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1. Vanilla is actually from the orchid family.
2. Vanilla is the 2nd most expensive spice after saffron.
3. Once the flowers bloom they live for 24 hours before wilting and falling to the ground.
4. Charles Marren, a Belgian biologist, discovered that vanilla can only be pollinated by the Melipona bee. They only live in Mexico.
5. Vines can grow up to 30 feet long.
6. Totonac Indians were the first to cultivate and use vanilla.
7. Vanilla used to be an additive for chocolate.
8. Queen Elizabeth I’s apothecary was the first to use vanilla as a flavoring on its own.
9. The first known vanilla recipe is in Hanna Glasse’s The Art of Cookery, printed in 1805
References:
National Geographic's The History of Vanilla
Huffington Post's . . . Where Vanilla Comes From
About the Author: Carey McComas is a baking enthusiast and guest blogger. She is currently a student at the University of Utah. In her own time she dabbles in short narrative pieces and poetry. She does the bulk of her online work insocial media marketing.
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