Vanilla fruits, dried

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla (V. planifolia). The word vanilla, derived from the diminutive of the Spanish word vaina (vaina itself meaning sheath or pod), simply translates as little pod.^[1] Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples cultivated the vine of the vanilla orchid, called tlilxochitl by the Aztecs, and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.^[2]

Initial attempts to cultivate vanilla outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the vanilla orchid and its natural pollinator, the local species of Melipona bee. It was not until 1837 that Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially.^[3] In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered the plant could be hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant.^[4]

There are currently three major cultivars of vanilla grown globally, all of which derive from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern day Mexico.^[5] The various subspecies are Vanilla planifolia (syn. V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; V. tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific; and V. pompona, found in the West Indies, Central, and South America.^[6] The majority of the world's vanilla is the V. planifolia variety, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia.^[7][8] Leptotes bicolor is used in the same way in South America.

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron,^[9][10] because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive.^[10] Despite the expense, vanilla is highly valued for its flavor, which author Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices as "pure, spicy, and delicate" and its complex floral aroma depicted as a "peculiar bouquet".^[11] As a result, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture and aromatherapy.

History[link]

The Totonac people, who inhabit the Mazatlan Valley on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, were the first to cultivate vanilla. According to Totonac mythology, the tropical orchid was born when Princess Xanat, forbidden by her father from marrying a mortal, fled to the forest with her lover. The lovers were captured and beheaded. Where their blood touched the ground, the vine of the tropical orchid grew.^[3]

Drawing of Vanilla from the Florentine Codex (ca. 1580) and description of its use and properties written in the Nahuatl language.

In the fifteenth century, Aztecs invading from the central highlands of Mexico conquered the Totonacs, and soon developed a taste for the vanilla bean. They named the bean "tlilxochitl", or "black flower", after the mature bean, which shrivels and turns black shortly after it is picked. Subjugated by the Aztecs, the Totonacs paid tribute by sending vanilla beans to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.

Until the mid-19th century, Mexico was the chief producer of vanilla. In 1819, however, French entrepreneurs shipped vanilla beans to the islands of Réunion and Mauritius in hopes of producing vanilla there. After Edmond Albius discovered how to pollinate the flowers quickly by hand, the pods began to thrive. Soon, the tropical orchids were sent from Réunion Island to the Comoros Islands and Madagascar, along with instructions for pollinating them. By 1898, Madagascar, Réunion, and the Comoros Islands produced 200 metric tons of vanilla beans, about 80% of world production. According to the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation, Madagascar is currently responsible for the vast majority of the world's bourbon vanilla production^[12] and 58% of the world total vanilla bean production.

The market price of vanilla rose dramatically in the late 1970s after a tropical cyclone ravaged key croplands. Prices remained high through the early 1980s despite the introduction of Indonesian vanilla. In the mid-1980s, the cartel that had controlled vanilla prices and distribution since its creation in 1930 disbanded.^[13] Prices dropped 70% over the next few years, to nearly US$20 per kilogram; prices rose sharply again after tropical cyclone Hudah struck Madagascar in April 2000. The cyclone, political instability, and poor weather in the third year drove vanilla prices to an astonishing US$500 per kilogram in 2004, bringing new countries into the vanilla industry. A good crop, coupled with decreased demand caused by the production of imitation vanilla, pushed the market price down to the $40 per kilogram range in the middle of 2005. By 2010, prices were down to US$20/per kilo.

Madagascar (especially the fertile Sava region) accounts for much of the global production of vanilla. Mexico, once the leading producer of natural vanilla, with an annual 500 tons, produced only 10 tons of vanilla in 2006. An estimated 95% of "vanilla" products are artificially flavored with vanillin derived from lignin instead of vanilla beans.^[14]

Etymology[link]

Vanilla was completely unknown in the Old World before Cortez. Spanish explorers arriving on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the early sixteenth century gave vanilla its current name. Spanish and Portuguese sailors and explorers brought vanilla into Africa and Asia later that century. They called it vainilla, or "little pod". The word vanilla entered the English language in the 1754, when the botanist Philip Miller wrote about the genus in his Gardener’s Dictionary.^[15] Vainilla is from the diminutive of vaina, from the Latin vagina (sheath) to describe the way the pod must be split open to expose the seeds.^[16]

Biology[link]

Vanilla orchid[link]

The main species harvested for vanillin is Vanilla planifolia. Although it is native to Mexico, it is now widely grown throughout the tropics. Madagascar is the world's largest producer. Additional sources include Vanilla pompona and Vanilla tahitiensis (grown in Tahiti and Niue), although the vanillin content of these species is much less than Vanilla planifolia.^[17]

Vanilla grows as a vine, climbing up an existing tree (also called a tutor), pole, or other support. It can be grown in a wood (on trees), in a plantation (on trees or poles), or in a "shader", in increasing orders of productivity. Its growth environment is referred to as its terroir, and includes not only the adjacent plants but also the climate, geography, and local geology. Left alone, it will grow as high as possible on the support, with few flowers. Every year, growers fold the higher parts of the plant downward so the plant stays at heights accessible by a standing human. This also greatly stimulates flowering.

Vanilla planifolia – flower

The distinctively flavored compounds are found in the fruit, which results from the pollination of the flower. One flower produces one fruit. Vanilla planifolia flowers are hermaphroditic: They carry both male (anther) and female (stigma) organs; however, to avoid self-pollination, a membrane separates those organs. The flowers can be naturally pollinated only by a specific Melipone bee found in Mexico (abeja de monte or mountain bee). This bee provided Mexico with a 300-year-long monopoly on vanilla production, from the time it was first discovered by Europeans and the French first transplanted the vines to their overseas colonies, until a substitute was found for the bees. The vines would grow, but would not fruit outside of Mexico. Growers tried to bring this bee into other growing locales, to no avail. The only way to produce fruits without the bees is artificial pollination. And today, even in Mexico, hand-pollination is used extensively.

In 1836, botanist Charles François Antoine Morren was drinking coffee on a patio in Papantla (in Veracruz, Mexico) and noticed black bees flying around the vanilla flowers next to his table. He watched their actions closely as they would land and work their way under a flap inside the flower, transferring pollen in the process. Within hours, the flowers closed and several days later, Morren noticed vanilla pods beginning to form. Morren immediately began experimenting with hand-pollination. A few years later in 1841, a simple and efficient artificial hand-pollination method was developed by a 12-year-old slave named Edmond Albius on Réunion, a method still used today. Using a beveled sliver of bamboo,^[18] an agricultural worker lifts the membrane separating the anther and the stigma, then, using the thumb, transfers the pollinia from the anther to the stigma. The flower, self-pollinated, will then produce a fruit. The vanilla flower lasts about one day, sometimes less, so growers have to inspect their plantations every day for open flowers, a labor-intensive task.

