Littlepod Natural Vanilla Paste heralded as gamechanger for home bakers – and the rainforest
The founder of the Campaign for Real Vanilla, LittlePod, is producing Natural Vanilla Paste in a squeezy tube to make using real vanilla as convenient as possible.
Janet Sawyer MBE BEM set up LittlePod 12 years ago to promote the use of real vanilla, help the communities which rely on its cultivation, and conserve the fragile ecosystems in which pure vanilla is grown.
Determined to make pure vanilla as convenient to use as tomato paste, she commissioned the formulation of natural vanilla bean paste in a tube to reduce the hassle and wastage of sourcing and scraping pods.
One tube of LittlePod Natural Vanilla Paste is the equivalent of 20 vanilla pods seeds and all (one teaspoon = one pod). It can be kept in a cool cupboard for two years.
An evolution for the kitchen, you can hold the tube in one hand and easily squeeze out the exact quantity you require.
The intense viscosity of the Natural Vanilla Paste reduces its evaporation when heated, so it also leaves a more intense flavour than vanilla extract.
Sawyer said one of the ways in which people can genuinely help the planet is by supporting vanilla.
“This precious vine is a powerful force for change in our fight against deforestation and climate change,” she said. “Not to be underestimated, vanilla is a canopy plant that catches raindrops which it brings down to ground level. It protects the barks of trees it grows upon, all while replenishing and enriching the soil.
“Rainforests are the lungs of our world. It’s the indigenous farmers who plant the trees that regenerate our rainforests, which in turn, eventually help the air we breathe.
“It’s not an easy task for the indigenous farmers who walk through mulch to tend to crops, live in fragile structures where mosquitoes are rife with poor access to clean water and food.
“This is why we must support them to cultivate vanilla among tutor trees like coffee and cocoa. The least we can all do is spend a few more pennies and help sell a high value commodity. ”
LittlePod has a community vanilla orchard in Indonesia, run by agriculturalist Dr Made Setiawan. Planted on Made’s father’s vanilla farm, this plantation produces single-estate vanilla pods that are now being used in LittlePod’s products.
Revered by chefs and home-bakers for use in savoury and sweet dishes, LittlePod has numerous chef ambassadors, including MasterChef and Michelin starred chef Peter Gorton and Jamie Raftery.
LittlePod Natural Vanilla Paste 100ml is vegan, kosher and gluten free. It is available to buy direct from littlepod.co.uk, RRP £15. Other products in the range include Organic Madagascan Bourbon Vanilla Pods, Pure Vanilla Extract, Coffee Extract and Chocolate Extract.
10% from all online LittlePod product orders goes towards community projects in the vanilla-growing region of Madagascar via Blue Ventures.
