Vanilla products from Taiwan have received this year’s Superior Taste Award from the Brussels-based International Taste Institute, the Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station said on Wednesday.
The two products were “Organic Vanilla Beans” produced by the Taoyuan-based Harmony Organic Agriculture Foundation, which received the honor for the second consecutive year, and “Vanilla Ville Vanilla Pods” produced by the Pingtung County-based Linbian Natural and Culture Preservation Association.
Linbian Natural and Culture Preservation Association head Chen Chin-chao (陳錦超) said the organization’s profile increased after winning the award earlier this year, even prompting a call from Taiwanese master baker Wu Pao-chun (吳寶春).
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
In addition, Chen and Tseng Yu-cheng (曾鈺誠), owner of the Harmony Organic Agriculture Foundation, said both organizations cooperate with photoelectric industries to generate power on their farmland.
Yeh Chih-hsin (葉志新), an associate researcher at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, said the station has studied Vanilla planifolia cultivation and processing development for 15 years.
Taiwanese vanilla pod products are very fragrant and sweet after being processed and extracted, with 50 percent higher vanillin content than products from Madagascar, a globally renowned vanilla producer, Yeh said.
Vanillin is the ingredient that gives vanilla its distinct aroma.
Vanilla pods typically cost US$150 to US$300 per kilogram retail. In Taiwan, they sell for NT$20,000 to NT$40,000 (US$618 to US$1,235), Yeh said.
Taiwan is expected to produce about 10 to 12 tonnes of vanilla pods this year, with a total value of NT$200 million to NT$400 million, Yeh added.
The International Taste Institute evaluates food products with a jury composed of professional chefs and sommeliers who judge the products according to criteria including first impression, vision, olfaction, taste and texture (for food) or final sensation (for drinks), the institute said on its Web site.
To win the Superior Taste Award, products have to score more than 90 percent, it said.
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