Vanilla: Species, Curing, Grades, Vanillin and What US Labels Mean

A fresh vanilla pod’s vanillin has no smell yet. It’s locked up in an odorless bound form until a long curing process frees it.¹ Vanilla is the cured seed pod of a climbing orchid, and it flavors sweet foods and drinks above all, especially chocolate, candy, ice cream and baked goods. Natural vanillin from the pod falls far short of world demand,² which is why so much vanilla flavor is made some other way, and why US and EU labeling law spell out what each name on the bottle means.

At a glance

Measured values

13 figures, sourced

Measure	Value	Scope	Source
Vanillin	about 2 % of cured pod	Fully fermented (cured) pods, per Katzer, depending on originSources differ: Cook's Vanilla gives 0.75 to 1.5% for good beans; different samples and methods, not to be merged.	gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com
Vanillin	1.75 % of cured pod	Fully fermented (cured) pods, per Katzer; Mexico	gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com
Vanillin	1.5 % of cured pod	Fully fermented (cured) pods, per Katzer; Sri Lanka	gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com
Vanillin	2.75 % of cured pod	Fully fermented (cured) pods, per Katzer; Indonesia	gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com
Vanillin	1 to 3 % of cured beans	Hainan-grown cured beans, 2019 study	mdpi.com
Vanillin	0.75 to 1.5 % by weight	"Good beans", per US importer Cook's VanillaSources differ (merchant figure); lower than Katzer's about 2%. Company's own figures.	cooksvanilla.com
p-Hydroxybenzaldehyde	up to 9 %	Per Katzer (basis not stated on page)	gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com
Moisture	30 to 35 %	Madagascar beans, trade grades given by one US importer, Cook's Vanilla: GourmetCompany's own figures.	cooksvanilla.com
Moisture	29 to 32 %	Madagascar beans, trade grades given by one US importer, Cook's Vanilla: TK (black)Company's own figures.	cooksvanilla.com
Moisture	22 to 27 %	Madagascar beans, trade grades given by one US importer, Cook's Vanilla: Extract gradeCompany's own figures.	cooksvanilla.com
Moisture	22 to 23 %	Madagascar beans, trade grades given by one US importer, Cook's Vanilla: US red splitsCompany's own figures.	cooksvanilla.com
Moisture	24 to 25 %	Madagascar beans, trade grades given by one US importer, Cook's Vanilla: Euro red splitsCompany's own figures.	cooksvanilla.com
Unit weight of vanilla beans Limit	13.35 ounces of beans at no more than 25% moisture ounces (at stated maximum moisture)	US definition, 21 CFR 169.3	ecfr.gov

Each figure is quoted as its source states it, with the samples or standard it applies to. Where sources differ, both are shown; nothing is averaged. All measured values

The vanilla plants

Three species matter in the kitchen.

• Vanilla planifolia. The main commercial species. Its native range runs from southern Mexico to northern Brazil, and it’s been introduced in Madagascar, Réunion, the Comoros and Java, among many other places. The species name refers to its strikingly flat leaves. ISO’s vanilla standard uses the older name Vanilla fragrans (Salisbury) Ames, with V. planifolia as its synonym.⁵⁶
• Vanilla × tahitensis (Tahitian vanilla). Kew treats it as an artificial cross, V. odorata × V. planifolia.⁷ Its fragrance is more floral and distinct from the other types. US law counts its cured pods as vanilla beans alongside V. planifolia.³
• Vanilla pompona (Bahia vanilla). A climber of the wet tropics, native from southern Mexico to southern tropical America and Martinique. Its beans taste noticeably different. It isn’t one of the two species in the US definition of vanilla beans.³

Katzer puts vanilla’s home more narrowly, in southeastern Mexico and Guatemala.¹ We go with Kew on range.

Flavor and the compounds behind it

Good vanilla smells sweet, rich and creamy, with dried-fruit, woody and sometimes smoky notes depending on where it’s from. Katzer gives the trade’s regional shorthand: Bourbon-type beans from Réunion and Madagascar have the most intense, balanced and somewhat “dark” flavor, Mexican beans a softer and fresher aroma, and Tahitian beans a more floral one.¹

The chemistry:

• Vanillin is the main aroma compound. Katzer gives about 2% in a fully fermented pod, depending on origin, with figures of 1.75% for Mexico, 1.5% for Sri Lanka and 2.75% for Indonesia.¹ A 2019 study of Hainan-grown beans found vanillin the most abundant odor compound in cured beans, at 1 to 3%.⁸
• p-Hydroxybenzaldehyde is another important aroma component, at up to 9% according to Katzer, who also says trace components make a real difference to the flavor.¹
• Complexity. Natural vanilla flavor is a mix of more than 200 flavor components.⁸ So vanillin alone tastes recognizably vanilla, but flatter than a good extract.

