Vanilla Bean Extraction: Old Procedures Needing a Makeover

The curing of ripe, green vanilla beans convert a generally unflavored pod into the universally recognized and popular aromatic product.¹

The cured pod, depending on its application, may contain moisture in the range of 15% to 35% by weight. The beans are utilized as:

• The whole or comminuted material
• A solvent extract produced from the comminuted bean
• Vanilla paste

Solvent extracts are currently by far the major and most convenient application format of cured beans.

It is the different solvent extraction methods currently employed and opportunities for novelty in these procedures that this paper will consider.

Solid-liquid Extraction

Solid-liquid extraction is a separation process consisting of the transfer of sapid and odorous principles from a plant material to a solvent system and is employed extensively in the food industry. The principle of solid-liquid extraction is when the solid material comes into contact with the solvent(s), the soluble compounds in the solid matrix transfer to the solvent. The theory of this extraction process is described by Chaniotiet al.²

References

1. N Gallage and B Moller. Vanilla: The most popular flavour. In “Biotechnology of natural products,” Ed. by W Schwab, M Lange and M Wust, Springer Publishers, ISBN 978-3-319-67902-0, pp. 3-24, (2018).
2. S Chanioti, G Liadakis and C Tzia. Solid-Liquid Extraction. In “Food Engineering Handbook” Ed. by S Chanioti, G Liadakis and C Tzia. Routledge & CRC Press. Chapter 6, pp.253-286, (2014), ISBN 9781482261660.

For the full article, please check out the Perfumer & Flavorist+ October 2022 issue.