08/13/2020
We enjoy it in delicious deserts but their ancient origin and story are unknown to many.
Vanilla comes from an orchid specie native to Mexico and surrounding regions. This type of flower is characterized by its production of fruit in beans that we commonly know as vanilla today.
The name vanilla was assigned by the Spaniards however, the aboriginal people of Mexico the Totonacas called it Xahanat or the black flower and their pre-Hispanic uses in Mexico range from aromatizers, offerings and as medicine due to its antiseptic properties effective for treating certain bacterial infections.
Another popular use among the aboriginal people of Mexico was to flavour and sweeten their traditional chocolate drink (xocolatl) also native to the region.
When the Europeans took the plant abroad, they quickly realized that although it grew well and flowered, it never produced the fruit. This was due to the absence of a native bee specie from Mexico that was needed to pollinize the flowers.
Soon the Europeans applied an artificial way to complete pollination and before no time vanilla started to grow in many parts of the world.
