From Publishers Weekly
Ever wonder how to tell mildew from crystallized essence on those vanilla beans in your cupboard? Ever hear about the 17th-century Jewish vanilla curers of Guyana? Need a recipe for Chipotle-Vanilla Salsa? Thanks to her extensive experience in the vanilla field (Rain's a vanilla broker, president of the Vanilla.COMpany, and author of The Vanilla Cookbook), Rain can discuss everything from the various international terms for the hand-pollination of vanilla flowers to the ethical issues raised by synthetic vanilla. In this surprisingly comprehensive survey, she takes readers through the history of vanilla production from Mexico to Indonesia, covering relatively obscure producers like the French island of Réunion, as well as Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands. While the vanilla orchid is sensuous and aesthetically pleasing, the story (as Rain presents it) of how various colonial powers subjugated indigenous producers to reap the profits from its cultivation is not as pretty. Rain leavens this sometimes depressing history with recipes, folkloric tales and personal vignettes. While few readers may want to drink even a modern adaptation of Aztec hot chocolate or prepare an Indonesian rice pudding with "black glutinous rice," pandan leaf and palm sugar syrup, Rain's advice on choosing and using vanilla in the home kitchen is quite useful. Photos, illus. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
As the author notes, it is very odd that the term vanilla has come to represent plainness and simplicity. It only shows how much we have learned to take for granted the rare and complex flavor and perfume of the seedpods of this highly prized orchid. Although the origins of vanilla are shrouded in pre-Columbian Mexican history, Cortes and his troops became aware of it and chocolate at nearly the same time and introduced Europeans to vanilla's savory and olfactory delights. Rain meticulously traces vanilla's history and manufacture in Mexico and follows its gradual transplantation to other tropical climes. Thanks to hybridization and continuing strong demand for vanilla, plantations have sprung up everywhere the fussy vanilla orchid can flourish and wherever there is sufficient hand labor to cultivate it. Country by country, Rain outlines the history of vanilla production, the economic impact of its processing, and the unique local characteristics of each area's vanilla. Illustrations supplement the text, and recipes appear in sidebars from both historic and contemporary sources. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From Book News, Inc.
In this detailed history of one of the world's most prized beans, Rain, an anthropologist, culinary historian and president of The Vanilla.COMpany, attempts to do for vanilla what has already been done for chocolate. Rain traces the cultivation, harvest and use of vanilla throughout world history and explores the impact of vanilla on food, medicine, psychology and politics. The text includes illustrations, reproductions of old advertisements and, best of all, many delicious sounding recipes from around the world.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Book Description
It has seduced kings and comforted millions. Part culinary history, part cultural commentary, Vanilla tells the remarkable story of the world's most popular flavor and scent.
The Spanish considered vanilla the ultimate aphrodisiac, the Totonac Indians called it the fruit of the gods, and the Aztecs taxed the Mayans in vanilla beans, using the beans as currency. Today, vanilla is in our coffee, our perfume, tea, home products, body lotion, and just about anything imaginable.
Patricia Rain explores the incredibly diverse effect of vanilla on the worlds of food, medicine, psychology, and even politics. She intertwines the fields of cultural anthropology, botany, folklore, and economics, tracing the marvelous path of vanilla throughout world history. Vanilla shows how the impact and marketing of this ubiquitous little bean over the last eight hundred years saved the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Tahiti, put Madagascar on the map, drove the success of the great Parisian perfume houses and Europe's confection industry, and spurred trade routes across the Indian Ocean. Rain examines the rich history of vanilla with exacting detail and discusses its current role in our lives and the modern retail world, where the "vanilla boom" has caused the prices of many common consumer items to skyrocket.
Filled with fascinating insights, quirky characters, trivia, and even recipes, this beautifully written book is perfect for vanilla lovers, history buffs, and anyone interested in a real-life captivating story.
About the Author
Patricia Rain is a culinary historian, lecturer, vanilla broker, consultant, and president of the Vanilla.Company. She is the author of The Vanilla Cookbook.
Vanilla: A Cultural History of the World's Favorite Flavor and Fragrance FROM THE PUBLISHER
It has seduced kings and comforted millions. Part culinary history, part cultural commentary, Vanilla tells the remarkable story of the world's most popular flavor and scent.
The Spanish considered vanilla the ultimate aphrodisiac, the Totonac Indians called it the fruit of the gods, and the Aztecs taxed the Mayans in vanilla beans, using the beans as currency. Today, vanilla is in our coffee, our perfume, tea, home products, body lotion, and just about anything imaginable.
Patricia Rain explores the incredibly diverse effect of vanilla on the worlds of food, medicine, psychology, and even politics. She intertwines the fields of cultural anthropology, botany, folklore, and economics, tracing the marvelous path of vanilla throughout world history. Vanilla shows how the impact and marketing of this ubiquitous little bean over the last eight hundred years saved the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Tahiti, put Madagascar on the map, drove the success of the great Parisian perfume houses and Europe's confection industry, and spurred trade routes across the Indian Ocean. Rain examines the rich history of vanilla with exacting detail and discusses its current role in our lives and the modern retail world, where the "vanilla boom" has caused the prices of many common consumer items to skyrocket.
