Vanilla
Travels in Search of the Luscious Substance
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
The story of our love affair with vanilla - the world's most versatile flavouring.
The locations read like the contents of an exotic holiday brochure: Tahiti, Madagascar, Reunion, Seychelles and the Gulf Coast of Mexico - all of them inextricably linked with the story of vanilla.
Vanilla is a botanical mystery - a uniquely sensual plant who's secret was unlocked by an African slave in 1841. Aristocrats, apothecaries and modern day tycoons have all chased 'The Luscious Substance' - and the wealth it brings. Endangered in the wild, vanilla is now more valuable than at any time in history - a value that places it at the centre of a secretive multimillion dollar trade for which men are being murdered.
Journalist Tim Ecott has sought out vanilla's rich history and in doing so has brought to life these faraway, fascinating, misunderstood places, unravelling the complex politics around vanilla growing, curing, and selling. Confirming the promise of his debut, Neutral Buoyancy, this is travel writing of the highest order.
'Fascinating, appealing and forthright. Ecott has hit the jackpot' Independent
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
There are more than 25,000 different species of orchids, but only one has agricultural as well as aesthetic value: the vanilla orchid. Its beans may be the planet's most valuable fruit, noteworthy since they're cultivated not for any particular nutritional value but simply for their flavor. Travel journalist Ecott traces vanilla's history from its Mexican origins. Mayan soldiers used to quaff vanilla-flavored drinks before battle, and once Cort s brought the bean back to Europe, Queen Elizabeth became hooked on vanilla pudding. Botanists couldn't figure out how to fertilize the plant outside its native soil, however, until 1841, when a slave in the French African colony of La R union showed his owner how to open the flower and press the right parts together. In a few decades, his discovery had made the island the largest producer of vanilla beans in the world. (Unfortunately, there are no maps to make this or other locations clear in readers' minds.) Ecott visits the island and its paltry memorial, along with several other outposts of the vanilla economy, from a Madagascar warehouse containing $100 million worth of beans to the California home of a self-styled "Vanilla Queen" who sells cookbooks. The transitions from historical background to contemporary travels work well enough, yet the story never quite makes the crucial jump from mildly interesting to riveting. 8-page insert, line drawings throughout.
