drying is considered complete when the vanilla fruit has shown signs of not breaking or cracking when wrapped around the fingers, but returns intact after being released.