The fruit, a seed capsule, if left on the plant, will ripen and open at the end; as it dries, the phenolic compounds crystallize, giving the beans a diamond-dusted appearance, which the French call givre (hoarfrost). It will then release the distinctive vanilla smell. The fruit contains tiny, flavorless seeds. In dishes prepared with whole natural vanilla, these seeds are recognizable as black specks.

Like other orchids' seeds, vanilla seed will not germinate without the presence of certain mycorrhizal fungi. Instead, growers reproduce the plant by cutting: they remove sections of the vine with six or more leaf nodes, a root opposite each leaf. The two lower leaves are removed, and this area is buried in loose soil at the base of a support. The remaining upper roots will cling to the support, and often grow down into the soil. Growth is rapid under good conditions.

Cultivars[link]

A bottle of vanilla extract

• Bourbon vanilla or Bourbon-Madagascar vanilla, produced from V. planifolia plants introduced from the Americas, is the term used for vanilla from Indian Ocean islands such as Madagascar, the Comoros, and Réunion, formerly the Île Bourbon.
• Mexican vanilla, made from the native V. planifolia, is produced in much less quantity and marketed as the vanilla from the land of its origin. Vanilla sold in tourist markets around Mexico is sometimes not actual vanilla extract, but is mixed with an extract of the tonka bean, which contains coumarin. Tonka bean extract smells and tastes like vanilla, but coumarin has been shown to cause liver damage in lab animals and is banned in food in the US by the Food and Drug Administration.^[19]
• Tahitian vanilla is the name for vanilla from French Polynesia, made with the V. tahitiensis strain. Genetic analysis shows that this species is possibly a cultivar from a hybrid-cross of V. planifolia and V. odorata. The species was introduced by French Admiral François Alphonse Hamelin to French Polynesia from the Philippines, where it was introduced from Guatemala by the Manila Galleon trade.^[20]
• West Indian vanilla is made from the V. pompona strain grown in the Caribbean, Central and South America.^[21]

The term French vanilla is often used to designate preparations that have a strong vanilla aroma, contain vanilla grains and may also contain eggs (especially egg yolks). The appellation originates from the French style of making vanilla ice cream with a custard base, using vanilla pods, cream, and egg yolks. Inclusion of vanilla varietals from any of the former or current French dependencies noted for their exports may in fact be a part of the flavoring, though it may often be coincidental. Alternatively, French vanilla is taken to refer to a vanilla-custard flavor.^[20] Syrup labeled as French vanilla may include custard, caramel or butterscotch flavors in addition to vanilla.

Chemistry[link]

Chemical structure of vanillin

Though there are many compounds present in the extracts of vanilla, the compound vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) is primarily responsible for the characteristic flavor and smell of vanilla. Another minor component of vanilla essential oil is piperonal (heliotropin). Piperonal and other substances affect the odor of natural vanilla. Vanillin was first isolated from vanilla pods by Gobley in 1858.^[22] By 1874, it had been obtained from glycosides of pine tree sap, temporarily causing a depression in the natural vanilla industry.

Vanilla essence comes in two forms. Real seedpod extract is an extremely complicated mixture of several hundred different compounds, including acetaldehyde, acetic acid, furan-2-carbaldehyde, hexanoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 2-methoxy-4-(prop-2-en-1-yl)phenol, methyl 3-phenylprop-2-enoate, and 2-methylpropanoic acid. Synthetic essence, consisting basically of a solution of synthetic vanillin in ethanol, is derived from phenol and is of high purity.^[23]

Production[link]

General guidelines[link]

2009 Top Vanilla Producers

Country	Production (tonnes)	%
Indonesia	4,362	60%
Madagascar	2,830	23%
China	1,382	9%
Mexico	524	2%
Tonga	263	2%
Turkey	215	1%
French Polynesia	74	2%
Comoros	65	0.6%
Uganda	48	0.5%
Malawi	23	0.2%
Kenya	20	0.2%
Réunion	10	0.09%
Guadeloupe	8	0.08%
Zimbabwe	5	0.03%
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organization [24]

Vanilla output in 2005

In general, good vanilla will only come from good vines and through careful production methods. Commercial vanilla production can be performed under open field and "greenhouse" operations. Both production systems share the following similarities:

• Plant height and number of years before producing the first grains
• Shade necessities
• Amount of organic matter needed
• A tree or frame to grow around (Bamboo, coconut or Erythrina lanceolata)
• Labor intensity (pollination and harvest activities)^[25]

Vanilla grows best in a hot humid climate from sea level to an elevation of 1500 m. The ideal climate has moderate rainfall, 150–300 cm, evenly distributed through 10 months of the year. Optimum temperatures for cultivation are 15–30 °C (59–86 °F) during the day and 15–20 °C (59–68 °F) during the night. Ideal humidity is around 80%, and under normal greenhouse conditions it can be achieved by an evaporative cooler. However, since greenhouse vanilla is grown near the equator and under polymer (HDPE) netting (shading of 50%), this humidity can be achieved by the environment. Most vanilla processing is done in the region within 10 to 20 degrees above and below the equator.

Soils for vanilla cultivation should be loose, with high organic matter content and loamy texture. They must be well drained, and a slight slope helps in this condition. Soil pH has not been well documented, but some researchers have indicated an optimum soil pH of around 5.3.^[26] Mulch is very important for proper growth of the vine, and a considerable portion of mulch should be placed in the base of the vine.^[27] Fertilization varies with soil conditions, but general recommendations are: 40 to 60g of N, 20 to 30g of P₂O₅ and 60 to 100g of K₂O should be applied to each plant per year besides organic manures like vermicompost, oil cakes, poultry manure and wood ash. Foliar applications are also good for vanilla, and a solution of 1% NPK (17:17:17) can be sprayed on the plant once a month. Vanilla likes a lot of organic matter; therefore 3 to 4 applications of mulch a year are adequate for the plant.

