Forget Plain Vanilla: You'll Never See The World's Favorite Flavor the Same Way Again

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Science, Food, History, Arts

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, 'vanilla' often means boring, and yet the edible seedpod of this Central American orchid is one of the most expensive spices in the world, not to mention one of the most popular flavors globally. So how did this coveted bean get such a ho-hum reputation? Listen in this episode as Gastropod travels to vanilla's homeland in the highlands of Veracruz, Mexico, to investigate. It's a tale of botanical piracy, beaver butts, and ice-cream barges, in which an ingenious enslaved tween and the product of pulp paper waste combine to transform vanilla from a complex and sophisticated elite treat into the single-note synonym for dull. Plus, we meet the thrilling alternative vanillas we're all missing out on, and serve up the recipe for a vanilla tasting party that's guaranteed to make you fall back in love with the world's favorite flavor. You'll never see vanilla as plain again! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I like vanilla. I'm boring. I like very plain things.
0:06.0	That's perfect.
0:07.0	Your life isn't that simple, Andre. And maybe that's what you couldn't handle.
0:10.0	Maybe that's why you ran off to someone so basic. She makes vanilla seem spicy.
0:14.0	You think vanilla is dull?
0:16.0	I think vanilla's playing a little bit safe.
0:19.0	You know that I love you.
0:22.3	Mm-hmm.
0:23.8	I know that you love me too.
0:31.1	But we both know that our marriage was kind of little vanilla.
0:35.1	Vanilla just can't get a break, huh?
0:37.3	Anything boring or bland or basic. It's all just plain vanilla.
0:39.4	And yet, vanilla is one of the most popular flavors in the world. It's the most popular
0:44.8	flavor for ice cream. It's clearly beloved. So what gives?
0:49.5	That's just what we're going to find out this episode. This is, indeed, Gastropod, the podcast
0:53.7	that looks at food through the lens of science and history. I'm Cynthia Graber. And I'm Nicola Twilly,
0:58.0	and this episode, we've got the story of how one of the world's most expensive and rare
1:03.4	spices became utterly ubiquitous. And how we might be missing out on some of vanilla's
1:09.0	most exciting flavors as a result.
1:11.5	This episode was supported in part by the Alfred Peace Loan Foundation for the public understanding
1:15.5	of science, technology, and economics.
1:17.4	Gastropod is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network in partnership with Eater.
	...

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