Vanilla

Considering its role in everything from custards and pies to cakes and cookies, vanilla might just be the MVP of the baking world. It appears in almost every ingredient list, but it’s also one of the most expensive ingredients in a baker’s pantry. Since its discovery around the 14th century, vanilla has been both elusive and highly coveted. Its rich, floral, and complementary nature gives depth to almost every recipe it’s added to. And although vanilla has become commonplace in baking, its origin is anything but ordinary.

The creeping vanilla vine originated in the tropical forests of Mesoamerica, with the pre-Columbian Maya being the first to use vanilla and the Totonac people being the first to cultivate it. For the Totonac people, vanilla beans were used for medicinal and religious purposes.. The Aztecs believed xocolatl to be a divine drink, capable of building immunity and fighting fatigue. Once the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, vanilla beans started showing up in Europe. Upon introduction to the European market in the 1520s, vanilla became a precious culinary commodity—but there was a problem. The vanilla grown in French and English botanical gardens wasn’t producing seeds. This would remain a mystery until 1836 when a Belgian horticulturist named Charles Morren discovered that vanilla’s natural pollinator, the Melipona bee, wasn’t native to Europe. Without those specific bees present, the vanilla plants were unable to properly develop and produce their sought-after seeds.