Propagation, pre-plant preparation and type of stock[link]

Dissemination of vanilla can be achieved either by stem cutting or by tissue culture. For stem cutting, a progeny garden needs to be established. Recommendations for establishing this garden vary, but in general trenches of 60 cm in width, 45 cm in depth and 60 cm spacing for each plant is necessary. All plants need to grow under 50% shade as well as the rest of the crop. Mulching the trenches with coconut husk and micro irrigation provide ideal micro climate for vegetative growth.^[28] Cuttings between 60 and 120 cm should be selected for planting in the field or greenhouse. Cuttings below 60 cm need to be rooted and raised in a separate nursery before planting. Planting material should always come from unflowered portions of the vine. Wilting of the cuttings before planting provides better conditions for root initiation and establishment.^[25]

Before planting the cuttings, trees that will support the vine must be planted at least three months before sowing the cuttings. Pits of 30 x 30 x 30 cm are dug 30 cm away from the tree and filled with farm yard manure (FYM or Vermicompost), sand and top soil mixed well. An average of 2000 cuttings can be planted per hectare. One important consideration is that when planting the cuttings from the base 4 leaves should be pruned and the pruned basal point must be pressed into the soil in a way that the 4 nodes are in close contact with the soil, and are placed at a depth of 15 to 20 cm.^[27] The top portion of the cutting is tied up to the tree using natural fibers like banana or hemp.

Tissue culture[link]

Several methods have been proposed for vanilla tissue culture, but all of them begin from axillary buds of the vanilla vine.^[29][30] In vitro multiplication has also been achieved through culture of callus masses, protocorns, root tips and stem nodes.^[31] Description of any of these processes can be obtained from the references listed before, but all of them are successful in generation of new vanilla plants that first need to be grown up to a height of at least 30 cm before they can be planted in the field or greenhouse.^[25]

Scheduling considerations[link]

In the tropics^{[clarification needed]}, the ideal time for planting vanilla is from September to November, when the weather is neither too rainy nor too dry, but this recommendation varies with growing conditions. Cuttings take 1 to 8 weeks to establish roots, and show initial signs of growth from one of the leaf axils. A thick mulch of leaves should be provided immediately after planting as an additional source of organic matter. Three years are required for cuttings to grow enough to produce flowers and subsequent pods. As with most orchids, the blossoms grow along stems branching from the main vine. The buds, growing along the 6 to 10 inch stems, bloom and mature in sequence, each at a different interval.^[28]

Pollination[link]

Flowering normally occurs every spring, and without pollination, the blossom wilts and falls, and no vanilla bean can grow. Each flower must be hand-pollinated within 12 hours of opening. The only insect capable of pollinating the blossom is the Melipona, a bee native only to Mexico. All vanilla grown today is pollinated by hand. A small splinter of wood or a grass stem is used to lift the rostellum or move the flap upward, so that the overhanging anther can be pressed against the stigma and self pollinate the vine. Generally one flower per raceme opens per day, and therefore the raceme may be in flowering for over 20 days. A healthy vine should produce about 50 to 100 beans per year; however growers are careful to pollinate only 5 to 6 flowers from the 20 on each raceme. The first 5 to 6 flowers that open per vine should be pollinated, so that the beans are similar in age. These agronomic practices facilitate harvest and increases bean quality. It takes the fruits 5 to 6 weeks to develop, but it takes around 9 months for the bean to mature. Over-pollination will result in diseased and inferior bean quality.^[27] A vine remains productive between 12 and 14 years.

Pest and disease management[link]

Most diseases come from the uncharacteristic growing conditions of vanilla. Therefore, conditions like excess water, insufficient drainage, heavy mulch, over-pollination and too much shade favor disease development. Vanilla is susceptible to many fungal and viral diseases. Fusarium sp, Sclerotium sp, Phytopthora sp and Colletrotrichum sp cause rots of root, stem, leaf, bean and shoot apex. These diseases can be controlled by spraying Bordeaux mixture (1%), Carbendazim (0.2%) and Copper oxychloride (0.2%).

Biological control of the spread of such diseases can be managed by applying to the soil Trichoderma (0.5 kg per plant in the rhizosphere) and foliar application of Pseudomonads (0.2%). Mosaic virus, leaf curl and Cymbidium mosaic potex virus are the common viral diseases. These diseases are transmitted through the sap; consequently affected plants have to be destroyed. The insect pests of vanilla include beetles and weevils that attack the flower, caterpillars, snakes and slugs that damage the tender parts of shoot, flower buds and immature beans, and grasshoppers that affect cutting shoot tips.^[27][28] If organic agriculture is practiced, insecticides are avoided, and mechanical measures are adopted for pest management.^[25] Most of these practices are implemented under greenhouse cultivation, since in the field such conditions are very difficult to achieve.

Artificial vanilla[link]

Most artificial vanilla products contain vanillin, which can be produced synthetically from lignin, a natural polymer found in wood. Most synthetic vanillin is a byproduct from the pulp used in papermaking, in which the lignin is broken down using sulfites or sulfates. However, vanillin is only one of 171 identified aromatic components of real vanilla beans.^[32]

Leptotes bicolor also belongs to the orchid family and is used as a natural vanilla replacement in Paraguay and southern Brazil.

Non-plant vanilla flavoring[link]

In the United States, Castoreum, the exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food additive,^[33] often referenced simply as a "natural flavoring" in the product's list of ingredients. It is commonly used in both food and beverages, especially as vanilla and raspberry flavoring.^[34] It is also used to flavor some cigarettes and in perfume-making.

Stages of production[link]

A vanilla plantation in a forest of Réunion Island

Harvest[link]

The vanilla bean grows quickly on the vine but is not ready for harvest until maturity — approximately ten months. Harvesting vanilla beans is as labor intensive as pollinating the blossoms. Immature dark green pods are not harvested. Pale yellow discoloration that commences at the distal end of the beans is an indication of the maturity of pods. Each bean ripens at its own time, requiring a daily harvest. To ensure the finest flavor from every bean, each individual pod must be picked by hand just as it begins to split on the end. Overmatured beans are likely to split, causing a reduction in market value. Its commercial value is fixed based on the length of the pod. If the bean is more than 15 cm in length, it belongs to first-quality product. If the beans are between 10 and 15 cm long, pods are under the second-quality category, and beans less than 10 cm in length are under the third-quality category. Each of the beans has a considerable amount of seeds inside the pod, which are covered by a dark-red liquid from which the vanilla essence is extracted. Vanilla bean yield depends on the care and management given to the hanging and fruiting vines. Any practice directed to stimulate aerial root production has a direct effect on vine productivity. A five-year-old vine can produce between 1.5 and 3 kg pods, and this production can increase up to 6 kg after a few years. The harvested green beans can be commercialized as such or cured in order to get a better market price.^[25][27][28]

Curing[link]

Several methods exist in the market for curing vanilla; nevertheless, all of them consist of four basic steps: killing, sweating, slow-drying, and conditioning of the beans.^[35][36]

Killing[link]

The vegetative tissue of the vanilla pod is killed to stop the vegetative growth of the pods and disrupt the cells and tissue of the beans, which initiates enzymatic reactions responsible for the aroma. The method of killing varies, but may be accomplished by heating in hot water, freezing, or scratching, or killing by heating in an oven or exposing the beans to direct sunlight. The different methods give different profiles of enzymatic activity.^[37][38]

