Aromatic plants such as fragrant flowers and herbs contain aromatic volatile oil, antioxidants and fungicides, which can not only repel mosquitoes and flies, beautify the environment, purify the air and beautify the room, but also be widely used in beauty, bathing, diet and medical treatment. Essential oils and dried spices extracted from aromatic plants are important flavoring agents in food, cosmetics, soap and pharmaceutical industries. At present, these products sell well in domestic and foreign markets, and are exported to Russia, the United States and so on, showing attractive market development space. In 2003, the United States ordered more than 1000 tons of essential oil in China. Beijing, Shanghai and other places sell more than tens of millions of seedlings and dried spices such as rosemary, lavender, mint and vanilla every year, and the market is very promising.

Vanilla originated in the Mediterranean coast and was introduced to the United States and Canada. /kloc-was introduced to Japan 0/0 years ago and then to Taiwan Province Province. There are 800,000 vanilla lovers in Japan alone. In recent two years, China has started to plant new European vanilla varieties on a small scale, which has performed well in more than ten provinces and cities and achieved good social and economic benefits. European herbs play a very important role in European horticulture. Many gardening departments and lovers have their own special herb gardens. They collect and cultivate all kinds of herbs and plant them in the garden, so that they exude all kinds of fragrance all year round, which is refreshing. It has been scientifically proved that some of these fragrances can sterilize, disinfect and repel insects, and some can regulate the central nervous system, which is very beneficial to human health and make people get rid of sub-health state. For example, mint can refresh the mind, and red basil can cure cough and diarrhea. Because of the multifunctional function of vanilla in Europe, the sales volume in the international market is huge. The vanilla produced in China is in short supply in the international market, and its development prospect is attractive.

The function of vanilla

beautify the environment

China, a rising star of garden plants, once put forward the slogan of "greening, beautification and fragrance" in garden construction. Nowadays, greening and beautification are developing rapidly, but they are lagging behind in "fragrance". If a proper amount of European vanilla is planted in the flower beds of courtyards and parks, its persistent fragrance can improve the surrounding air environment and make it more fresh and pleasant. European vanilla can be planted indoors and outdoors, mostly annual or perennial herbs in the sea area of origin, and its stems and leaves are the main source of fragrance. As long as there are a few such plants, they will continue to emit their unique fragrance, which will make people feel refreshed. Therefore, some people call it the "natural perfume bottle" in the room. Lavender, rosemary and sage have been rated as annual herbs by the International Vanilla Association, and Melissa is the most popular herb in the room. Can be used as a common potted plant, but also as a chlorophytum planting, plant shape is good, cold-resistant, lush growth, evergreen, fragrant, cool and sweet. In addition, there are thyme, thyme grass, bee mint and other similar uses, all of which have good market prospects.

Edible health care

Vanilla is a new type of health vegetable, which is rich in nutrition, delicious, healthy to human body, adaptable, fast growing, less pests and diseases, and basically does not use pesticides. It is a real green and healthy vegetable. In recent years, the boxed gift market has become more and more popular. A box of several kilograms of fresh vegetables will stink after a few days. For example, if you put a box of vanilla vegetables, the fragrance will last for a long time, and when you open the box, the fragrance will overflow. Isn't it the icing on the cake? Lemon basil is a good vanilla vegetable, which has the advantages of no soil selection, fast growth, easy cultivation, high yield and less pests and diseases. It can be used as a vegetable for cold salad, stir-fry and soup, and can also be used as a filling, with excellent taste. Another example is Mayolan and Spanish oregano, which are also excellent varieties of vanilla vegetables with outstanding health care effects.

Vanilla deep processing

The comprehensive processing and utilization of European vanilla can not only be used as garden plants and health-care vegetables, but also be used to process health-care fragrant tea, sachets, pillows, extracted essences and other aromatic products. For example, chamomile processed health fragrant tea has the functions of treating headache, removing intestinal gas and abdominal distension, and enhancing human immunity. The sachets and pillows made of thyme, lavender and Schizonepeta have a good effect on insomnia and depression. Most European herbs can extract natural high-grade essences with various scents, which are widely used in food, textile, building materials, leather, cigarettes and other industries, with amazing economic benefits.

