Author Archives: deidredeanne

A journey to the remote Indian Ocean island reveals the story behind the fragrant, delicious, ubiquitous spice—and the enslaved youth who made it a commercial success Vanilla producer Bertrand Côme displays bound and dried vanilla beans for sale at his Réunion farm. The beans generally grow as long as 6 to 11 inches.William Daniels JayContinue reading “The Bittersweet Beginnings of Vanilla Cultivation Can Be Traced Back to the Far-Flung Isle of Réunion”

A century before LaCroix or Spindrift were refrigerator staples, factories in New York City were carbonating gallons and gallons of tap water each day Liza Weisstuch Seltzer is a high-pressure business. And you can see it—all 65 pounds per square inch of it—at the filling station at Brooklyn Seltzer Boys, New York’s last remaining seltzerContinue reading “The Effervescent History of Seltzer, From the Early Days of Home Delivery to Today’s Trendy Cans”