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Gastropod

Forget Plain Vanilla: You'll Never See The World's Favorite Flavor the Same Way Again

12/2/202551 min

Today, 'vanilla' often means boring, and yet the edible seedpod of this Central American orchid is one of the most expensive spices in the world, not to mention one of the most popular flavors globally. So how did this coveted bean get such a ho-hum reputation? Listen in this episode as Gastropod travels to vanilla's homeland in the highlands of Veracruz, Mexico, to investigate. It's a tale of botanical piracy, beaver butts, and ice-cream barges, in which an ingenious enslaved tween and the product of pulp paper waste combine to transform vanilla from a complex and sophisticated elite treat...

Clips

Edmond Proves The Method
Two Centuries, Same Technique
Why Fake Vanilla Took Over
How Vanilla Became "Boring"
New Vanillas On The Horizon
The Nerve-Wracking Cure
Pompona In The Kitchen

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 00:03

    I like vanilla. I'm boring. I like very plain things. [laughs] Vanilla's perfect.

  2. Speaker 10:06

    Life isn't that simple, Andre, and maybe that's what you couldn't handle. Maybe that's why you ran off to someone so basic she makes vanilla seem spicy.

  3. Miguel Angel Lozano Rodriguez· Guest0:13

    You think vanilla is dull?

  4. Speaker 00:15

    I think vanilla's playing a little bit safe. You know that I love you.

  5. Miguel Angel Lozano Rodriguez· Guest0:20

    Mm-hmm.

  6. Speaker 00:22

    I know that you love me, too. [sighs] But we both know that our marriage is kinda a little vanilla.

  7. Cynthia Graber· Host0:31

    Vanilla just can't get a break, huh? Anything boring or bland or basic, it's all just plain vanilla.

  8. Nicola Twilley· Host0:39

    And yet vanilla is one of the most popular flavors in the world. It's the most popular flavor for ice cream. It's clearly beloved. So what gives?

  9. Cynthia Graber· Host0:49

    That's just what we're going to find out this episode. This is indeed Gastropod, the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history. I'm Cynthia Graber.

  10. Nicola Twilley· Host0:56

    And I'm Nicola Twilley, and this episode we've got the story of how one of the world's most expensive and rare spices became utterly ubiquitous.

  11. Cynthia Graber· Host1:06

    And how we might be missing out on some of vanilla's most exciting flavors as a result. This episode was supported in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the public understanding of science, technology, and economics. Gastropod is part of the Vox Media podcast network in partnership with Eater.

  12. Speaker 51:20

    Sometimes good business is about the things you don't do, like not paying annual fees,

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