With really good beans, vanillin can crystallize on the surface as tiny white needles, called givre (French for “frost”).

How curing makes the flavor

A fresh vanilla pod holds its vanillin bound to sugar as vanillin glucoside (glucovanillin), which has no smell. Curing is a long, labor-intensive fermentation that breaks that bond.¹ The Hainan study traces vanillin’s release to the enzyme β-glucosidase acting on glucovanillin.⁸

Methods differ by origin. The process usually starts with blanching (Bourbon method) or steaming (Mexican method). The Hainan study gives one worked example of the full sequence:⁸

Those are one study’s conditions, not a universal recipe. The same study found that β-glucosidase lost all its activity during blanching and sweating, so curing chemistry is still being worked out.⁸

Origin and history

The Maya and, later, the Aztecs both used vanilla to flavor a special drink, and its Nahuatl name is tlilxochitl, “black flower”. Europe first used vanilla mainly the same way. You’ll often read that the Totonac people of Mexico’s Gulf coast first cultivated vanilla, or that Elizabeth I liked vanilla-flavored sweets. We couldn’t trace either story to a reliable source.

Hand pollination. Outside Mexico, vanilla flowers have to be pollinated by hand, and that, along with curing, makes vanilla one of the most expensive spices. The technique plantations use is credited to Edmond Albius, born enslaved on Réunion (then Bourbon Island) in 1829, who in 1841, at 12, worked out how to pollinate vanilla by hand, inspired by a method used on pumpkins.⁹ Today Madagascar and Réunion, along with Mexico, are the exporters Katzer names, with Indonesia the leading Asian producer and some production in East Africa.¹

In the United States. Vanilla was scarce in the early republic. In July 1791 Thomas Jefferson wrote from Philadelphia that it was unknown there and asked William Short to send 50 pods tucked in a packet of newspapers.¹⁰ Jefferson’s ice cream recipe started with a stick of vanilla in the cream.¹¹

Production and trade

We couldn’t get to an official world production figure (FAOSTAT wouldn’t open), and we’ve left out the unsourced figures that float around online.

For Madagascar, L’Express de Madagascar reported, citing International Trade Centre Trade Map data relayed by the Antananarivo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that the country exported a record 4,400 tonnes of vanilla in the 2023-24 season, against an average of about 2,000 tonnes per season over the previous seven years. The same report gives the United States (36%) and France (26%) as the main destinations in 2022.⁴ Those are export volumes from a secondary report, not production, and we’ll swap in the primary statistics once we can open them.

Vanilla, vanillin and imitation vanilla

Vanillin can be made synthetically as well as taken from the pod, and the two differ in starting materials and production method. Germany’s consumer advice centers note that natural vanillin taken straight from vanilla pods falls far short of world demand.² Katzer notes that vanillin can be made cheaply from paper-industry wood waste, and calls synthetic vanillin the main, but not the only, part of vanilla aroma.¹ FDA lists both vanillin and ethyl vanillin as synthetic flavoring substances generally recognized as safe for their intended use.¹²

“Imitation vanilla” isn’t one of the standardized names in the table below. For any product not sold under one of those names, read the ingredient list.

US standards of identity (21 CFR 169)

US federal rules define the vanilla names precisely. A unit of vanilla constituent is everything that can be extracted, with at least 35% alcohol, from one unit weight of beans, which is 13.35 ounces of beans at no more than 25% moisture.³

So “pure vanilla extract” on a US bottle means at least 35% alcohol and a fixed minimum of bean extractives. A lower-alcohol product has to be sold as vanilla flavoring, and any added vanillin has to be declared as an artificial flavor.¹³

EU “natural vanilla flavouring”

In the EU, a flavoring can be called “natural vanilla flavouring” only if at least 95% of its flavoring component, by weight, comes from vanilla. A product labeled “natural vanilla flavouring with other natural flavourings” needs only part of its flavor from vanilla, as long as the vanilla is easy to recognize.¹⁵

How vanilla is used

Vanilla mostly goes into sweet foods and drinks: chocolate, candy, ice cream and baked goods. Katzer calls vanilla ice cream its most important, almost proverbial, use and notes that it’s essential to a great many cookie recipes, while savory use is very uncommon.¹ In everyday cooking, extract goes into batters, custards and whipped cream. A split bean gets steeped in milk or cream for custards and ice cream, and the seeds get scraped in wherever you want visible specks.

For forms and swaps, see vanilla extract substitutes, vanilla paste substitutes, vanilla powder substitutes, vanilla powder vs. vanilla extract, vanilla powder vs. vanilla paste and vanilla sugar. If a dish has gone overboard, see too much vanilla.

