Vanilla

Vanilla is a climbing vine-like plants belonging to the orchid family of plants, which grows naturaly in the Nohlu hills of northern Mahador. The spice comes from the vanilla flowers, which when polinated, produced elongated pods which contains thousands of tiny black seeds. This process takes around 9 months to grow completly.

Cultivation

Vanilla pods are taken from the plant after around 9 months of growth, and are laid onto wooden racks in dark rooms, where they will stay for a few months to dry. Every week or so, they will be brought out into the sun, for a few days at a time. This process of drying turns the pod from a green colour to a dark brown, almost black colour.

Vanilla flowers can only be polinated via a specific local species of bees, called the vanilla bee, or by human hand, although this later method is a very labour intensive task.

Vanilla plants are native to northern Mahador, specificaly the region around the Nohlu hills and its surrounding coastal and valley regions. In fact, the nohlu hills are called the Vanilla hills in many Arrosian maps of the area. A small local species of bee, called the Vanilla bee, is the only insect known to polinate vanilla flowers, and may help explain why vanilla plants are confined to only this region of the continent.

In Mahador, after the pods are matured and dried, the seeds are extracted and used for medicinal and religious uses, while the empty pods are either used to create vanilla extract, or grinded down into a fine powder and added to Xocolatl, which enhances the flavour and smell of the classic drink, while also suppressing the bitterness of cacao beans.

A concentrated vanilla extract can be produced by sealing split vanilla pods and alcohol in an airtight jar. In both the cities of Nasser and Lylos, rum is used by producers to create the extract. Higher quality extract is aged at least for 6 months to a year and a half, before being sold at very high prices throughout Enaskia and Arros, where it is used in high end cuisine and alchemic potions to be consumed.

Vanilla perfume, along with other types of perfume, is a staple luxury product of the City of Lylos. By combining vanilla extract with a variety of oils, along lasting and potent perfume is created. For a long time, Lylos had a monopoly on both vanilla extract and perfume, but both were lost centuries ago. Still, the city remains the largest producer of both.