Jessica Badalana

You know, I don't want to co-opt this whole episode to talk about vanillin.

Let's just call it Felicia.

From King Arthur Baking Company, this is Things Bakers Know.

I'm Jessica Badalana, King Arthur's staff editor.

And today we're talking about vanilla.

Vanilla.

You know, it's kind of funny because somewhere along the line, vanilla became a descriptor for, like, a really basic, super boring, kind of ordinary thing or person.

No, of course not.

It's actually one of the most fascinating—

I love it.

Yeah, we're just reimagining.

So before we get into talking about the flavor of vanilla, I think we need to talk about what vanilla is.

The dynamic is really starting to evolve.

So vanilla is the seed pod of a vanilla orchid.

I mean, if you've ever seen a vanilla bean, you're like, yeah, that tracks.

It looks like a withered seed pod.

And these orchids are, you know, they're a fair weather plant.

They only grow in like a really narrow band around the equator.

So, or in, you know, in a greenhouse, right?

But really their like home base is, you know, right around the equator, including Madagascar, where half of the world's vanilla is produced, which is kind of crazy because Madagascar,