Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Plain Vanilla or Exotic Chocolate


Plain Vanilla or Exotic Chocolate?

Flamboyant flavors are vigorously vended…
Dean: You have vanilla?
Mr Bishop: Ice cream? Sure, we’ve got plain vanilla. But can I interest you in something more exotic?
Dean: Chili chocolate?
Mr Bishop: Tame. Try a Bacon Dark, or a Cherry Rooibos Choco, a Smoke and Stout Dairy or a Black Salt Cacao.
Dean: Thanks. I’ll take plain vanilla.
(The Shakespeare Road Dairy, 2015)
________________
Voice-over
Poor vanilla. Disparagingly named “plain” vanilla when set alongside “exotic” chocolate flavors.

This is really ironical. Vanilla comes from orchids. Vanilla is “orchidaceously” exotic. There are more than 20,000 species. But there are only three main cultivars of cacao trees. Out of such diversity, drastic reduction develops. From such a restricted resource, diversity is marketed. Marketers can make silk purses from sow’s ears.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Plain Vanilla or Exotic Chocolat...No one talk to the beautiful flower..A very unique plant as it looks like the beautiful orchid. It doesn't look like the garden's flower. How many kind of Plain Vanillas in this planet? It's just like the flower in the rain, the more water it has, the more it looks significant. Awesome!

Barry Natusch said...

Different plants require different amounts of water. Of course, water lilies LIVE in water but other flowers such as dahlias, like water. On the other hand, cactuses can go a long time without a drink.