GuysBlog

According to Patricia Rains, the Vanilla Queen

At this moment, less than one percent of all the vanilla flavored and
scented products in the world contain pure vanilla. We are currently
balanced on the threshold of losing pure vanilla forever!

and

If you look at the ingredients on a container of many vanilla or
“vanilla bean” ice creams in the U.S., you will notice that it says
“natural flavor” on the package. While this may not sound suspicious,
“natural flavor” actually means vanillin made from plant substances
such as beets and paper pulp (conifers contain vanillin, which is why
Ponderosa pines smell somewhat vanilla-like). In fact, many premium ice
creams contain no pure vanilla at all. It is flavored with chemical
vanillin and has flecks of flavorless “exhausted” vanilla beans (left
over from the extraction process) added for appearance. For this, we’re
paying a premium price.

There was a shortage between 1999 and 2004, coupled with weather problems and political unrest in the areas from which we get vanilla.  It is not a domesticated crop, and is very labor-intensive to produce and harvest. Because of the shortage, companies found cheaper alternatives.  That drove the demand for pure vanilla lower, and now that some of the problems are behind us, the farmers cannot command the prices they were able to before 1999 and are abandoning the production of vanilla. 

At this time, tons of vanilla, worldwide, are going unsold. Why?
Because there isn’t a market for the beans. Historically, the frozen
dessert industry has been the largest buyer of vanilla. Because they
are now using synthetics, the pure vanilla is sitting in warehouses
around the world.

In 1998, 2300 metric tons of vanilla beans were used worldwide. In 2004, it was 1200 tons and dropping!

So, read your labels and at least shop intentionally.  Better yet, contact the manufacturers and push them for real vanilla.  Thanks to Accidental Hedonist for the tip.

My wife and two of her high school classmates decided in September that they need to orchestrate a 40-year reunion for the Covina High School class of 1968.  Their first step? A website.  But who gets to do that website?  hah.  So now, besides the websites for our church, my own graduating class, and my wife’s learning center, I have the new one to at least erect.  I find myself scanning almost 400 headshots from the yearbook. At least, I’m expanding my skills with CSS….

In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right.

[Not only journalism, but technical communication, I’d say.]

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.

Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can’t even describe, aren’t even aware of.

Ellen Goodman
[brought to my attention through Quotes of the Day]