Testing has shown that mechanical disruption of bean tissues can cause curing processes,^[39] including the degeneration of glucovanillin to vanillin, so the reasoning goes that disrupting the tissues and cells of the bean allow enzymes and enzyme substrates to interact.^[40]

Hot-water killing may consist of dipping the pods in hot water (63–65 °C) for three minutes, or at 80 °C for 10 seconds. In scratching killing, beans are scratched along their length.^[38] Frozen or quick-frozen beans must be thawed again for the subsequent sweating stage. Tied in bundles, rolled in blankets, beans may be placed in an oven at 60°C for 36 to 48 hours. Exposing beans to sunlight until they turn brown is a method originating in Mexico that was practiced by the Aztecs.^[40]

Sweating[link]

Sweating is a hydrolytic and oxidative process. Traditionally, it consists of keeping beans, for seven to ten days, densely stacked and insulated in woolen or other cloth. This retains a temperature of 45–65 °C and high humidity. Daily exposure to the sun may also be used, or dipping the beans in hot water. The beans are brown and have attained much of the characteristic vanilla flavor and aroma by the end of this process, but still retain a 60-70% moisture content by weight.^[40]

Drying[link]

Reduction of the beans to 25–30% moisture by weight, to prevent rotting and to lock the aroma in the pods, is always achieved by some exposure of the beans to air, and usually (and traditionally) intermittent shade and sunlight. Beans may be laid out in the sun during the mornings and returned to their boxes in the afternoons, or spread on a wooden rack in a room for three to four weeks, sometimes with periods of sun exposure. Drying is the most problematic of the curing stages; unevenness in the drying process can lead to the loss of vanillin content of some beans by the time the others are cured.^[40]

Grading vanilla beans at Sambava, Madagascar

Conditioning of the bean[link]

This step is performed by storing the pods for five to six months in closed boxes, where the fragrance develops. The processed beans are sorted, graded, bundled, and wrapped in paraffin paper and preserved for the development of desired bean qualities, especially flavor and aroma. The cured vanilla beans contain an average of 2.5% vanillin.

Grading[link]

Once fully cured, the vanilla beans are sorted by quality and graded.

Several vanilla bean grading systems are in use. Each country which produces vanilla beans has its own grading system,^[41] and individual vendors, in turn, sometimes use their own criteria for describing the quality of the beans they offer for sale.^[42]

In general, vanilla bean grade is based on the length, appearance (color, sheen, presence of any splits, presence of blemishes), and moisture content of the bean.^[41][43] Whole, dark, plump and oily beans that are visually attractive, with no blemishes, and that have a higher moisture content are graded most highly.^[44] Such beans are particularly prized by chefs for their appearance and can be featured in gourmet dishes.^[42] Beans that show localized signs of disease or other physical defects are cut to remove the blemishes; the shorter fragments that are left are called “cuts” and are assigned lower grades, as are beans with lower moisture contents.^[43] Lower-grade beans 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.

Higher-grade beans command higher prices in the market.^[41][43] However, because grade is so dependent on visual appearance and moisture content, beans with the highest grade do not necessarily contain the highest concentration of characteristic flavor molecules such as vanillin,^[45] and are not necessarily the most flavorful.^[42]

† moisture content varies among sources cited

A simplified, alternative grading system has been proposed for classifying vanilla beans suitable for use in cooking:^[42]

Under this scheme, vanilla extract is normally made from Grade B beans.^[42]

Usage[link]

Culinary uses[link]

Vanilla rum, Madagascar

There are three main commercial preparations of natural vanilla:

• whole pod
• powder (ground pods, kept pure or blended with sugar, starch, or other ingredients)^[50]
• extract (in alcoholic or occasionally glycerol solution; both pure and imitation forms of vanilla contain at least 35% alcohol)^[51]

Vanilla flavoring in food may be achieved by adding vanilla extract or by cooking vanilla pods in the liquid preparation. A stronger aroma may be attained if the pods are split in two, exposing more of a pod's surface area to the liquid. In this case, the pods' seeds are mixed into the preparation. Natural vanilla gives a brown or yellow color to preparations, depending on the concentration. Good-quality vanilla has a strong aromatic flavor, but food with small amounts of low-quality vanilla or artificial vanilla-like flavorings are far more common, since true vanilla is much more expensive.

A major use of vanilla is in flavoring ice cream. The most common flavor of ice cream is vanilla, and thus most people consider it to be the "default" flavor. By analogy, the term "vanilla" is sometimes used as a synonym for "plain". Although vanilla is a prized flavoring agent on its own, it is also used to enhance the flavor of other substances, to which its own flavor is often complementary, such as chocolate, custard, caramel, coffee, cakes, and others.

The cosmetics industry uses vanilla to make perfume.

The food industry uses methyl and ethyl vanillin. Ethyl vanillin is more expensive, but has a stronger note. Cook's Illustrated ran several taste tests pitting vanilla against vanillin in baked goods and other applications, and, to the consternation of the magazine editors, tasters could not differentiate the flavor of vanillin from vanilla;^[52] however, for the case of vanilla ice cream, natural vanilla won out.^[53]

Medicinal uses[link]

In an in-vitro test, vanilla was able to block quorum sensing in bacteria. This is interesting because in many bacteria quorum sensing signals function as a switch for virulence. The microbes become virulent only when the signals indicate that they have the numbers to resist the host immune system response.^[54] The essential oils of vanilla and vanillin are sometimes used in aromatherapy. In old medicinal literature, vanilla is described as an aphrodisiac and a remedy for fevers; these purported uses have never been scientifically proven. It has been shown that vanilla increases levels of catecholamines (including adrenaline), and as such can also be considered mildly addictive.^[55]

Gallery[link]

• 

  A vanilla plantation in open field on Réunion.

• 

  A vanilla plantation in a "shader" (ombrière) on Réunion.

• 

  Flower

• 

  Green fruits

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vanilla

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Vanilla

• How to Make Vanilla Extract
• History, Classification and Lifecycle of Vanilla planifolia
• Electronic Plant Information Centre at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2003-11-8
• Spices at UCLA History & Special Collections
• Spice Pages – Vanilla
• Vanilla and Extracts at the Open Directory Project

Damir "Dado" Polumenta (Serbian: Дадо Полумента, Dado Polumenta; born 29 August 1982 in Bijelo Polje, SR Montenegro, Yugoslavia) is a popular Montenegrin singer/songwriter in the Balkans living in his hometown, Bijelo Polje. His uncle, Šako Polumenta, also a singer, has helped Dado's music career.

Music career[link]

His first album, Jasmina, released in 2000 for Best Records, brought little success in his career. However, after a four-year hiatus, Dado became prominent in the Ex-Yugoslav music industry after the release of his second album "100 stepeni" in 2005 for Grand Production.

