Vanilla: Travels in Search of the Ice Cream Orchid

By Tim Ecott

Book Overview

From Papantla in Mexico-"the city that perfumed the world"-to the Indian Ocean islands, Vanilla traces the story of the vanilla plant and its secretive trade. From the golden cups of Aztec emperors to the ice-cream dishes of U.S. presidents, Vanilla has mystified and tantalized man for centuries. The only orchid that produces an agriculturally valuable crop, vanilla can mask unpleasant tastes and smells, but also makes pleasant tastes stronger, smoother, and longer lasting. Because it has over four hundred separate flavor components, choosing premium vanilla beans is as complex as judging the aroma and taste of fine wine. Vanilla finds its way into over half of all dessert products sold worldwide, as well as the finest perfumes, well-known brands of rum and vodka, and even Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Americans consume more vanilla than anyone else on Earth-a fact that has forced growers and traders to mount armed guard over their plants in the tropical jungle. The traders who travel the world in search of America's favorite flavor are a small and secretive elite. Vanilla is a globetrotting adventure that follows buccaneers, aristocrats, and gourmets, all in search of the ice cream orchid.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080214201X
• ISBN13: 9780802142016
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

An Exploration of the world of the Mexican Orchid

"Vanilla is the most labour-intensive agricultural product in the world." ~ pg. 2 What does a princess falling in love, rusting cargo boats, Queen Elixabeth I, the Aztecs, murder and Coca-Cola have in common. They are all part of the intriguing history of vanilla. This book has interesting facts, like how Indonesian vanilla is better to use when baking cookies. There is a description of a visit to an ice cream factory and descriptions of a complex curing process to produce the vanilla we use in baking. Tim Ecott meets with a reclusive botanist who is an expert on vanilla and paints a vivid portrait of the lives of people who work to bring the vanilla beans to the buyers. There is also information on how the scent of vanilla might help with weight loss. "Before the beans can be measured and bundled they need to go into drying boxes for another eight months, and all the while they are shrinking as they lose their original moisture, so that five or six kilograms of green beans will weigh just one kilogram when dried." ~ pg. 157 If you have any interest in the history of the Mexican vanilla orchid then this book might be one you'll love to read. You may also be interested in: Lotus Light Pure Essential Oils - Vanilla 1 oz - Fragrance Oils Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Lip Shine 12 Madagascar Vanilla Beans Vanilla Extract, Pure (Madagascar) 4fl.oz. Anne Willan: From My Chateau Kitchen- a recipe for infusing a pineapple with vanilla using vanilla beans ~The Rebecca Review

Lively, revealing, and enthusiastically recommended

Vanilla is one of the most popular flavoring spices in the world and is even a major ingredient in perfumes, paint and tires, but the story of vanilla is a botanical mystery that only a twelve-year-old African slave solved. Vanilla would not bear fruit outside of its Mexican origins, until the slave developed a process for cultivating it and turned it into a labor-intensive agricultural crop. Lively, revealing, and enthusiastically recommended reading, Tim Ecott's Vanilla: Travels In Search Of The Ice Cream Orchid, should not be missed by any kitchen cook, gourmet diner, or botanist.

Vanilla is anything but plain!

You might think that you would have to be interested in vanilla, cooking, or maybe Madagascar, or Mexico, or some of the other exotic locations visited in this book in order to enjoy it. If so, you are wrong. Vanilla does give enticing glimpses into these places, but this book has merits beyong the great travelogue it is. This book is many stories in one. It is a book of history; economy; theft; magic; and love. Mr. Ecott's writing is an exciting mixture of anecdote and explanation that has a pace more often found in well written fiction. His description of his meal in Tahiti will leave your mouth watering, and you will see the inside of the traders shacks, with Ecott so skillfully recounting the detail you will have to remind yourself it is his memory, and not your own. Add to that the fact that is a fascinating basic reference work for a subject horribly difficult to find information on, and you a have a real winner.