Vanilla Mochi Ice Cream: What is it?
*Vanilla Ice Cream
Sweet Glutinous Rice Flour
Sugar
Water
Where did at least one of it’s parts originate from?
Vanilla
-Vanilla was discovered from a flowering plant in the orchid family
-Originated from Central Mexico, in Totonacs.
Historical Significance?
-In Mexico, people believed vanilla was gifted to them by gods.
-First made not for food purposes but for religious and medicinal purposes.
People not only use it in food as flavouring but also used as fragrances in temples.
-They were highly valued.
-Madagascar has suffered many problem regarding the prices of vanilla. Many would steal the vanilla pods from the farmers,
-This crop is also very labor intensive and requires hand pollination. Has connection to slavery.
-Vanilla is quite expensive. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of the vanilla we taste regularly is from the actual vanilla pods, many products only use artificial flavouring.
“History of Vanilla.” The Vanilla Company. https://vanillaqueen.com/facts-about-vanilla/ (Accessed April 10, 2020). “The Bittersweet Story of Vanilla.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/bittersweet-story-vanilla-180962757/ (Accessed April 10, 2020). “The Epic, Sensational, Anything-But-Plain Story of Vanilla.” Thrillist. https://www.thrillist.com/culture/history-of-vanilla-the-secretly-insane-origin-of-vanilla (Accessed April 10, 2020). “The History of Vanilla.” David Vanille. https://www.davidvanille.com/en/page-21-history-of-vanilla (Accessed April 10, 2020).
An interesting intersection of two different colonial histories – Spanish and French!