Buying and quality

The standard. ISO 5565-1:1999 sets requirements for vanilla of V. fragrans (syn. V. planifolia), and ISO lists it for revision, with a replacement on the way.⁵⁶ A companion part, ISO 5565-2, covers test methods, including moisture content in pods and powder.⁶ The specification itself is paywalled, and we haven’t read it.

Trade grades. In practice, beans are sold by moisture, length and looks. One US importer, Cook’s Vanilla, says grading terms are mostly used by Western buyers, and gives these ranges for Madagascar beans:¹⁶

Cook’s also says “Grade A” usually means gourmet beans or beans at least five inches long, and “Grade B” means extract-grade beans or beans under five inches, with good beans running 0.75 to 1.5% vanillin by weight.¹⁶ That vanillin range is lower than Katzer’s figure of about 2%. They come from different samples and methods, so don’t average them.¹¹⁶

For scraping and steeping, buy gourmet beans, which are plump and supple. The drier extract-grade beans are meant for soaking in alcohol.

Mexican vanilla and tonka. Katzer notes that tonka bean extract turns up regularly in vanilla extract in Mexico.¹ More under Safety.

Storage

Keep whole beans airtight, cool and out of the light, and keep extract tightly capped. We didn’t find a shelf-life figure from any regulator or standards body for beans or extract. Vanilla’s character is all in its smell, so let your nose decide: a bean that’s dried hard and lost its scent, or an extract that smells mostly of alcohol, has faded.

Safety

Coumarin in some imitation vanilla. Coumarin occurs in tonka beans and tonka extract, and FDA deems any food with added coumarin, whether on its own or as part of tonka, to be adulterated, under an order dating to 1954.¹⁷ In 2008 FDA warned consumers about “Mexican vanilla” products that can smell and taste like vanilla and cost less, because they’re often made with tonka bean extract.¹⁸ As reported by HealthDay, FDA advised that coumarin may be dangerous for people taking blood thinners and could raise their risk of bleeding, and told buyers to avoid products listing tonka bean or giving a vague ingredient list or none.¹⁸ The concern is products made with tonka, not vanilla grown in Mexico, which Katzer lists among the main exporters of genuine beans.¹

Health claims. We found no NIH summary or systematic review showing that vanilla in food treats or prevents any disease. Popular claims that vanilla fights cancer, heart disease, depression, gout or arthritis aren’t backed by any source we reviewed.

Substitutes and comparisons

• Vanilla extract substitutes
• Vanilla paste substitutes
• Vanilla powder substitutes
• Vanilla sugar substitutes and vanilla sugar uses
• Spices to add to chocolate chip cookies

Footnotes

1. Gernot Katzer, Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

2. “Vanille, Vanilla und Vanillearoma: Was sind die Unterschiede?”, Verbraucherzentrale, 2026. verbraucherzentrale.de · Publication ↩ ↩²

3. 21 CFR 169.3, Definitions, eCFR. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Itamara Randriamamonjy, “Commerce extérieur: Exportation record de vanille”, L’Express de Madagascar, 2024. lexpress.mg · Publication ↩ ↩²

5. ISO 5565-1:1999, Vanilla, Part 1: Specification, ISO. iso.org · Standard ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. Alexandra Schirn, “ISO 5565: Vanilla fragrans (Salisbury) Ames”, ANSI Blog, 2023. blog.ansi.org · Standard ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

7. Vanilla × tahitensis J.W.Moore, Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org · Reference work ↩

8. Cai et al., “Metabolite Transformation and Enzyme Activities of Hainan Vanilla Beans During Curing to Improve Flavor Formation”, Molecules, 2019. mdpi.com · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

9. “Edmond Albius”, Fondation pour la Mémoire de l’Esclavage, Europeana, 2025. europeana.eu · Reference work ↩

10. Thomas Jefferson to William Short, 28 July 1791, Founders Online, National Archives. founders.archives.gov · Reference work ↩

11. Anna Diamond, “Make Thomas Jefferson’s Recipe for Ice Cream”, Smithsonian Magazine, 2020. smithsonianmag.com · Publication ↩

12. 21 CFR 182.60, Synthetic flavoring substances and adjuvants, eCFR. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩

13. 21 CFR Part 169 Subpart B, sections 169.175 to 169.182, eCFR. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

14. 21 CFR 169.179, Vanilla powder, eCFR. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩

15. Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, Article 16, EUR-Lex. eur-lex.europa.eu · Regulator ↩

16. “How are Madagascar vanilla beans graded?”, Cook’s Vanilla, 2023. cooksvanilla.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³

17. 21 CFR 189.130, Coumarin, eCFR. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩

18. Robert Preidt, “FDA Warns of Dangers of Mexican Vanilla”, HealthDay, 2008. healthday.com · Publication ↩ ↩²

Also drawn on

• Vanilla planifolia Andrews, Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org
• Vanilla pompona Schiede, Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org
• Vanilla (Britannica Editors, updated 15 Sep 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com