Controversy and comeback[link]

Dado has a son (Dorijan) with Serbian model Anamarija Kikoš, with whom he has lived for three years. She was his unmarried partner at the time but they broke up shortly after the child was born.

In due course, he left Grand Production and, through his uncle, signed with Gold Music. Soon after, he released his third album, Volim te... in 2007. Shortly after the release of his third album, he won the award for "Best Montenegrin Singer in the Diaspora" at Montefolk Festival 2007, as well as the "Oscar of Popularity" in Podgorica for his contribution in the popularization of Montenegrin music in the diaspora.

Not soon after, he released a cover version of the Greek song "Beautiful" by Christos Dantis. This version of "Beautiful" featured lyrics that showed his constant love for his ex-girlfirend Anamarija even after all the regrets he had faced with her.

A year later, in May 2008, it was announced that Dado had recorded a duet with Šako entitled "Ljepša od noći", which was released on 10 July as part of Šako's studio album "Sanjao sam san..." and became the album's biggest hit. Just two months later, on 26 June 2008, Dado released another single, a ballad titled "Moja srno", which was performed in the "Vogošća Festival 2008" in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On 15 December 2008, Dado released a fourth album, entitled Zauvijek tvoj (Forever yours), two months later than originally stated for release (October 2008). Dado believes that this album will be his "milestone in work as in life".

On 9 November 2009, Dado released new single "Fali mi ljubav" as announcement of new upcoming album in 2010. All releated information about it can be found on official web site, www.dado-polumenta.com

20.03.2010 – Dado Polumenta created his official Facebook fan page where he will communicate with his fan. Share new video, pictures, news and upcoming events. http://www.facebook.com/dado.polumenta.fanpage

25.05.2010 - As an announcement on upcoming new album, Dado Polumenta issue a new duet song with, one of the most popular Serbian singer, Aca Lukas. New song has the name “Sedam Subota” and can be downloaded from officiral Dado’s web site. www.dado-polumenta.com Shortly after, Dado and Aca made an official video clip.

Discography[link]

• Jasmina (2000)
• 100 stepeni (2005)
• Volim te... (2007)
• Zauvijek tvoj (2008)
• Buntovnik (2010)
• Virus (2011)

Awards[link]

• "Oscar of Popularity", 2007
• "Best Montenegrin Singer in the Diaspora", Montefolk 2007
• "Singer of 2010 year", Nachtwerk 2010

External links[link]

• Official Website

Vanilla Ice
In February 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Robert Matthew Van Winkle
Born	(1967-10-31) October 31, 1967 (age 44) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, rap rock
Occupations	Rapper, actor, record producer, singer
Instruments	Bass, drum kit, guitar, keyboard
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Psychopathic, Republic, SBK, Ichiban
Associated acts	MC Hammer, Insane Poetry, La the Darkman, Insane Clown Posse, Bloodhound Gang, Public Enemy
Website	vanillaice.com

Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Van Winkle released his debut album, Hooked, in 1989 through Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, a record label of the EMI Group which released a reformatted version of the album under the title To the Extreme. Van Winkle's single "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts.

Although Van Winkle was successful, he later regretted his business arrangements with SBK, which had paid him to adopt a more commercial appearance to appeal to a mass audience and published fabricated biographical information without his knowledge. After surviving a suicide attempt, Van Winkle was inspired to change his musical style and lifestyle. While later albums by Van Winkle haven't charted or featured much radio airplay because of their less mainstream, rock-oriented sound, Vanilla Ice has had a loyal underground following. In 2009, Van Winkle began hosting The Vanilla Ice Project on DIY Network. His latest album WTF – Wisdom, Tenacity & Focus was released in August 2011. Van Winkle is currently signed to Psychopathic Records.

Early life[link]

Robert Matthew Van Winkle was born in Dallas, Texas.^[1] Van Winkle never knew his real father, and was given the family name of the man his mother was married to at the time of his birth.^[2] When Van Winkle was four, his mother divorced. Afterward, he grew up moving between Dallas and Miami^[3], where his new stepfather worked at a car dealership.^[2] Hip hop had an impact on Van Winkle at an early age, saying "It's a very big passion of mine because I love poetry. I was just heavily influenced by that whole movement and it's molded me into who I am today." ^[4] Between the ages of 13 and 14, Van Winkle practiced breakdancing, which led to his friends nicknaming him "Vanilla", as he was the only one in the group that wasn't African American.^[5][6] Although he disliked the nickname, it stuck. Shortly afterward, Van Winkle started battle rapping at parties and because of his rhymes, his friends started calling him "MC Vanilla." However, when he became a member of a breakdance troupe, Van Winkle's stage name was "Vanilla Ice" combining his nickname "Vanilla" with one of his breakdance moves, the "Ice".^[7] When Van Winkle's stepfather was offered a better job in Carrollton, Texas, he moved back to Texas with his mother. He attended R. L. Turner High School for a short time before dropping out. When Van Winkle was not learning to ride motorbikes, he was dancing as a street performer with his breakdancing group, now called The Vanilla Ice Posse. Van Winkle wrote "Ice Ice Baby" at the age of 16, basing its lyrics on a weekend he had with friend and disc jockey D-Shay in South Florida.^[8] The lyrics describe a drive-by shooting and praise Van Winkle's rhyming skills.^[9]

Career[link]

Early career (1985–1989)[link]

In 1985, Van Winkle was focusing all of his energy on motocross, winning three straight titles at the Grand National Championships in Dallas. After breaking his ankle during a race, Van Winkle was not interested in racing professionally for some time, using his spare time to perfect his dance moves and creating his own while his ankle was healing. Van Winkle used his beatboxing and breakdancing skills as a street performer with his friends at local malls.^[10] One evening he visited City Lights, a South Dallas night club, where he was dared to go on stage by his friend Squirrel during an Open Mic. He won the crowd over and was asked by City Lights manager John Bush if he wanted to perform regularly which he accepted. Ice would be joined on stage with his disc jockey D-Shay and Zero as well as Earthquake, the local disc jockey at City Lights. The Vanilla Ice Posse or The V.I.P. would also perform with Ice on stage.^[5] As a performer for City Lights, Ice opened up for N.W.A, Public Enemy, The D.O.C., Tone Lōc, 2 Live Crew, Paula Abdul, Sinbad and MC Hammer. ^[11]

