The vanilla fruit was originally a native of Mexico, growing on the orchid Vanilla, which is a vine. It is now cultivated elsewhere.
The vanilla orchid bears pods which when dried are the source of vanilla flavouring, used in confectionary.
Vanilla beans were regarded by the Aztecs as sacred and of divine making. They were so valued by the Aztecs that they were one of the ways in which common people paid tribute to their emperors. According to their legend, their origin goes back to the early days of the world when the gods still walked the Earth. One god, Xanat was in love with a human youth and she transformed herself to look like a vanilla vine so she could remain on earth with him and his people.
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing vanilla to Europe in the 1520s. He sent back to Spain from Mexico a consignment of the ground vanilla beans.
Below is a drawing of the Vanilla plant from the Florentine Codex (circa 1580) and description of its use and properties written in the Nahuatl language.
Europeans in the 16th century used vanilla, for medicinal purposes particularly as a nerve stimulant. They also believed it to be an aphrodisiac.
Until the mid-19th century, Mexico was the biggest producer of vanilla. However by the end of the century Madagascar, Réunion, and the Comoros Islands were producing 200 metric tons of vanilla fruits, about 80% of the vanilla grown in the world.
Madagascar and Indonesia currently produce two-thirds of the world's supply of vanilla between them.
As a 12 year old slave boy in 1841, Edmond Albius invented the technique for pollinating vanilla orchids profitably. Without this technique, it’s unlikely that vanilla would be nearly as well known as it is today.
Before the 19th century, when vanilla pods became easier to acquire, vanilla ice cream was a costly treat enjoyed only by the wealthy. Today it's the world's most popular ice cream flavor.
Today, vanilla is the most popular flavour of ice cream, taking up around 25% of overall sales of ice cream with chocolate coming in a distant second.
Twinkies switched from their original banana cream filling to their now standard vanilla cream filling due to the rationing of bananas during World War II.
Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice after saffron because growing the vanilla seed pods is particularly labor-intensive.
Today, 95% of the vanilla flavoring today is done in chemical laboratories. The pure (man-made) form of the flavoring is artificially flavored with vanillin derived from lignin, a natural polymer found in wood, instead of vanilla fruits.
Vanilla flavoring is sometimes made with an ingredient from beaver urine.
Source Food for Thought by Ed Pearce
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Vanilla beans were regarded by the Aztecs as sacred and of divine making. They were so valued by the Aztecs that they were one of the ways in which common people paid tribute to their emperors. According to their legend, their origin goes back to the early days of the world when the gods still walked the Earth. One god, Xanat was in love with a human youth and she transformed herself to look like a vanilla vine so she could remain on earth with him and his people.
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing vanilla to Europe in the 1520s. He sent back to Spain from Mexico a consignment of the ground vanilla beans.
Below is a drawing of the Vanilla plant from the Florentine Codex (circa 1580) and description of its use and properties written in the Nahuatl language.
 |
Europeans in the 16th century used vanilla, for medicinal purposes particularly as a nerve stimulant. They also believed it to be an aphrodisiac.
Until the mid-19th century, Mexico was the biggest producer of vanilla. However by the end of the century Madagascar, Réunion, and the Comoros Islands were producing 200 metric tons of vanilla fruits, about 80% of the vanilla grown in the world.
Madagascar and Indonesia currently produce two-thirds of the world's supply of vanilla between them.
As a 12 year old slave boy in 1841, Edmond Albius invented the technique for pollinating vanilla orchids profitably. Without this technique, it’s unlikely that vanilla would be nearly as well known as it is today.
Before the 19th century, when vanilla pods became easier to acquire, vanilla ice cream was a costly treat enjoyed only by the wealthy. Today it's the world's most popular ice cream flavor.
Today, vanilla is the most popular flavour of ice cream, taking up around 25% of overall sales of ice cream with chocolate coming in a distant second.
Twinkies switched from their original banana cream filling to their now standard vanilla cream filling due to the rationing of bananas during World War II.
Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice after saffron because growing the vanilla seed pods is particularly labor-intensive.
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| Vanilla extract displays its distinctive color |
Today, 95% of the vanilla flavoring today is done in chemical laboratories. The pure (man-made) form of the flavoring is artificially flavored with vanillin derived from lignin, a natural polymer found in wood, instead of vanilla fruits.
Vanilla flavoring is sometimes made with an ingredient from beaver urine.
Source Food for Thought by Ed Pearce
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