However, their attempts were unsuccessful because the natural pollinators of vanilla, the species of bees and hummingbirds native to Mexico, were missing. The French, in turn, brought them to tropical regions, to their Réunion colony, to make them a plantation plant. However, it was only around 100 years later, at the beginning of the 17th century, that the English came up with the idea of researching the cultivation of vanilla with live, exported plants in order to make production more economical. It achieved enormous economic value, so the Spaniards put their exports under the death penalty. For a long time, the Spaniards had a monopoly on vanilla. It became a fashion spice in the royal and royal houses. In addition to important crops such as potatoes, tomatoes and pumpkins, they also brought vanilla to Europe in considerable quantities.Īnd there it became popular, traders sold it at high prices to rich and noble. Although the Aztecs tried to keep vanilla as their culinary secret, they discovered the Spaniards on their colonial trains at the beginning of the 16th century. At that time, the consumption of this noble plant was reserved for kings and it should be a long time before vanilla became a spice for everyone. The spice vanilla known to us, Vanilla planifolia, is a Mexican climbing plant that the ancient Aztecs already knew as a tasty spice plant under the name black flower "Tlilchoxchitl". The most famous variety, the spice vanilla Vanilla planifolia, has been popular for centuries because of its aromatic vanilla pods, but orchid lovers also love it as a special piece of jewelry for the living room.įrom the jungle to the kitchen - the wild jungle inhabitant becomes a valuable spice They grow creeping or climbing, on trees (epiphytic), on rocks (lithophytic) or in the ground (terrestrial) and their shoots become a few centimeters or even several meters long. They are common in the tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific Islands as well as the American, African and Asian continents, although most were originally from South America. The genus Vanilla belongs to the orchid family, botanists now know 113 species belonging to this genus. She found her way from Mexico to Europe and back to the tropics until she became at home all over the world. ![]() ![]() ![]() Vanilla is as established in our kitchen today as cinnamon and sugar.
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