In January 1987, Van Winkle was stabbed five times during a scuffle outside of City Lights, after spending ten days at the hospital, Ice signed a contract with the owner of City Lights, Tommy Quon and his management company, Ultrax.^[12][13] Quon saw commercial potential in Van Winkle's rapping and dancing skills.^[3][14] Buying studio time with Quon's earnings from City Lights, they recorded songs that had been perfected on stage by Ice and his acquaintances with various producers, including Khayree. The two year production was distributed by an independent record company called Ichiban Records in 1989. Van Winkle's debut album Hooked sold 48,000 copies in the south."^[15] Play That Funky Music" was released as the album's first single, with "Ice Ice Baby" appearing as the B-side.^[13][16] Tommy Quon personally sent out the single to various radio stations around the US, but the single was seldom played and when it was, it did not get the reaction Quon was hoping for. When disc jockey Darrell Jaye in Georgia played "Ice Ice Baby" instead of the single's A-side, the song gained a quick fanbase and other radio stations followed suit.^[13] Quon financed $8,000 for the production of a music video for "Ice Ice Baby",^[17][18] which received heavy airplay by The Box, increasing public interest in the song.^[19] Van Winkle later opened for EPMD, Ice-T, Stetsasonic and Sir Mix-A-Lot on the Stop the Violence Tour.^[20]

Following the success of "Ice Ice Baby", record producer Suge Knight and two bodyguards arrived at The Palm in West Hollywood, where Van Winkle was eating. After shoving Van Winkle's bodyguards aside, Knight and his own bodyguards sat down in front of Van Winkle, staring at him before finally asking "How you doin'?"^[21] Similar incidents were repeated on several occasions. Eventually, Knight showed up at Van Winkle's hotel suite on the fifteenth floor of the Bel Age Hotel, accompanied by a member of the Oakland Raiders.^[21] According to Van Winkle, Knight took him out on the balcony by himself, and implied that he would throw him off the balcony unless he signed the publishing rights to the song over to Knight; Knight used Van Winkle's money to help fund Death Row Records.^[22]

Mainstream success (1990–1993)[link]

On the basis of Van Winkle's good looks and dance moves, Public Enemy tried to convince their producer, Hank Shocklee, to sign Van Winkle to Def Jam,^[23] but Van Winkle later signed a contract with SBK Records in 1990. SBK remixed and re-recorded Hooked under the title To the Extreme. The reissue contained new artwork and music.^[24] According to Van Winkle, SBK paid him to adopt a more commercial, conventional appearance. This led Ice to later regret his business agreements with SBK.^[25]

To the Extreme became the fastest selling hip hop album of all time,^[26] peaking at #1 on the Billboard 200.^[27] The album spent 16 weeks on the charts, and sold eleven million copies.^[28] SBK Record executive Monte Lipman stated that he received calls from radio stations reporting over 200 phone calls requesting Ice Ice Baby. SBK wanted Ice on the road as soon as possible. MC Hammer, an old acquaintance from his club days, had Ice on as an opening act on his tour. ^[29] Reviews of To the Extreme were mixed. Entertainment Weekly reviewer Mim Udovitch gave the album a B, citing "Ice Ice Baby", "Play That Funky Music", "Dancin'" and "It's a Party" as the album's highlights.^[30] Robert Christgau gave the album a C− rating, writing that Ice's "suave sexism, fashionably male supremacist rather than dangerously obscene, is no worse than his suave beats".^[31] Criticizing the technique and style of Vanilla Ice, Allrovi reviewer Steve Huey wrote:

Ice's mic technique is actually stronger and more nimble than MC Hammer's, and he really tries earnestly to show off the skills he does have. Unfortunately, even if he can keep a mid-tempo pace, his flow is rhythmically stiff, and his voice has an odd timbre; plus, he never seems sure of the proper accent to adopt. He's able to overcome those flaws somewhat in isolated moments, but they become all too apparent over the course of an entire album.^[24]

In late 1990, Van Winkle began an eight-month relationship with Madonna, and appeared in photographs for her book, Sex.^[32][33] In the height of Van Winkle's popularity, SBK licensed a 12" doll which was made by THQ. In January 1991, he was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Van Winkle branched out into the film industry with an appearance in the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, which he later called "one of the coolest experiences" of his career.^[3] Van Winkle was very secretive about his personal life, with the intention of protecting his family. When a Dallas Morning News reporter asked Van Winkle what his mother’s profession was, he replied "None of your fucking business".^[34] In an attempt to rectify this, his former label wrote a fake biography in his name and tried to pass it off as his official life story without his knowledge. While on tour in 1991, Van Winkle found out that SBK had instigated the publication of the biography which detailed false biographical information, including claims that he had attended school with Luther Campbell and over exaggerating his living conditions in Miami, which Ice later had to debunk by himself.^[35]

Van Winkle's second major release was the live album Extremely Live, released in March 1991. The album was a live recording during Vanilla Ice's performance in Miami during his To The Extreme tour. Premiering new songs like Rollin' in My 5.0, Road To My Riches and Satisfaction, the album peaked at #30 on the Billboard 200,^[36] but it received mainly negative reviews, with Entertainment Weekly reviewer David Browne calling it "one of the most ridiculous albums ever released", comparing it to The Best of Marcel Marceau, an album which consisted of two sides of silence opened by brief applause. According to Browne, Extremely Live "affords you the chance to hear inane stage patter [...] and unaccompanied drumming, during which, one assumes, Ice and his posse are onstage dancing."^[37] Monte Lipman later stated that SBK only released the live disc to make more money from Ice's fame. In April 1991, Ice began to film the SBK produced Cool as Ice, in which he played a leading role.^[38]

Cool as Ice opened on October 18, 1991 in 393 theaters in the United States, grossing $638,000, ranking at #14 among the week's new releases.^[39] Reviews of the film were negative. Film website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 8%.^[40] Van Winkle received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star.^[41] SBK stated that they overexposed Ice and Van Winkle decided to stop taking their business advices as well as distancing himself from the image that SBK was trying to create for him. In late 1991, Ice appeared in the Circus of the Stars and Sideshow, driving his motorcycle through a wall of fire. While his fame in the United States had severely dropped, Ice continued performing to sold out crowds in his 1992 world tour, playing in South America, Europe, Australia and Asia, premiering new songs like "Get Loose", "The Wrath", "Now & Forever", "Where the Dogs At? (All Night Long)", "Minutes of Power" and "Iceman Path". After a performance in Acapulco, the city honored Van Winkle with a medal that represented "all the respect and admiration to [Van Winkle's] music and to [him] as an artist from the Mexican people".^[42] Van Winkle also served as a spokesperson for Nike and Coca-Cola throughout 1991 and 1992. ^[43] In 1993, Ice toured Eastern-Europe again and premiered songs off his upcoming album in St. Petersburg, Russia in front of President Boris Yeltsin. ^[44]

[edit] Mind Blowin, music break and drug abuse (1994–1996)

