How it began
Vanilla planifolia is said to originate in Mexico, where its history is tied to the Totonacs and the Aztecs. The Totonac people, on the eastern coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, have cultivated vanilla on farms since at least 1185. It is speculated that the Olmecs, who lived where wild vanilla grew, used the wild plant far earlier. Aztecs from the central highlands conquered the Totonacs in 1427 and took up the pods as a flavoring, often mixed with cacao.
How it works
Vanilla is the cured seed pod of a climbing orchid. The plant cannot pollinate itself, and orchid bees of the genus Eulaema are among the few insects observed carrying its pollen. After harvest the pods are cured in four basic steps: killing, sweating, slow drying and conditioning. The work is labor-intensive, which makes vanilla the second most expensive spice by weight after saffron.
How it spread
Hernan Cortes is credited with introducing vanilla to Europe in the 1520s. Vines grew outside Mexico but would not fruit. In 1837 the Belgian botanist Charles Morren worked out artificial pollination, but his method was not commercially workable. In 1841 Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old enslaved boy on Reunion, found that the flower could be pollinated by hand with a sliver of bamboo, which allowed cultivation around the world. Until the middle of the 19th century Mexico was the chief producer of vanilla. By 1889 Mexican exports exceeded 70,000 kilograms, and Veracruz, especially the district of Papantla, was among the world's leading sources at the time.
Where it stands today
According to 2023 FAO data, Madagascar grows 42 percent of the world's raw vanilla and Indonesia 25 percent, followed by Mexico, Papua New Guinea and China. An estimated 95 percent of vanilla-flavored products use vanillin made from lignin instead of the fruit. Totonac farmers in Veracruz continue to grow vanilla and regard it as a source of pride.
