The authentic and original vanilla, cultivated by the Totonac people for hundreds of years in the Totonacapan region of Mexico. It is still grown and sun-dried in the mountain valley forest by small-scale subsistence farmers, the descendants of the Totonac. Only Totonac vanilla carries the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and we buy directly from the growers' cooperative.
Use Totonac Vanilla in cakes, ice-creams, or drinks such as lemonade, coffee or hot chocolate, not forgetting to use the empty pod to infuse sugar, honey or maple syrup. Vanilla is also excellent for highlighting other flavours in a similar way to sugar and salt when used with melted butter in seafood, beef or chicken dishes.
We have imported this vanilla, directly from the Mexican Totonac growers' cooperative. The pods are 15-16cm long, they are soft and flexible, which is a sign of freshness, and have an even colour and are highly aromatic. The pods are loaded with their natural oils which will naturally comes from the pods and is a sign of the quality and flavour of the vanilla.
Baking expert, Dan Lepard, says "A beautiful fragrant vanilla from one of the oldest and most respected Mexican producers, the Totonacs were one of the first to introduce vanilla to cooks in the Americas. To use, just split them lengthways with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds and stir them into cakes, fillings and sauces. The remaining pods can be steeped in alcohol for home-made vanilla essence."
(Note that the image shown is for the larger 50g pack: the 10g pack is vaccum-packed).