Vanilla

= __** ﻿ Plant Name: Vanilla **__ = Very impressive so far! __ **Domestication**: __
 * Central America
 * 14th Century AD
 * Domesticated by the Maya
 * Maya word for vanilla is zizbic
 * Most commercial vanilla comes from a plant called V. Planifolia



=__ **Biology:** __=
 * Second most expensive spice available after Saffron.
 * Curing process takes 6 to 9 months.
 * The part of the plant that we use is the seeds.
 * Grows to a height of 10 to 15 meters
 * In Central America and Mexico hummingbirds pollinate the plant.

= __**Human/Plant relationship**:__ =
 * The Aztecs and a Maya used vanilla to flavor chocolate drinks.
 * Today vanilla bean is used to flavor food and beverages
 * The dairy industry uses the largest amount of vanilla
 * Because of the high demand for vanilla, imitation vanilla is often used.

= __Reflection:__ = I learned that real vanilla is very expensive. I also learned that people have been using vanilla for thousands of years, and that it is used for the same purpose of flavouring food as it was back then. I learned that most of the time people use imitation vanilla because of the high cost. Something else that I learned was that it takes very long to make the vanilla that we use. Vanilla is something that we take for granted today, but it is a luxury that we do not need in order to survive.

[] [] [] []