For the Aztecs, much like earlier Mesoamerican peoples before them, it is probable that vanilla was used to tame the otherwise bitter taste of cacao, as sugarcane was not harvested in these regions at the time and there were no other sweeteners available. The fruit was named tlilxochitl, or "black flower", because the matured fruit shrivels and turns a dark color shortly after being picked. Īztecs from the central highlands of Mexico invaded the Totonacs in 1427, developed a taste for the vanilla pods, and began using vanilla to flavor their foods and drinks, often mixing it with cocoa in a drink called " xocolatl" that later inspired modern hot chocolate. The cultivation of vanilla was a low-profile affair, as few people from outside these regions knew of it.Īlthough the Totonacs are the most famously associated with human use of vanilla, it is speculated that the Olmecs, who also lived in the regions of wild vanilla growth thousands of years earlier, were one of the first people to use wild vanilla in cuisine. The Totonac used vanilla as a fragrance in temples and as a good-luck charm in amulets, as well as flavoring for food and beverages. The Totonac people, who live along the eastern coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, were among the first people to domesticate vanilla, cultivated on farms since at least 1185. Vanilla planifolia traditionally grew wild around the Gulf of Mexico from Tampico around to the northeast tip of South America, and from Colima to Ecuador on the Pacific side, as well as throughout the Caribbean. 1580) and description of its use and properties written in the Nahuatl language Nevertheless, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume production, and aromatherapy, as only small amounts are needed to impart its signature flavor and aroma.ĭrawing of the Vanilla plant from the Florentine Codex (c. Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice (as measured in terms of average price by unit of weight) after saffron because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive. Madagascar's and Indonesia's cultivations produce two-thirds of the world's supply of vanilla. planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia. The majority of the world's vanilla is the V.
pompona, found in the West Indies, Central America, and South America. tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific and V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean V. Three major species of vanilla currently are grown globally, all of which derive from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern-day Mexico. By the end of the 20th century, Albius was considered the true discoverer. Noted French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand-pollinated. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant.
Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from which the vanilla spice is obtained. Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily obtained from pods of the species, flat-leaved vanilla ( V. planifolia).
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