Did you know, artificial vanilla once came from beaver butts in the form of a secretion called castoreum…
Castoreum is secreted from the anal glands of beavers and is used to mark their territory.
Castoreum was once commonly used to mimic vanilla flavor in food, added to cigarettes, and used in perfumes.
Castoreum is rarely used today as a food flavoring. Instead, today’s vanilla is either lab-made or plant-based.
Learn more >> https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/does-vanilla-flavoring-actually-come-from-beaver-butts-180983288/