With the continuous development of the national economy and the improvement of people's living standards, people nowadays are more and more advocating nature. Today, with the adjustment of planting structure in China, the development prospect of European vanilla will be more and more broad.

Cultivation of vanilla

First, understand the types of cultivated herbs.

There are many plants that can be used as medicine, but the most commonly used one is probably 10 ~ 20, some of which are unacceptable to Chinese people, such as Tianzhu Sunflower, some of which are not suitable for the climate in Taiwan Province Province, such as Angelica sinensis, and some of which are not fragrant, such as Aloe Vera. Therefore, choosing cultivated plants according to their uses and understanding their characteristics are the first step to success.

Second, a suitable culture environment.

This project includes the right planting place or season. Before buying herbs for planting, you should know where you want to plant them and whether there is a yard at home. What are the sunshine conditions like? Good soil or good drainage? Should it be planted in a flowerpot or directly on the ground? These are all things that need to be understood first, and then you can choose the types of herbs to be cultivated according to these conditions. Even if you don't know this feature, you can ask the seller to help you choose or give you some advice. Some biennial varieties will die after flowering, so we should carefully choose the right season for planting. Because most of these herbs are native to high latitudes, under the climatic conditions of Taiwan Province Province, the cool climate in winter is more conducive to growth, which is also the first place to understand.

Miniaturized potted plants can be used and watched at home. The front row is rosemary, the second row is two different kinds of lavender, and the back row is thyme, vanilla and lemon basil from left to right.

When different kinds of herbs are planted in flowerpots, attention should be paid to their growth characteristics. Melissa on the left is suitable for shallow and wide pots, and rosemary on the right is suitable for larger pots.

Third, careful and proper care.

Vanilla is a living plant, so it must be taken care of from time to time to grow well. When taking care of it, it is necessary to observe the condition of the plant and then take appropriate measures. For example, when watering, wait until the soil is slightly dry before watering, so as not to suffocate the roots. For some varieties with thick leaves, don't water them too much. Moderate drying contributes to plant development. When harvesting or pruning, don't cut too much at a time, so as not to stimulate too many new buds to grow and die. In the period of rapid growth, some organic fertilizer is applied to the surface of soil, and when it is watered, the fertilizer penetrates into the roots and is absorbed, which is helpful for good growth and development. As long as we pay attention to its growth at any time, everyone can try to plant it at home to increase the interest of life.

Fourth, don't use pesticides.

In terms of pests, vanilla has a special smell, which can repel some pests, but some pests still eat leaves. For example, some kinds of basil will have burglars. At this time, it is better to spend some effort to grasp it by hand or cover it with insect-proof net. In preventing diseases, prevention is better than cure. The method is not to plant vanilla with cultivated old soil, because hidden pathogenic bacteria will become the source of infection. In addition, it is necessary to plant herbs in a suitable environment or season, so that plants can naturally resist diseases. Please remember that fresh herbs can only be eaten raw or heated for a short time, and if they contain pesticide ingredients, they will have adverse effects on health.

Vanilla in ancient China

The history of applying spices in China can be traced back to the Yanhuang period more than 5,000 years ago. Herbs are used as medicines to treat diseases, and incense trees and incense are used to worship gods and purify the air.

"Shennong tastes a hundred herbs, and Huaxia Wan Li is fragrant". According to legend, Shennong (Emperor Yan) "taught the people to farm, grow mulberry and hemp, burn pottery ... cured people and only tasted a hundred herbs". In fact, many herbs are aromatic plants.

To commemorate Qu Yuan's Dragon Boat Festival, "Dragon Boat Festival custom, wormwood incense" promoted aromatherapy as a national cultural activity. During the festival, people burn or smoke aromatic plants such as wormwood, Artemisia, Acorus calamus, etc., in order to ward off epidemics and avoid filth, kill various pests after wintering, reduce summer diseases, and drink "medicinal soup" and "medicinal liquor" boiled by various herbs to drive away toxins accumulated in the body.