Filled with fascinating insights, quirky characters, trivia, and even recipes, this beautifully written book is perfect for vanilla lovers, history buffs, and anyone interested in a real-life captivating story.
Author Biography: Patricia Rain is a culinary historian, lecturer, vanilla broker, consultant, and president of the Vanilla.Company (www.vanilla.com). She is the author of The Vanilla Cookbook.
SYNOPSIS
In this detailed history of one of the world's most prized beans, Rain, an anthropologist, culinary historian and president of The Vanilla.COMpany, attempts to do for vanilla what has already been done for chocolate. Rain traces the cultivation, harvest and use of vanilla throughout world history and explores the impact of vanilla on food, medicine, psychology and politics. The text includes illustrations, reproductions of old advertisements and, best of all, many delicious sounding recipes from around the world. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Ever wonder how to tell mildew from crystallized essence on those vanilla beans in your cupboard? Ever hear about the 17th-century Jewish vanilla curers of Guyana? Need a recipe for Chipotle-Vanilla Salsa? Thanks to her extensive experience in the vanilla field (Rain's a vanilla broker, president of the Vanilla.COMpany, and author of The Vanilla Cookbook), Rain can discuss everything from the various international terms for the hand-pollination of vanilla flowers to the ethical issues raised by synthetic vanilla. In this surprisingly comprehensive survey, she takes readers through the history of vanilla production from Mexico to Indonesia, covering relatively obscure producers like the French island of R union, as well as Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands. While the vanilla orchid is sensuous and aesthetically pleasing, the story (as Rain presents it) of how various colonial powers subjugated indigenous producers to reap the profits from its cultivation is not as pretty. Rain leavens this sometimes depressing history with recipes, folkloric tales and personal vignettes. While few readers may want to drink even a modern adaptation of Aztec hot chocolate or prepare an Indonesian rice pudding with "black glutinous rice," pandan leaf and palm sugar syrup, Rain's advice on choosing and using vanilla in the home kitchen is quite useful. Photos, illus. Agent, Judy Capodanno. (Nov.) FYI: This is the second book on vanilla in recent months, after Tim Ecott's Vanilla, which Grove published in June (Forecasts, May 3). Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Acknowledging but marveling at the fact that the term vanilla is commonly used today as an adjective equivalent to plain or ho-hum, this work traces the agricultural, botanical, culinary, and cultural history of the plant and flavor, vanilla. Certainly the tale satisfies anyone's taste for adventure, with ample power plays, riches gained and lost, botanical discoveries, and world travel. Rain (Vanilla Cookbook) leads readers through the dynamic story of vanilla, beginning in central Mexico and continuing across the world to such disparate places as Tahiti, the West Indies, and the United States. Thorough and lively, but possibly a bit too exhaustive in coverage for the casual reader, the text is punctuated with sidebars highlighting recipes both ancient and contemporary, short biographical accounts of key players, and additional details on related scientific, anthropological, and culinary topics. Interested parties may also want to consider Tim Ecott's Vanilla: Travels in Search of the Ice Cream Orchid. Appropriate for academic and public libraries, though possibly a bit narrow in focus for smaller collections.-Courtney Greene, DePaul Univ. Lib., Chicago, IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A keen encyclopedia of the aromatic plant's many aspects and applications, from vanilla broker, consultant, and all-around expert Rain. Yes, she's something of a nut on the subject, but a charming and erudite one-and vanilla is its own best advertisement, as she will readily admit. Its history, ably recounted here, is long and romantic, the seductive aroma of its flowers and bean the stuff of myth and legend, recounted in numerous sidebars to the main story of the plant's impact on civilization. Somehow, it's not surprising that the vanilla plant is an orchid, in fact the only edible one. It grew originally in the Americas, from Mexico to northern Nicaragua, though these days many of the choice beans come from Madagascar or Tahiti. It was an object of great veneration during the 16th-century days of spice-trade excitement, with the French leading the way by using it to flavor ice cream and sorbets, as well as perfumes. Later, it was used to skirt Prohibition, as its extract had a nice, high alcoholic content. Rain's approach is all business, though her subject softens all the edges with its erotic presence as she takes readers through the plant's sacramental history, its peregrinations as a colonial novelty, its presumed medicinal value (an alleged cure for everything from coughs to the plague), and the qualities of its terroir (like wine, vanilla differs depending on where it is grown). The author presents interesting medical findings: a simple whiff of vanilla is "very effective in increasing penile blood flow" in mature men, yet it also has a notable ability to calm. But vanilla is also a bother. It requires intensive labor, the places in which it thrives are often politically volatile(Indonesia, the South Pacific islands, Reunion, Madagascar, India, Uganda), and skyrocketing prices have made it the frequent target of thieves. Likely to remain the book on the topic for a long time. Agent: Philip Lief at the Philip Lief Group
Art & Photography
Book Info
