On Apr 23, 2008, at 9:17 AM, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh wrote:
otoh 2.50 pounds for a "whole wild black vanilla pod" from
madagascar is
not that expensive, assuming that it's as rare as they say it is.
The vast majority of the world's vanilla comes from the same region of
Madagascar. It is essentially the source of industrial quantities of
natural vanilla and among the least expensive, so "rare" is not
exactly the word I would use to describe its availability. Around
here, a Madagascar vanilla pod goes for 1.00-1.50 pounds.
Mexico probably produces the rarer and more prized vanilla pods, which
have a richer flavor and different character than Madagascar vanilla
and tend to be a bit more expensive.
Cheers,
J. Andrew Rogers (who uses Madagascar vanilla pods when poaching pears)
