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This Article Vanilla bean curing is a traditional process that
has been carried out for hundreds of years, originating with the
Totonac tribe of Mexico in the early 16th century. A major
stimulus to its global proliferation was the development of hand
pollination and vegetative propagation in the 1830s. The process
is fairly simple, comprising five stages—blanching (or killing),
sweating (or fermentation), sun drying/night storage, rack
drying and conditioning. The curing process is a complex and
multifaceted sequence of interventions that takes place over a
period of about 150 days, turning an unflavored ripe vanilla
bean containing ca. 80% water into a cured vanilla pod that is
aromatic, dark brown and which contains a water content of
20–30%. The process involves elements of biochemistry,
chemistry, wound response, plant senescence and plant
microstructure/compartmentation, and as such