After almost nothing but non-stop touring for the past three years, Van Winkle took a small break from music in 1993 and started competing in Jet skiing as well as Motocross racing again. ^[45]. Van Winkle was interested in responding to his critics by having his next album surpass his earlier and popular work. In 1992, Ice started writing response songs aimed at 3rd Bass and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Together with his disc jockey Zero, the new album started production yet again, scrapping a lot of finished songs and re-doing others. ^[46]

By 1994, Van Winkle received less publicity and became removed from the public spotlight. After becoming more interested with the Rastafari movement, Van Winkle became a vegetarian,^[47] grew dreadlocks and talked more openly about smoking cannabis.^[48] On March 22, 1994, Van Winkle released his second studio album, Mind Blowin. Reviews were unfavorable. Entertainment Weekly reviewer James Bernard called the album "more clunky than funky".^[49] Rolling Stone reviewer Danyel Smith praised the song "Get Loose" as "snappy", writing that although the lyrics are "inane", "the song is a thumping party, one of the few places where Ice loosens up. He sounds solid at the beginning of 'The Wrath' as well [...] In 'Now and Forever,' a wet dream kind of song, Ice goes back to goofy lyrics."^[50] Allrovi reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "There isn't a single moment that establishes a distinct musical identity, and the whole thing is rather embarrassing."^[51] Primus bassist Les Claypool stated in response to Van Winkle's cannabis-oriented lyrics: "That's all fine and dandy and cute, but it could be misconstrued and manipulated by the wrong people."^[52] When asked about the drug oriented sound years later, Vanilla Ice said "A lot of the record is drug oriented because I was doing a lot of drugs at the time". Shortly afterward, SBK went bankrupt.

At around this time, Van Winkle began using ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. During periods of heavy drug use, Van Winkle received many tattoos from artist acquaintances. According to Van Winkle, he "was in [his] binge days. [He] didn't even realize how many [he] was getting".^[53] Van Winkle attempted suicide with a heroin overdose on July 4, 1994 but was revived by his friends.^[54] After being revived, Van Winkle decided that it was time to change his lifestyle. As a symbol of his attempt to begin anew, he got a tattoo of a leaf on his stomach.^[53] After expanding his Mind Blowin’ tour overseas in 1995, Van Winkle sold his estate in California and took a break from music, rather focusing on motocrossing and jet skiing in Florida. By the summer Van Winkle was the world's No. 6-ranked sit-down Jet Ski racer, competing nearly every weekend and earning a Kawasaki sponsorship.^[48] He met future wife Laura Giaritta a year after his suicide attempt at a Fourth of July party in 1995.

Uncertain about his future career, Van Winkle studied real estate and started working on the side renovating and selling houses. In late 1995, Van Winkle set up a recording studio in Miami and joined a grunge band, Pickin Scabz. The name was set to reflect Van Winkle's career and how he was healing from his suicide attempt and that he was now "picking up the pieces".^[20] Van Winkle expressed an interest in performing hip hop-influenced rock music, but found that the band was unable to produce the sound he was looking for. In 1996, long time associate and friend Monte Lipman signed Van Winkle as an artist for Universal Republic Records. He did guest vocals with no stage name for the song "Boom" by Bloodhound Gang on their CD One Fierce Beer Coaster. Later that year, Van Winkle opened up a Miami-based Extreme sport store that focused mostly on water sports and surfing, which he and girlfriend Laura named after his first mainstream album, '2 The Xtreme'. On March 30, 1997, Van Winkle married Laura.^[54] His relationship and different professions helped anchor Van Winkle, who thought about leaving music behind just as he did hard drugs.^[55]

Return to the spotlight (1997–2001)[link]

Van Winkle later developed a friendship with producer Ross Robinson, who had become known for producing music by Deftones, Korn, Limp Bizkit and Sepultura. Robinson and Van Winkle shared an interest in motocross racing.^[20] Monte Lipman hoped that Robinson would produce a new Vanilla Ice album. According to Robinson, others had attempted to discourage him from working with Van Winkle, saying it might hurt his reputation. Rather than being dissuaded, their fear encouraged Robinson who agreed to work with Van Winkle. In an interview, Robinson stated "It's the most punk-rock thing you could do."^[56] Despite not being happy with his old image, Winkle stated that he never had a problem with his older music. Van Winkle decided against changing his stage name to something else, as he felt no need to run from his past, despite being uneasy with some of it and started performing again, booking a hundred shows a year. ^[57]

Van Winkle's third studio album, Hard to Swallow, featured a darker sound and lyrics than Van Winkle's previous work as well as various mixtures of different styles of hip hop and hard rock which caught the media's attention. Van Winkle attracted a whole new audience when he started touring again, some who were even unfamiliar with his more mainstream sound.^[58] Despite getting its own audience and going Gold, reviews of the album were generally negative. Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote "The most earnest new song, Scars, condemns an abusive father. The sentiments would sound more genuine if Korn hadn't gotten there first."^[59] Richard Torres of Rolling Stone gave the album two out of five stars, writing that while "nothing, however, can redeem Ice's wack boasting," the album "isn't half-bad."^[60] In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, Rob Kemp gave the album three out of five stars, writing that it contained Van Winkle's "most convincing music".^[61] A lot of executives at SonyBMG were predicting that the album would do better than 'To The Extreme'. In promotion of Hard to Swallow, Van Winkle toured with a seven-piece live band which included bassist Scott Shriner.^[62] The band opened with rock-oriented material from Hard to Swallow and concluded with older hip hop songs.^[63] The setlist also included "Power", based upon Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song".^[64][65] Van Winkle said that writing the songs and performing them were like therapy, as he had tried to hide his anger when making his older songs but Robinson was the first producer who told him to use it to create.

