Vanilla, indigenous to Central America, is one of the most expensive flavorings, coming from the only orchid grown globally for its edible fruit. The once-rare spice, smuggled by pirates and subject to pervasive substitutes, became a potent symbol of the modern global village through colonization and trade rivalries. At the center of the story of vanilla is the discovery in the 1840s by an enslaved boy named Edmond Albius of a hand-pollination method that allowed vanilla to be cultivated outside its native Mexico. Eric Jennings will tell the surprising story of the journey of vanilla from its rarefied origins to global ubiquity.
Eric T. Jennings, author of Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean, is chair of the History Department and a fellow at Victoria College at the University of Toronto. He is the author of seven previous books, and he has held a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship.
6:30: Sign in to Zoom
6:40 Presentation followed by general Q & A
The program is free to members, although advance registration is required
RSVP through Eventbrite at https://historyofvanilla.eventbrite.com
Nonmembers and guests are invited for $10.
Reminders and a Zoom link will come from Eventbrite, once you register.