I just missed the part on Saffron.

One of the spices that received attention was Vanilla, particularly
Mexican Vanilla where the spice originated. I grew no where else.
And could grow no where else until artificial pollination was
invented.
(hand pollination)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla
{
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla,
primarily from the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (V.
planifolia). The word vanilla, derived from the diminutive of the
Spanish word vaina (vaina itself meaning sheath or pod), simply
translates as little pod.[1] Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples
cultivated the vine of the vanilla orchid, called tlilxochitl by the
Aztecs, and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with
introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.[2]

Initial attempts to cultivate vanilla outside Mexico and Central
America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between
the vanilla orchid and its natural pollinator, the local species of
Melipona bee. Pollination is required to set the fruit from which the
flavoring is derived. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François
Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of
artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially
unworkable and was not deployed commercially.[3] In 1841, Edmond
Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion
in the Indian Ocean, discovered the plant could be hand-pollinated.
Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant.[4]

Three major cultivars of vanilla currently are grown globally, all of
which derive from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including
parts of modern-day Mexico.[5] The various subspecies are Vanilla
planifolia (syn. V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other
tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; V. tahitensis, grown in the
South Pacific; and V. pompona, found in the West Indies, and Central
and South America.[6] The majority of the world's vanilla is the V.
planifolia variety, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the
former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is
produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern
Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia.[7][8] Leptotes bicolor is used in the
same way in South America.

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron,[9][10]
because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive.[10] Despite
the expense, vanilla is highly valued for its flavor, which author
Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices as "pure,
spicy, and delicate" and its complex floral aroma depicted as a
"peculiar bouquet".[11] As a result, vanilla is widely used in both
commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture and aromatherapy.
}

On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:33:06 -0700 (PDT), A Moose in Love
> wrote:

> One of the spices that received attention was Vanilla, particularly
> Mexican Vanilla where the spice originated. I grew no where else.
> And could grow no where else until artificial pollination was
> invented.
> (hand pollination)
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla

Yes, it's very labor intensive - unless you have some Mexican Melipona
around to do the work for you. Shows like that help us understand why
we pay so much for certain items! Do you remember what it was called?
Maybe I can find it online.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Mar 16, 1:38*pm, sf > wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:33:06 -0700 (PDT), A Moose in Love
>
> > wrote:
> > One of the spices that received attention was Vanilla, particularly
> > Mexican Vanilla where the spice originated. *I grew no where else.
> > And could grow no where else until artificial pollination was
> > invented.
> > (hand pollination)
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla
>
> Yes, it's very labor intensive - unless you have some Mexican Melipona
> around to do the work for you. *Shows like that help us understand why
> we pay so much for certain items! *Do you remember what it was called?
> Maybe I can find it online.
>

It was shown on a Canadian Network, specifically TV Ontario, at 8:00
PM on our time, New York time. I'll see if I can get more
specifics.


> --
> Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Mar 16, 1:38*pm, sf > wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:33:06 -0700 (PDT), A Moose in Love
>
> > wrote:
> > One of the spices that received attention was Vanilla, particularly
> > Mexican Vanilla where the spice originated. *I grew no where else.
> > And could grow no where else until artificial pollination was
> > invented.
> > (hand pollination)
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla
>
> Yes, it's very labor intensive - unless you have some Mexican Melipona
> around to do the work for you. *Shows like that help us understand why
> we pay so much for certain items! *Do you remember what it was called?
> Maybe I can find it online.
>
> --
> Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

Here it is; although it's in literature.:::
http://ww3.tvo.org/program/167733/the-spice-trail
And this episode :::
{
Kate's spice trail takes her from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco to
the plains of Spain as she uncovers the story of the world's most
expensive spice, saffron, before crossing the Atlantic to Mexico, in
search of vanilla, a spice discovered by the most famous Spanish
Conquistador Hernan Cortes In the Atlas Mountains, October is saffron
harvest month for the Berber people. Kate joins local saffron farmer
Ahmed and his family, to harvest their crop and visits a stunning
store house carved out into the mountainside. Worth thousands of
dollars a kilo, saffron is also known as red gold and inspires
countless imitations. In Spain Kate turns Sherlock as she joins a
blind tasting to sort out the genuine from the fakes and meets the man
who tests the DNA of saffron in order to make sure it's genuine. The
Berbers of Morocco took saffron to Spain in the Muslim conquest of the
8th century, and 800 years later it was an ambitious Spaniard that
brought us the next exotic taste - vanilla. It's a flavour so
widespread, that it has become the world's most popular ice cream
flavour. Kate journeys to Papantla the birthplace of vanilla to meet
the Totonac, the original guardians of the spice. She witnesses a
spectacular death defying fertility dance and meets the people
determined to keep Mexican vanilla alive in the face of massive
competition from other producers.
}

On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:09:20 -0700 (PDT), A Moose in Love
> wrote:

> On Mar 16, 1:38*pm, sf > wrote:
> > On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:33:06 -0700 (PDT), A Moose in Love
> >
> > > wrote:
> > > One of the spices that received attention was Vanilla, particularly
> > > Mexican Vanilla where the spice originated. *I grew no where else.
> > > And could grow no where else until artificial pollination was
> > > invented.
> > > (hand pollination)
> > >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla
> >
> > Yes, it's very labor intensive - unless you have some Mexican Melipona
> > around to do the work for you. *Shows like that help us understand why
> > we pay so much for certain items! *Do you remember what it was called?
> > Maybe I can find it online.
> >
> > --
> > Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
>
> Here it is; although it's in literature.:::
> http://ww3.tvo.org/program/167733/the-spice-trail
> And this episode :::
> {
> Kate's spice trail takes her from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco to
> the plains of Spain as she uncovers the story of the world's most
> expensive spice, saffron, before crossing the Atlantic to Mexico, in
> search of vanilla, a spice discovered by the most famous Spanish
> Conquistador Hernan Cortes In the Atlas Mountains, October is saffron
> harvest month for the Berber people. Kate joins local saffron farmer
> Ahmed and his family, to harvest their crop and visits a stunning
> store house carved out into the mountainside. Worth thousands of
> dollars a kilo, saffron is also known as red gold and inspires
> countless imitations. In Spain Kate turns Sherlock as she joins a
> blind tasting to sort out the genuine from the fakes and meets the man
> who tests the DNA of saffron in order to make sure it's genuine. The
> Berbers of Morocco took saffron to Spain in the Muslim conquest of the
> 8th century, and 800 years later it was an ambitious Spaniard that
> brought us the next exotic taste - vanilla. It's a flavour so
> widespread, that it has become the world's most popular ice cream
> flavour. Kate journeys to Papantla the birthplace of vanilla to meet
> the Totonac, the original guardians of the spice. She witnesses a
> spectacular death defying fertility dance and meets the people
> determined to keep Mexican vanilla alive in the face of massive
> competition from other producers.
> }

Thanks!

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:33:25 -0700, sf > wrote:

> >
> > Here it is; although it's in literature.:::
> > http://ww3.tvo.org/program/167733/the-spice-trail
>
> Thanks!

I think I found it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkWGPx2wLb0

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.