In 1999, the music video for "Ice Ice Baby" was "retired" on the MTV special 25 Lame, in which Van Winkle himself was asked to destroy the video's master tape. When Van Winkle was given a baseball bat, he ended up destroying not only the film but the show's entire set as well.^[33][66] In 2001, DJ ReAnimator remixed "Ice Ice Baby" with Vanilla Ice re-doing his vocals for the track. Ice Ice Baby 2001 was released as a single and music video for the European market spawning a wave of new overseas interest in Vanilla Ice.^[67]

Having attracted a following outside of his former mainstream audience, Van Winkle began recording independently, despite still being signed at Universal. During a recording session, Ice met the all-female American hard rock band from Southern California, Betty Blowtorch. The late Bianca Halstead bonded with Van Winkle and asked if he wanted to contribute a rap interlude to the their track Size Queen. On Van Winkle's collaboration with the band, lead vocalist and bassist Halstead was quoted saying "I asked him if he could rap over [the track] and he said he can rap over anything. And he could!" ^[61] Per his stepfather's request, Van Winkle started working with his former manager Tommy Quon again, while hoping to re-create some of the magic that they worked hard on in the early 90's, Van Winkle denied any interest in trying to become big again and that his only passion was music, not fame.^[6]

In May 2000, Van Winkle wrestled in a match promoted by Juggalo Championship Wrestling, then known as Juggalo Championshit Wrestling, filling in for Insane Clown Posse member Joseph Utsler, who had been injured during a match.^[68] MTV News reported that Insane Clown Posse would make an appearance on Van Winkle's next album, tentatively titled Bomb Tha System.^[68] In October 2000, Van Winkle announced that his next album would be titled Skabz, and that Chuck D was confirmed to appear on the album. It was initially planned as a double album featuring a disc containing rock-oriented material and a disc of hip hop songs.^[69] In July 2001, Van Winkle performed at the second Gathering of the Juggalos.^[70] On October 23, 2001, Skabz and Bomb Tha System were released as a together as Bi-Polar.^[69] The album also featured La the Darkman, Perla, Insane Poetry and Bob Kakaha. Bradley Torreano of Allrovi disliked the album, criticizing it as "wildly uneven and at times hilariously bad", but also stating "Vanilla Ice is still better than a lot of the rap-metal bands that erupted in 2000/2001." and the rap beats on Bomb Tha System "are surprisingly solid".^[71] In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, Rob Kemp gave the album one out of five stars, calling the album "utterly listless".^[61] According to a Sony BMG executive, sales of Bi-Polar were "not bad...for Vanilla Ice. That's pretty respectable. Seriously."^{[72] [73]}

Independent releases (2002–2009)[link]

With Quon back as manager, Van Winkle was scheduled to appear in various reality TV programs. Ice, still an entertainer at heart felt that the experience would be good for him. In 2002 he appeared on Celebrity Boxing, fighting Todd Bridges under the name 'Bi-Polar'. In 2003, he appeared in five episodes of Hollywood Squares, eight episodes on 'The Farm' and three episodes of Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge as well as a cameo in The New Guy in 2002. Around this time, Vanilla Ice also returned to the world of motocross. He auditioned for the 2002 X Games in the freestyle division and placed seventh at the 2003 Suzuki Crossover challenge, according to Sports Illustrated. He told the magazine that the track "is where I'm happiest." ^[74]

Vanilla Ice appearing at the Tex-Mex Grill in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 2003, Van Winkle contributed vocals to "Off the Chain" by 7x70, a side project of Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain and Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz. A demo of the song was leaked in June.^[75][76] In 2003, Ultrax reissued Bomb Tha System (the second part of "Bi-Polar") under the title Hot Sex, which was a single from the original album.^[73]

From January to February 2004, Van Winkle appeared on the reality television series The Surreal Life.^[6] Although much of the series was staged, Van Winkle found the experience to be therapeutic, stating that a comment made by Tammy Faye Messner during filming; "We are who we are because of who we were" helped him accept his past.^[35]

On August 2, 2005, Van Winkle released his fifth studio album, Platinum Underground. Van Winkle stated that the title of the album reflected the fact that he could maintain a fanbase without mainstream airplay.^[6] Allrovi reviewer Rob Theakston panned the album, writing that it "has more bad spots in it than most".^[77] After getting requests to do Ninja Rap live, Ice decided to make a song entitled Ninja Rap 2 (also known as Go Ninja Go) which was set to be a hardcore remix. Despite the name, the song has very little connections to Van Vinkle's original 1991 single, but rather stays true to Ice's current lyricism, where Ice talks about his appreciation to his fans, his love to perform at clubs and playing at the Gathering of the Juggalos with Insane Clown Posse. Ninja Rap 2 was the first song to be released from Platinum Underground and was available to download for free off of Ice's official website.

In 2007, Van Winkle returned to a spin-off to The Surreal Life entitled The Surreal Life: Fame Games where he again trashed the set after being voted off. In September 2008, Van Winkle signed a contract with Cleopatra Records, recording the cover album Vanilla Ice Is Back! at the label's request.^[78] The album was released on November 4, 2008, and contained covers of songs by Public Enemy, House of Pain, Bob Marley and Cypress Hill. IGN reviewer Spence D. called the album "an embarrassing endeavor that sounds like it should have stayed locked inside Ice's studio (or at the very least leaked on YouTube and passed off as a piss take)."^[79] On February 27, 2009, Van Winkle performed as part of a joint performance with MC Hammer in Orem, Utah called "Hammer Pants And Ice", which featured 24 dancers and a full choir.^[80]

Recent endeavors (2010–present)[link]

In August 2009, Van Winkle announced on his official Twitter account that he had signed a contract with StandBy Records; however, Van Winkle later left the label.^[81] Ice was a special musical guest at the 2010 National Television Awards in January, performing with Jedward for their remix and debut single "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)". Van Winkle also recorded his verse for their album Planet Jedward and appeared in the music video. Vanilla Ice was a part of The Back2Kool concert tour with Turbo B and MC Hammer, playing worldwide in late 2010. Ice reunited with his former DJ; Floyd 'Earthquake' Brown for the shows overseas. In early 2011, Vanilla Ice appeared on the sixth season of the UK show Dancing on Ice as well as various ice skating tours surrounding the show.^[82]

In 2009, Van Winkle started filming a reality television series called The Vanilla Ice Project which premiered on DIY Network on October 14, 2010. The season is focused on renovating a house in Palm Beach, Florida with each episode dedicated to a different room in the house.^[3][83] In 2011, Van Winkle published a book on the subject, Vanilla Ice Project – Real Estate Guide on how to succeed in real estate. The book was made available as a free digital download on his real estate website.^[84] The second season will air January 2012.

In June 2011, Van Winkle filmed a role in the film That's My Boy.^[85] In August, Van Winkle performed at the 2011 Gathering of the Juggalos, where it was officially announced that he had signed with Psychopathic Records.^[86] His sixth studio album, WTF, was released on August 19 through Radium Records. While the record featured an array of different styles, like other recent Vanilla Ice albums, it also featured Ice's return to Electronica, with songs like "Turn It Up", "Rock Star Party", "Nightmare Disco" and "Cadillac Ninjas".^[87][88]

In December 2011, Van Winkle played Captain Hook in the Chatham, Kent Central Theatre pantomime production of Peter Pan, a role that previously belonged to Henry Winkler.^[89] He also turned on the Christmas lights for Rochester, Kent in Rochester Castle, as part of the promotion for the panto.^[90] Van Winkle will record an album for Psychopathic with production by Mike E. Clark.^[91] Joseph Bruce stated that it will be released between the end of 2011 and early 2012.^[92]