Ben & Jerry's - Vanilla

Vanilla - Vanilla Ice Cream

Today, the adjective vanilla has become synonymous with 'plain', 'basic', 'unmodified', but the spice is a lot more exotic than I expected.  Vanilla comes from the fruit of a Mexican orchid which blooms for only one day.   Cultivating the vanilla plant is a very labor intensive process so vanilla is actually the second most expensive spice (after saffron).  The fruit is known as a vanilla bean but it is not like a vegetable bean, it is a long dried pod which contains the seeds.  This is where the flavor comes from.  Vanilla is also valued for its pleasant smell which is I suppose unsurprising given its flowery origins.

Brought back to Europe by the Spanish following the conquest of Mexico, vanilla was first used only as a secondary flavor (it was a common additive to chocolate, another Mexican import).  By the 19th century it started to be used as its own flavor -- especially in desserts.  It was around this time that it became a popular ice cream flavor.  Unlike other ice cream flavors such as chocolate or strawberry where the flavor dominates every spoonful, vanilla is much more subtly added.  You notice the smell the most but the flavor is more of an accent and does not distract from the flavors of the milk and cream.  By the 20th century, the vanilla ice cream flavor became so common that it did become the default flavor.  Plain ice cream without vanilla almost completely vanished for quite a while, although it is making a comeback these days as the "sweet cream" flavor.

Opening the pint, I see the white of vanilla with little black spots visible on top.  I checked the label on the carton and indeed some vanilla bean is included in the pint.  Digging into the pint, it tasted like vanilla.  The bean specks seemed less common in the middle of the pint.  I didn't notice the beans contributing extra flavor -- they just looked cool on the top.  Eating this pint, I stopped to savor a few spoonfuls to see if there was something extra that Ben & Jerry's was providing here.  Nope.  I noticed the milk, cream & sugar.

There was certainly nothing bad about this pint, but nothing stood out either.  Ben & Jerry's is more known for their add-ins and there was no add-ins here.  A true Ben & Jerry's style vanilla would have a swirl of crushed vanilla wafers or something.  With this pint, I felt like I was supposed to eat it with a slice of pie or add chocolate syrup.  But can you get just vanilla from Ben & Jerry's?  Yes you can.