Sweetness and Light: A Culinary Orchid
Posted in Exhibitions, The Orchid Show on March 3 2012, by Matt Newman
With the opening of the Orchid Show comes Orchid Evenings, an opportunity to wander the climbing walls of orchids in all of their after-dark elegance. Drink in hand, music setting the tone, Saturday nights in March and April become the show’s finest hours. But there’s a secret to our cocktails–it’s right out in the open.
Of all the natural flavors in the world, which two best personify indulgence? Chocolate is invariably the first half of the answer. A few weeks ago we covered the tropical origin of that delectable culinary dilettante in the cacao plant. But what of chocolate’s opposite number–vanilla?
The ubiquitous sweetness of vanilla flavoring also hails from a plant, and likewise a tropical one, but few laymen know anything of vanilla beyond the fact that it comes from a “bean.” You can buy them (two or three to a jar) in most supermarket spice aisles–spindly and dark with a seductive fragrance that nearly justifies the cost. And there the curiosity often ends. But in honor of our Orchid Show, we thought we’d blow the lid off the vanilla bean’s poorly-kept secret: it’s not a bean at all, but the seed pod of an orchid (Vanilla planifolia).
Looking just as sweet as its namesake suggests, the vanilla orchid is the only member of the orchid family that is grown en masse for industrial purposes. Without it, we wouldn’t have vanilla ice cream, or anything that requires extract for that matter (all baked desserts go out the window). Who’d have thought such a delicate flower would be the basis for an entire industry?
Producing enough vanilla to sate the desires of the U.S. population alone (1,200 tons annually) begs more effort than your average tomato farm. With an annual flower that blooms just once before shedding, and for a fleeting four hours at that, this climbing orchid requires constant vigilance to ensure an abundant crop come the harvest. Workers are tasked with pollinating each plant by hand, and that can mean hundreds of individual flowers per raceme. After a nine-month ripening period, the seed pods are collected and the tiny seeds within–as well as the outer covering itself–are used to create vanilla flavoring.
Beginning Saturday, March 3, Patrick Blanc’s vertical gardens host a starlit cocktail hour with sophistication to put the local bar scene to shame. Created by the wizards at Dylan’s Candy Bar, our signature drink–the Vanilla Ginger Moon–builds on a base of corn whiskey through the mellow vanilla sweetness of Liquor 43. Notes of citrus, herbs, and spices from this ancient liqueur recipe then peak with a dash of ginger ale.
Come for the elegance, enjoy the drinks, and stay for the live music. Orchid Evenings are a chance to take in the Orchid Show in its evening dress, lit for allure and intimacy. And while you’re strolling the Conservatory, reveling in the color and scope of Blanc’s vertical gardens, you can thank one small, cream-colored flower for its contribution to your cocktail.
