Vanilla Grape

Vanilla planifolia traditionally grew wild around the Gulf of Mexico from Tampico around to the northeast tip of South America, and from Colima to Ecuador on the Pacific side, as well as throughout the Caribbean. The Totonac people, who live along the eastern coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, were among the first people to domesticate vanilla, cultivated on farms since at least 1185. The Totonac used vanilla as a fragrance in temples and as a good-luck charm in amulets, as well as flavoring for food and beverages. The cultivation of vanilla was a low-profile affair, as few people from outside these regions knew of it. Although the Totonacs are the most famously associated with human use of vanilla, it is speculated that the Olmecs, who also lived in the regions of wild vanilla growth thousands of years earlier, were one of the first people to use wild vanilla in cuisine.