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May 7, 2025

The Oldest Known Use of Vanilla Was in Ancient Israel

The kings of Judea used it to flavor their wine.

Until recently, there was general agreement among experts that the Totonac people of eastern Mexico first started cultivating the vanilla orchid for its flavorful beans around the 12th century CE—although the Olmecs likely used wild vanilla beans in their cuisine thousands of years previously. Thus archaeologists were surprised when analysis of ancient vessels revealed that the biblical kings of Jerusalem drank vanilla-flavored wine. They then made another discovery in the Canaanite city of Megiddo, writes Nathan Steinmeyer:

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