The Wonderful World of Vanilla
Do you love the taste of vanilla? Do you ever wonder where that delicious flavor comes from? Keep reading to find out the fascinating origins of vanilla flavoring. Vanilla plants have been cultivated in Mexico and Central America since at least the sixteenth century. The Aztecs used vanilla beans to flavor cocoa, chile pepper paste, and honey, as well as medicinal teas and tonics. The Maya called it liquidity or bundle of sticks because the shoots and flowers look like little bundles of sticks. From pods to bottles Vanilla is one of the most popular flavors in baking and cooking, but did you know that it is one of the most expensive as well? Vanilla beans are quite labor-intensive, so they are not cheap at all. In 1841, a French-Mexican man named Edouard Audran discovered a way to create artificial vanillin by mixing coal tar with alcohol and sulfuric acid. From plantations to factories Vanilla, popular ice cream, and the cooking ingredient is a type of orchid. It was origin...