Vanilla: Travels in Search of the Ice Cream Orchid

I love a good cultural history and this book did not disappoint. Eminently readable and full of fascinating facts. I highly recommend this book.

This author attacks the history of vanilla like a seasoned investigative reporter. Vanilla is produced in humid climates (it likes moist heat) such as Seychelles, Mauritius, Mexico, and Madagascar. Those who grow it, buy it, and sell it sort of live in a secret society. In many cases I felt like the author was describing the inside workings of a drug cartel. Chapter 12 about ice cream and perfume was my favorite chapter because it summed up vanilla's history and use.I purchased this book on a whim at "bookoutlet" because I love vanilla. Although I did find the story a bit flat sometimes, I enjoyed living vicariously through him in his "search of the ice cream orchid."

I became obsessed with vanilla orchids and love this book. Recommended.

This was a most interesting history of vanilla production and development. The author did an excellent job.

Great history and general information, but I had hoped for more information on growing the plants.

First of all, a bit of a disclaimer: i adore history books that look at a culture or a time period through the lense of one thing. They add a focus and a storyline to what could otherwise be a confusing jumble of dates and names. This is one of those books, so i started out well disposed.This book follows Vanilla from the boring every day foods we take for granted, through the worlds of haute cuisine, and into international finance, banditry, murder.. and questions of fair trade and historical treaties. You may never look at an item with Vanilla (or its artificial substitute, Vanillin) the same way again. It is, after all, in everything from ice cream (obviously) to your diet cola (really?) and the price fluctuations of Vanilla concern multi national concerns in ways you would not anticipate.Like many books of this genre it can be a bit dense reading, and sometimes the jumps of place/time/culture can be a bit hard to follow, but all in all its fairly well organized. The problem of course is that the TRADE in vanilla jumps all over, crossing the same places and people over and over again, and this is just naturally a bit puzzling. I learned a lot about varieties of vanilla, why one is better in specific use than another... and how they are grown.This book would be useful as a reference to any cooks, but especially to any bakers. Its obviously great for the history buffs, but it ALSO has a great interest n anyone researching how our food is grown/produced and the history of the slave trade.Since almost all of us consume vanilla or its artificial substitute DAILY i suspect this book will be more interesting to most people than some of the other ones i liked, such as "Cod" or "The Big Oyster" or "Orchid Fever". If you like this one i suggest trying "a History of the World in 6 glasses" and "Salt, a world History" next.

I was surprised. I thought it would be more serious and just facts. It was entertaining, exciting and fun! Did not expect that about a spice.

"Vanilla is the most labour-intensive agricultural product in the world." ~ pg. 2What 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. 157If 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

Fantastic book! Thank you!

An excellent guide into the history, cultivation, processing and global market of the world's 2nd most expensive spice. Ecott is a talented storyteller, effortlessly drawing the reader into this fascinating chronology of the world's most popular spice.Will greatly interest foodies, history buffs, orchid lovers and those who appreciate a good tale. You won't be buying fake vanilla extract after reading this!

the book was exactly the shape the seller said it was! Thanks for being an upfront, honest seller!