Natural ingredient or nostalgic taste? Competing authenticities in the Norwegian vanilla tastescape

Abstract

Vanillin has been the main source of vanilla flavoring in products such as vanilla sugar, sauce and ice cream throughout the twentieth century, and hence the authentic taste Norwegians associated with vanilla. However, over the last twenty years critics have pointed out that this taste is not made from the seeds of the vanilla plant, but is synthetic and industrially produced. In this article we explore the multiple modes of attribution of authenticity within the Norwegian vanilla tastescape. Here we distinguish between phenomenological and objectivist claims of authenticity, and explore how these modes are articulated in diverse domains: From the public sphere through authors, bloggers, and influencers as well as within product development and national and supranational regulatory bodies.

Keywords

• Authenticity
• taste
• tradition
• industrial food production
• vanilla
• vanillin