Sources for Vanilla species: This list was compiled over a period of time, some listings may not be currently offered or may no longer be offered. Fragrant generally refers to the vanilla bean, not the flower. Note: Rick's Tropica ceased operations, but is included for reference since they offered species not listed by anyone else. In particular an unknown Thai species having a white flower with a purple lip. Does anyone have one? Are there any cuttings available? Note: There are a very large number of "synonyms" for V planifolia. Many are not planifolia, (tahitiensis used to be called planifolia). When ordering a planifolia from a new source, you may get a plant similar to one you already have, or one that is obviously different. Basically any vanilla that is cultivated for vanilla, or is from the new world, has leaves and even remotely yellowish flowers (as in white or green) has been called Vanilla planifolia. Vanilla africana green petals, white column and red to purple on the lip. Fragrant Ricks Tropica 6" pot $30 albida fragrant from white to pink RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes $30 aphylla leafless Oak Hill Gardens 2½" pot $10 barbellata (larger than dilloniana) sFl/Carib: grn-ylw, col yl to crm, lip pur. RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes $25 chamissonis Brasil: grn w/white col & orange in lip Frag, comm quality Santa Barbara $25 dilloniana sFl-Carib: grn , col ylw to cream. lip purple Very frag, no beans RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes $25 fragrans L & R imperialis Ivory Coast to Tanzania ylw to wht, rose-pink to purplish -red on the lip. Frag, no beans RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes $30 lutescens Oak Hill Gardens3 ½" pot $15 madagascariensis leafless/ stem has dark warts nsexotics seller on eBay odorata Ecuagenera $12 phaeantha Fl/WI grn-ylw,col wht, lip ylw striped, multifloral, frag RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes $25 planifolia 8'-15' to bloom, large. Quick grower Orchids of La Joya $8 Oak Hill Gardens 3 ½" $12 Akerne Orchids ~30cm E12 Phytesia flask 30 miniflask 15 Pepiniere Bot Gar Easy Orchids $30 Ecuagenera $10 Van Rooyen R55 Santa Barbara $17.50 Kawamoto 14" cutting $10 Vanilla Export Co $4 Greenview Gardens 4" $18 Orchid Web 4" pot $25 L & R planifolia cv VEC1 & cv VEC2 Commercial cultivars developed for better production, etc Vanilla Export Co $5 planifolia albomarginata slow growing, leaf with white to yellowish edges RickÂs Tropica 3 node $60 6"pot $120 planifolia variegata 8-15' to bloom, mod slow, good qual, ylw stripes in leaf center Palmer Orchids $15 Native Habitat $15 Tropiflora polylepis cool-growing Af: fragrant, green petals, white column, flared purplish-red lip Easy Orchids $30 Van Rooyen R100 pompona trop Am, like robust planifolia, good bloomer, easy to grow Oak Hill Gardens 4" pot $15 Ecuagenera $15 Orquideas del Valle $25 Van Rooyen R55 roscheri(like decaryana)L Sibaya,Natal, wht,pnk - yl on lip/throat not common RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes:inquire siamensis green, white bearded lip Easy Orchids $30 somai Beauty Orchids $35 tahitiensis Tahiti Vanilla Export Co $4 unk sp Mayotte, Comoros Is 3 poss sp, very frag, whte, wht pink,w or ylw brn RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes: inquire unk sp Thai pretty flowers, white with purple RickÂs Tropica 3 nodes: $200

Yes, I did Melly - half light brown sugar added to the peaches, the other half of the sugar is cane sugar added to the pan. Used the last of the bottle of Frangelico, just barely 6 oz, in place of the rum. Like you said about the peaches, the nectarines were sorry but the jam is fantastic. I figured the Frangelico being hazelnut would do the same thing for nectarines that almond does for peaches. I made your Peach Vanilla Almond (no beans) Jam today, with clear vanilla extract (1 tsp) and almond extract (1/2 tsp) added at the end. I got 6 8-oz jars, plus a half dozen chunks and some syrup left in the pan. I had boiled the pits (some not quite ripe so chunks left on the pits) and peels, planning to make the Peach Honey or syrup, but had 4C of juice so decided to put that in the pan with a small slice of ginger and a quart of frozen (thawed) blackberries from last year, pulled some berries out after heating to dissolve the sugar, used the same "French plunge" method adding the reserved berries after the syrup was almost gelled. I'm not sure I have a good set, and most of the fruit ended up in the first 4 jars (I got 5), and it's floating, but I'm calling it "Preserves" if it doesn't set hard. I got another 2 jars of "jelly" (or syrup?) I processed and then another almost 12 oz (10 oz?) I put in the fridge and boy it tastes yummy. Not bad for 4 lbs of peaches and a quart of berries (and 10C of sugar, and all day)! The jelly is such a beautiful color (except for a stray seed here and there) that I think next time I'm just going to add blackberry juice instead of whole berries and see whether that has enough pectin to make the peach juice set. I really prefer the taste of no-pectin preserves. Next time I have peaches, I'm thinking of trying the Helen Witty Peach-Rum Jam. Just had to have something the kids could eat this time since DD was the one who insisted I buy 6 lbs of peaches at the orchard this week ;-) Thanks for the recipe!

Just so happens that in today's mail I got my Organic Madagascar beans from Saradooky. They look and smell great. I plan to make vanilla extract with some of them for holiday use so I opted for the organic. Who knows if they're really organic but I thought it would be a good choice. Nice beans.

I like to use Everclear because it really has no taste- not even the neutral flavor that vodka has. While neutral, it does have it's own flavor. And something to note about the vanilla beans- they taste different too. Madagascar Burbon has the standard vanilla flavor most commonly known and popular in all applications. Mexican has the same flavor, but with additional warm spice notes of clove/nutmeg that can go well into more savory as well as sweet applications. Indonesian is more woody and smoky that pairs better with deeper sweets and some savory applications. Tahitian is more floral and cherry with anise notes, and best for lighter applications like pairing with fruits, custards and ice creams, and some drinks. There's also Indonesian (balanced flavors) and Tonga (earthy and deep fruits like figgy) vanillas, but those are much less common. There's also different folds to vanilla. Single fold is the most commonly made for regular extracts, and pretty much what we are talking about in this thread. 2x and 3x increase the amount of vanilla beans to make it more concentrated and is often used by pro bakers. It can go up to a 10x vanilla, which is created as an oil (vanilla is oil soluble, not water soluble), and that's what we see as the food grade essential oil- it's process isn't really doable by the home cook, it requires more complicated processing.