Description: On the basis of the testimony of a young Franciscan in "Historia de las cosas GeneraI de Nueva Espana", a missionary in Mexico during the sixteenth century, it became known that the natives of tropical America added a certain powder to the cocoa, giving to it an intense and pleasant scent. It was the spice which is obtained from the fermented capsules ("pods") of different species of the genus orchid vanilla. The spice vanilla (Vanilla Planifolia Andrews.) grows wild in equatorial regions of Latin America, where it is widely cultivated as an object of a flourishing market.
It is not necessary to point out the great importance of vanilla in food, spirits and medicine, where it is mainly used to cover the unpleasant taste of medicines. Let us, however, mention that the vanilla is mainly a mild stimulant of bile secretion as well as a good digestif, two effects that make it extremely suitable for flavouring a Grappa.
Ingredients: - two vanilla pods - some honey - 1 liter of Grappa
Preparation: For the Grappa of vanilla add two vanilla pods for about one month in one liter of Grappa and leave it in the sun with some honey. It is filtered and then left to age for two months. The Grappa will obtain a yellowish color and will be aromatic-sweet with a pronounced aroma.
