Vanilla: a far from ordinary history

2026-10-06 · 37 min · episode 2639 · 7 entities

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Feed author/publisher: Immediate
mentioned HistoryExtra company

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hosted by Immediate company

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Feed author/publisher: Immediate
hosted by HistoryExtra company

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Feed author/publisher: HistoryExtra

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mentioned History website

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discusses History website

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Vanilla: a far from ordinary history

Episode description as stored

It's now often used as an adjective for anything standard, plain, and borderline boring – but the history of vanilla is anything but. Eric T Jennings – whose book Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean is among the titles shortlisted for the 2026 Cundill History Prize – tells Matt Elton about the ways in which piracy, espionage and cut-throat capitalism have shaped its story. ------ GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Delve further into food history with our podcast series History's Greatest Dishes, in which Annie Gray and Emily Briffett discuss the stories behind pizza, blancmange and more. Like and subscribe now to catch up and get ready for season two: https://www.historyextra.com/podcast-series/historys-greatest-dishes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices