subject: Delicious Vanilla History [print this page] Where does vanilla come from? It seems ubiquitous; it's the default flavoring for a lot of desserts and commercial products. It seems impossible to think that it was once a highly prized commodity or an exotic newcomer to plates and palates. But, believe it or not, it remained a Mesoamerican secret for hundreds of years.
Vanilla extract, also known as vanillin, comes from the fruit of the Vanilla orchid, a genus of vine-like plants that grow wild in tropical regions worldwide. However the orchids are difficult to cultivate; the flowers are only open for one full day, and they can only be pollinated by very specific insect species. The first recorded cultivators of vanilla were the Totonac people of the Mazatlan Valley, in the modern-day state of Veracruz. The orchid had an origin story in Totonac mythology: a divine princess, Xanat, was forbidden from marrying a mortal. The lovers ran into the forest, but Xanat's father captured and beheaded them both. The vanilla orchid grew in the spot where their blood first touched the ground.
After the Aztecs conquered the Totonacs in the 1400s, they developed a liking for vanilla beans. They called it 'tlixochitl', or 'black flower', because the fruit turns black shortly after ripening. The Aztecs used vanilla to flavor their chocolate drinks. When Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes came to Mesoamerica in 1519, he became the first European to taste both vanilla and chocolate. The word 'vanilla' comes from the Spanish word for 'little pod; the plant and extract were completely unknown in the Old World, but they became highly prized after Cortes brought back some samples.
Mexico was the chief producer of vanilla for hundreds of years. The main species harvested for the vanillin extract is Vanilla planifolia; along with being native to the area, V planifolia could only be pollinated by a specific Melipone stingless bee, which could only survive in Mexico. In 1836, botanist Charles Morren figured out that vanilla could be artificially pollinated, but his methods were not commercially viable. A hand pollination method was conceived of in 1841 by A 12-year-old worker named Edward Albius, and his methods are still used today. Vanilla is now produced in Madagascar, the West Indies, Indonesia, and China, among other countries.
Pure natural vanilla is the second most expensive spice on the planet. The vanilla bean plant is only produced if the flower is pollinated, and the flowers are only open for one day and then they die. This means that fields need daily checks, and all flowers must be pollinated by hand. Workers then gather, cure, and dry the vanilla beans. It's a labor-intensive process which requires human interaction at almost every step. Artificial vanilla extract is very popular because it is simply cheaper to produce. Natural vanilla extract is also diluted with other beans that smell and taste similar.
