The Vitality of Vanilla
Photography by Yvette Roman
Given its ability to transform and elevate recipes, it’s befuddling to think one such culinary celebrity that stars in baked goods, ice creams, beverages and a glut of holiday dishes could ever be used as a synonym for boring. Vanilla is a standout ingredient treasured around the globe and, for two companies in northern San Luis Obispo County, it’s more like family.
“I can’t imagine my life without vanilla,” says Josephine Lochhead, President of Cook’s Flavoring Company. “It’s like salt; if you don’t add it to your cookie, you know you’re missing something. But when it’s there, it brings everything together.”
Vanilla comes from the orchid family. It’s one of more than 25,000 varieties within the species and the only one to produce edible fruit. Nicknamed the “Queen of the Rainforest,” vanilla’s birthplace is Mexico, but it was transported around the planet by Spaniards in the 1600s. Today, 80 percent of the world’s vanilla is grown on Madagascar and Reunion, which are two Indian Ocean islands off the coast of East Africa.
Vanilla has been in Josephine’s lineage since her grandfather, Angus T. Lochhead, founded Lochhead Manufacturing Company in St. Louis, Missouri back in 1918. Her father, Ray, studied chemical engineering in college and in 1948, he joined the family business with two of his three brothers. After traveling the world as the family chemist, Ray moved his wife and children to Paso Robles, where he opened his own plant in 1964. Today, Josephine runs that same North County factory she spent much of her childhood in.
“Growing up in the vanilla factory, it’s part of you,” she says. “We smelled like vanilla; my dad always smelled like vanilla. I was down here at 3 years old sifting beans, and I was here every day after school. It just becomes a part of your life. You fuse with it.”
Josephine and her father acquired Cook’s Pure Vanilla after their friend and partner Ken Cook, retired Dreyer’s ice cream President, passed away in 1991. The company adopted a “bean-to-bottle” philosophy, meaning Josephine and her family are involved in every step of the process. The globe-trotting family travels the world to procure the best beans and formulates more than 200 blends of vanilla extract using Angus’ proprietary slow, cold-percolation method. They even label bottles by hand.
Local retailers such as General Store Paso Robles and hometown bakeries like Madonna Inn often source Cook’s vanilla and the dozens of other flavored extracts the label produces. Home bakers and national brands alike purchase their beans, pastes and flavorings in bulk, by the gallon or case. Ray is also credited with inventing vanilla powder. It’s an exclusive Cook’s product popular with protein powder companies and Starbucks.
San Luis Obispo County has not one but two vanilla manufacturers. On their family farm in San Miguel, Milton and Gina Hambly use Madagascar-sourced beans to make Hambly Farms pure vanilla extract. The decision to produce vanilla on the farm came about five years ago, after the couple moved onto their dream property. While brainstorming ideas, Gina’s annual tradition of making vanilla for holiday gifts became the inspiration.
“I had always made vanilla for my family for Christmas gifts,” Gina says. “So, we thought, let’s start with that and see if other people are interested in this amazing vanilla that we make.” And it turns out people were interested. The first batch quickly sold out in 2019.
The Hamblys continue to make vanilla extract using their own two hands, the occasional help of their three kids and two ingredients: vanilla beans and high-quality 80 proof alcohol. “It’s a very simple recipe. We don’t add any colors, any artificial flavors, and we don’t add any water to it. We mix the ingredients together [and] it sits for six months to a year depending on the coloring and flavoring.” Once brewed, each small batch is stored in a cool, dark place and shaken daily as it ages in glass vessels. If you look closely, you’ll notice each double-filtered and hand-bottled container includes a few black flecks of vanilla bean. “Because we add partial vanilla beans to your bottle, the longer it sits, the better it will get,” says Gina.
Hambly Farms now sells vanilla direct-to-consumer through their online store. Their expanded range of offerings currently includes home and personal care products made with farm-grown lavender.
While many of us use vanilla in our holiday meal preparations, the spice is a part of everyday life for the Lochheads and the Hamblys. They add spent bean husks to baking flour and sugar containers and even jars of honey, jam and jelly to infuse their household staples with the flavor and aroma. A cup of tea or coffee or a warm mug of milk all receive a splash. Like a family member, vanilla always has a place at the table in these two homes.
“Vanilla is like our sister,” says Josephine. “We think about her 24/7. There’s always a challenge, but to do something else would probably be boring.”
