Editing Vanilla (section)

===Grading===
{{See also|Food grading}}
[[File:Sambava - grading vanilla beans.jpg|thumb|Grading vanilla beans at [[Sambava]], Madagascar]]

Once fully cured, the vanilla fruits are sorted by quality and graded. Several vanilla fruit grading systems are in use. Each country which produces vanilla has its own grading system,<ref name="Havkin-Frenkel-2011">{{cite book|last=Havkin-Frenkel|first=Daphna|title=Handbook of Vanilla Science and Technology|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookvanillas00havk|url-access=limited|year=2011|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=Chichester, UK|isbn=978-1-4051-9325-2|author2=Belanger, Faith C. |pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbookvanillas00havk/page/n163 142]–145}}</ref> and individual vendors, in turn, sometimes use their own criteria for describing the quality of the fruits they offer for sale.<ref name=VanillaReview>{{cite web |url=http://www.vanillareview.com/vanilla-information/#grades |title=Vanilla |access-date=15 January 2012 |work=Vanilla Review |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308042435/http://www.vanillareview.com/vanilla-information/#grades |archive-date=8 March 2012 }}</ref> In general, vanilla fruit grade is based on the length, appearance (color, sheen, presence of any splits, presence of blemishes), and moisture content of the fruit.<ref name="Havkin-Frenkel-2011" /><ref name="Nielsen-1985">{{cite book|last=Nielsen|first=Chat Jr.|title=The Story of Vanilla|year=1985|publisher=Nielsen-Massey Vanillas|location=Chicago}}</ref> Whole, dark, plump and oily pods that are visually attractive, with no blemishes, and that have a higher moisture content are graded most highly.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vanilla|url=http://www.indianspices.com/html/spices_spfarm_vanilla.html|work=Spices Board of India|publisher=Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India|access-date=16 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027182357/http://www.indianspices.com/html/spices_spfarm_vanilla.html|archive-date=27 October 2011}}</ref> Such pods are particularly prized by chefs for their appearance and can be featured in gourmet dishes.<ref name=VanillaReview /> Beans that show localized signs of disease or other physical defects are cut to remove the blemishes; the shorter fragments left are called "cuts" and are assigned lower grades, as are fruits with lower moisture contents.<ref name="Nielsen-1985" /> Lower-grade fruits tend to be favored for uses in which the appearance is not as important, such as in the production of vanilla flavoring extract and in the fragrance industry.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Higher-grade fruits command higher prices in the market.<ref name="Havkin-Frenkel-2011" /><ref name="Nielsen-1985" /> However, because grade is so dependent on visual appearance and moisture content, fruits with the highest grade do not necessarily contain the highest concentration of characteristic flavor molecules such as vanillin,<ref name="Binggeli-2008">{{cite book|title="Vanilla Bean Quality – A Flavour Industry View" in Expression of Multidisciplinary Flavour Science: Proceedings of the 12th Weurman Symposium (Interlaken, Switzerland 2008)|year=2008|publisher=Zürich University of Applied Sciences|location=Wädensil, Switzerland |isbn=978-3-905745-19-1 |author1=K. Gassenheimer|author2=E. Binggeli |editor=Imre Blank |editor2=Matthias Wüst |editor3=Chahan Yeretzian|pages=203–206}}</ref> and are not necessarily the most flavorful.<ref name=VanillaReview />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Example of a vanilla fruit grading system, used in Madagascar<ref name="Havkin-Frenkel-2011" /><ref>{{cite web|title=LFIE Vanilla Products|url=http://www.vanille-lfie.com/|work=Lopat Frederic Import Export|access-date=16 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308020556/http://www.vanille-lfie.com/|archive-date=8 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Vanilla Bourbon|url=http://spezie-online.it/en/products/vanilla-bourbon|publisher=SA. VA. Import – Export|access-date=16 January 2012}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Vanilla Products|url=http://www.gascartrading.com/8601.html|publisher=Gascar Trading Company|access-date=16 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114045827/http://gascartrading.com/8601.html|archive-date=14 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Vanilla Bean Products|url=http://www.21food.com/showroom/505673/product/vanilla-bean.html|publisher=Vanexco|access-date=16 January 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120181613/http://www.21food.com/showroom/505673/product/vanilla-bean.html|archive-date=20 January 2013}}</ref>
|-
! Grade !! Color !! Appearance / feel !! Approximate<br/>moisture content†
|-
| Black || dark brown to black || supple with oily luster || > 30%
|-
| TK (Brown, or Semi-Black) || dark brown to black sometimes with a few red streaks || like Black but drier/stiffer || 25–30%
|-
| Red Fox (European quality) || brown with reddish variegation || a few blemishes || 25%
|-
| Red American quality || brown with reddish variegation || similar to European red but more blemishes and drier/stiffer || 22–25%
|-
| Cuts || short, cut, and often split fruits, typically with substandard aroma and color || ||
|}
† ''moisture content varies among sources cited''
[[File:Vanillanice-Madagascar-vanilla-grading.png|alt=vanilla-grading in Madagascar|center|thumb|300x300px|vanilla-grading in Madagascar]]
A simplified, alternative grading system has been proposed for classifying vanilla fruits suitable for use in cooking:<ref name=VanillaReview />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Simplified vanilla fruit grading system for cooks
| Grade A / <br/>Grade I || 15&nbsp;cm and longer, 100–120 fruits per pound || Also called "Gourmet" or "Prime". 30–35% moisture content.
|-
| Grade B / <br/>Grade II || 10–15&nbsp;cm, 140–160 fruits per pound || Also called "Extract fruits". 15–25% moisture content.
|-
| Grade C / <br/>Grade III || 10&nbsp;cm ||
|}

Under this scheme, vanilla extract is normally made from Grade B fruits.<ref name=VanillaReview />