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Wine enriched with vanilla may have been popular among royals and high society in Jerusalem more than 2,500 years ago, suggest researchers in a new study.Researchers examining remnants of jars dating back to the kingdom of Judah found evidence that royal elites in Jerusalem may have been drinking wine ‘flavoured with vanilla’.It’s already known that wine has a long history in the region, and some studies suggest wines contained added spices or herbs.Yet researchers said they were surprised to find traces of vanillin in some of the ancient storage jars, which were excavated from debris caused by the Babylonian destruction...

Israeli-Grown Vanilla Aims To Disrupt The Industry September 22, 2021 zenger.news Business Comments Offon Israeli-Grown Vanilla Aims To Disrupt The Industry Vanilla is a paradox. One of the world’s most popular flavors is among the least studied. That’s why Oren Zilberman, CEO of the Israeli startup Vanilla Vida, sees the largely, uncharted territory of the great bean as a “blue ocean opportunity.” by TaboolaSponsored Links Could these gummies soothe your joint pain too? (Review) Health Alert “Our vision is to be the major producer of premium-quality vanilla,” Zilberman said. “We hope to take a 15 percent market share of the...

The legend says that vanilla was introduced to Europe by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who had seen the Aztec Emperor Montezuma drink his xocolatl (sort of a chocolate drink) with a bit of vanilla. The Mesoamerican flavoring gained massively in popularity in the 19th century, when botanists found a way to hand-pollinate it, which allowed for it to be grown around the world. Today, the vast majority of vanilla (some 60%-80%) comes from the African island of Madagascar, and it is the second most expensive spice (only behind saffron) in the world, mostly because it’s difficult to produce. However, at...

Most people enjoy a scoop of delicious ice cream. But did you know that the popular dessert used to contain anal secretions from beavers? If you think that’s stomach-turning, check out these other weird or even deadly ingredients found in common food products. Baguettes with a side of opium Just last March, shoppers in France were warned against purchasing bread that contained a dose of opium. Health officials were puzzled about the unexplained presence of the drugs in poppy seed baguettes and ready-made sandwiches made from poppy seed bread. Poppy seeds don’t usually contain opiates and government investigators posit that...

A 50-year-old Connecticut woman was arrested Wednesday for driving under the influence of vanilla extract. Police were called at 4:45 p.m. after a person reported a car stopped at a New Canaan intersection with the driver sitting behind the wheel with her eyes closed. Police identified the driver as Stefanie Warner-Grise. “Upon speaking with Warner-Grise, officers detected an odor of vanilla coming from her breath, her speech was slurred and she was unable to answer basic questions,” according to the arrest report. “In addition, several bottles of pure vanilla extract were located inside the vehicle.” After she failed sobriety tests,...

The mother of a mixed-race family is asking a popular ice cream manufacturer to change the name of one of its flavors to be more inclusive. Traci Schmidley says she is a mother of six and a foster mom to more. Some of her children are black and some are white. She says it was her 10-year-old son who first noticed the name of the ice cream, "The Great Divide." "The Great Divide" is half vanilla and half chocolate. The container has a line right down the middle dividing the off-white vanilla from the chocolate brown. When the family bought...

We're sorry in advance if we've just ruined your appetite. But, the rumors are true: There might be small amounts of beaver butt goo in some of our favorite gummy candies, ice creams, sodas and baked goods. Don't worry though, it's safe. For the past 80 years, we've been using the "brown slime" emitted from beavers as a way to add vanilla, strawberry and raspberry flavors to some of our favorite foods. How exactly does this work? Beavers emit the chemical compound castoreum from their castor sacs. The sacs are located under the animal's tail and are secreted when they...

Banish the phrase "plain vanilla" from your lexicon. Why? Because vanilla is one of the most complex spices around, boasting at least 250 different flavor and aroma compounds, only one of which is vanillin, the stuff that can be made artificially in a lab (and is used in a lot of processed foods). And as we discovered in a round-the-world tasting tour of single-origin vanilla beans — the real stuff — the plant has evolved distinctions in flavor and, dare we say it, terroir, at each stage of its turbulent, globetrotting history. You've likely heard of Madagascar Bourbon vanilla. It's...

Next time you pick up a vanilla candy, think twice. A chemical compound used in vanilla flavored foods and scents comes from the butt of a beaver. Castoreum comes from a beaver's castor sacs, located between the pelvis and base of the tail. Due to its proximity to the anal glands, the slimy brown substance is often mixed with gland secretions and urine. "I lift up the animal's tail," Joanne Crawford, a wildlife ecologist at Southern Illinois University told National Geographic. "I’m like, 'Get down there, and stick your nose near its bum.'" "People think I'm nuts," she added. "I...

Vanilla, Chocolate Top List of Favorite Ice Cream Flavors Thursday, July 14, 2011 When it comes to frozen treats, Americans prefer to keep it simple. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Adults who eat ice cream at least occasionally finds that 23% say vanilla is best, while the same number (23%) prefers chocolate. Nine percent (9%) like butter pecan the most, while strawberry and cookies and cream each earn eight percent (8%) of the vote. Six percent (6%) prefer mint chocolate chip, and another four percent (4%) choose coffee flavored ice cream. Seventeen percent (17%) prefer some other...

Known by the scientific name Vanilla tahitensis, Tahitian vanilla is found to exist only in cultivation; natural, wild populations of the orchid have never been encountered... "All the evidence points in the same direction," Lubinsky said. "Our DNA analysis corroborates what the historical sources say, namely, that vanilla was a trade item brought to Tahiti by French sailors in the mid-19th century. The French Admiral responsible for introducing vanilla to Tahiti, Alphonse Hamelin, used vanilla cuttings from the Philippines. The historical record tells us that vanilla – which isn't native to the Philippines – was previously introduced to the region...

"Anglea Dossett, left, talks with Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. about her husband who was killed in Iraq in 2004 at the Dairy Bar in Wapello, Iowa."

Japanese make gasoline, fragrance from cattle dung By Kozo Mizoguchi, The Associated Press TOKYO — Scientists in energy-poor Japan say they have found a new source of gasoline — cattle dung. Sakae Shibusawa, an agriculture engineering professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, said his team has successfully extracted 1.4 milliliters (0.042 ounces) of gasoline from every 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of cow dung by applying high pressure and heat. (Photo gallery: This week in science) "The new technology will be a boon for livestock breeders" to reduce the burden of disposing of large amounts of waste, Shibusawa...

Abbas: Gaza pullout due to "Palestinian Sacrifices."

On the phone with a friend at National Review who in turn just received a call saying that the whole area of the Empire State building and for several blocks around are cordoned off, and people are not allowed to enter the area. No forther details.

Several grocery stores have taken vanilla extract off the shelves to keep it from thieves who may crave it for the high alcohol content. "We kept finding bottles and boxes in the parking lot," said Bill Jones, manager of Boyer's Food Market in Berwick. Employees also found empty vanilla boxes inside the store, he said. At first, he thought the tiny bottles had at least been purchased before winding up on the asphalt, he said. But then one day a customer told him she couldn't find any vanilla. "That was strange," he said. "It had just come in." The customer...

Coca Cola the U.S. soft drink company, is secretly working on plans to launch a vanilla-flavoured version of its flagship coke drink.If the project goes ahead, the new drink -probably named Vanilla Coke-will be the biggest launch of a new Coca Cola product since the disastrous inroduction of New Coke 16 years ago. Coca Cola would not confirm or deny it was considering the launch, saying only 'we've got a number of things in development.' But the latest edition of Beverage Digest, a respected industry newsletter, will reach subscribers this week quoting one U.S. bottler as saying: 'It's over 90...