Vanilla Planifolia - Harvesting and Storage

Vanilla Planifolia - Harvesting and Storage 

How, what and when do you need to harvest the Vanilla Planifolia. The pods of the vanilla planifolia mature seven to nine months after pollination has taken place. A green vanilla bean resembles a large green bean filled with thousands of tiny seeds. When the bean only has the blossom-end tips that are pale yellow, they can be picked by hand, just before the bean is fully ripened. After the picking, you have several steps before the product is ready. The bean undergoes a long, complex curing and drying process that creates the flavour of the characteristic vanilla. Immature beans produce an inferior product and, if picked too late, the beans start splitting. Try to avoid bunch or broom harvesting, the well-ripened ready beans are easily detachable from the bunch just by lifting them in the reverse direction.  

The early morning hours are the important hours for harvesting. The harvesting of the beans demands substantial labour efforts. The vanilla harvest lasts two months and most farmers pick beans a few times a week. If the beans are not harvested in time they can turn black, which is a result of overripening the bean for processing.

After the vanilla beans are harvested you get the curing process, which takes 3-6 months, depending on which curing protocols you have and in which region you are. The curing process is comprised of four major stages including killing, sweating, drying and conditioning.
After harvesting and in the post-harvesting stage you need to store you beans in wooden boxes. 


References

Havkin-Frenkel, D., & Belanger, F. C. (2010). Handbook of Vanilla Science and Technology. John Wiley & Sons.

FAO. (2009, June 16). Vanilla Post-harvesting operations. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/inpho/docs/Post_Harvest_Compendium_-_Vanilla.pdf

Havkin-Frenkel, D., & Frenkel, C. (2006). Postharvest handling and storage of cured vanilla beans. Stewart Postharvest Review, 4(6). 


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