Shennong Herbal Classic published in BC 104 contains 365 kinds of drugs, of which 252 kinds are aromatic plants or related to spices, and 158 kinds have been listed in the National Pharmacopoeia since 197. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica contained an album of incense, which systematically described the source, processing and application of various spices. Since then, the development of spices in China has focused more and more on varieties with food ingredients. "People take food as the sky, and food takes taste first." Plant spices combined with the chef's skills, to produce a variety of delicious, delicious, delicious food, so there is the saying of food.

China ancient scholar-officials had the custom of wearing vanilla, which has a long history and unique symbolic significance.

Qu Yuan once used the metaphor of vanilla beauty, which is the most famous metaphor in Li Sao. "Li Sao": "I am the nine secluded places of Zilan; The words "orchid" and "Hui" in the sentence "Trees grow in a hundred acres" are different from today's orchids. According to later research, it is likely to be herbs such as Eupatorium adenophorum and Eupatorium adenophorum in Compositae. Vanilla is a metaphor here, representing loyal subjects.

Herbs for making food.

Although there was a tradition of using herbs to make delicious food in ancient China, the spices used later were generally not called "herbs". The "vanilla" used in modern food "vanilla ice cream" and "vanilla chocolate" is "vanilla bean", which is the seed of vanilla.

vanilla

Scientific name: vanilla

Alias: Vanilla, Van You Na, Vanilla, Vanilla

Orchid, vanilla.

Vanilla has always been called "Vanilla". In fact, it belongs to a 3-year-old climbing orchid with a cylindrical stem and aerial roots on each node. The leaves are thick and fleshy, with round needles. Flowers are fragrant yellow-green, and pods pollinated by vanilla are important application parts. Vanilla pod was used in spice drinks before16th century, and it is still the only orchid plant used in spice, so it has the reputation of "spice queen". Although vanilla pod is rarely tasted by people alone, it is often the best supporting role for many products. Among all kinds of drinks and western-style cakes, it makes the taste sweeter and even becomes one of the exclusive secret recipes of food manufacturers. The world is well known for vanilla ice cream, cola, chocolate and coffee.

Vanilla pods exude pleasant aroma and taste and have always been loved by people. It used to be the exclusive honor of the royal family, and the price was equal to gold. Therefore, in the past 400 years, the historical story of vanilla is full of passion, conspiracy, theft and robbery. The preciousness of vanilla is given by heaven. According to scientific experiments, vanilla pods contain more than 250 kinds of aromatic components and 17 kinds of essential amino acids. It has powerful medicinal effects such as tonifying kidney, stimulating appetite, relieving bloating and strengthening spleen, and is a natural medicine for nourishing and caring skin. Although the developed biochemical technology can synthesize similar vanillin at present, its wonderful aroma and taste cannot be completely reproduced! Because of its wide use, it can be directly used in tobacco, wine, tea, food, beverage, candy, pastry, high-grade daily chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

The magical taste and aromatic smell of natural vanilla beans provide us with a lot of fun in life. Nowadays, most people often use it to flavor food and drinks (Coca-Cola took it as a key commodity in 2004), and even vanilla chocolate, which many people like. At present, 40% of the perfumes in the world have added vanilla.

Perennial tropical vines. Cultivation requires high temperature and humid climate and environmental conditions, and it is required to be cultivated in 50%-60% shade conditions and slightly acidic soil rich in organic matter. It needs artificial pollination to set pods in April every year, and fruit pods are harvested in June165438+1October every year. Fresh fruit pods are not fragrant, so they need to be inactivated, fermented, dried and aged in May of the following year to form commercial pods.

Vanilla is a rare tropical natural spice, known as the "queen of edible spices". Its rarity lies in:

① Widely used in food industry, such as expensive cigarettes, high-grade tea wine, ice cream, chocolate, beverage, medicine and daily chemical industry.

(2) She has the unique function of promoting, harmonizing, assisting and fixing fragrance that can't be replaced by any other natural or synthetic perfume;

(3) It takes a lot of labor and a long time of more than 320 days to make the fragrance. That is, it takes 200 days from flowering in April every year, pod setting after successful artificial pollination, and mature harvesting. The fresh pods harvested in June165438+1October each year have no fragrance, and can only be fragrant after 120 days of deactivation, fermentation, drying and aging.