The 5 Most Important Rainforest Products We Use Every Day

The rainforest is a vital part of our ecosystem. It is estimated that 40% - 70% of all the world’s living species live in the rainforest and millions of species are still waiting to be discovered. As well as providing a home to all these creatures, the rainforest also provides lots of important products to humans. Read on to discover just a few of these rainforest bounties.

Cocoa beans were so highly valued that they were used as money until the 1800s.

Chocolate

Who could imagine their life without chocolate?! It comes from cacao beans from the cacao plant in the rainforest. The cacao beans are then roasted to bring out their sweetness and become cocoa beans, which are ground into a powder and used in many food products today!

The Aztecs and Mayans first created “xocoatl”, a hot chocolate drink often mixed with vanilla or chilli peppers. Cocoa beans were so highly valued that they were used as money until the 1800s. Ecuador was once the primary producer of cocoa, but today, about 80% is grown in the West African nations of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. From then it was developed and experimented with, but did not reach its solid state so familiar today until 1847: Confectioner, Joseph Fry, used cacao powder, cacao butter, and sugar to create the first chocolate bar we recognise today. Dark chocolate was then joined by milk chocolate in 1875, when Daniel Peter added Henri Nestlé’s new powdered milk to the mix.

 In the 14th century, ginger cost about the same amount as a live sheep or piece of livestock

Ginger

You may have had ginger beer, biscuits or cake before, but ginger comes from the rainforest. The ginger used in everyday cooking is from the root of the plant, which is grated to get ginger and is used in many dishes.

5,000 years ago, it was used as medicine in India and ancient China, believed to treat digestive issues and act as pain relief. Many years later, it became a popular spice in Rome! Today, ginger is easily accessible in supermarkets and shops, but in the 14th century, it cost about the same amount as a live sheep or piece of livestock!

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world due to how labour-intensive it is to produce.

Vanilla

Vanilla comes from the pods of the vanilla orchid! It is the second most expensive spice in the world, behind saffron, due to how labour-intensive it is to produce.

Vanilla grows on either side of the equator and is native to the Americas. The vanilla you know best, traditionally, grew wild in Mexico to the northeast tip of South America and the Caribbean. The Totonaca people of the Gulf coast of Mexico were probably the first to domesticate vanilla. They continue to cultivate the fruit that they consider was given to them by the gods. Vanilla is a sacred and very important part of their culture and their lives.

Vanilla first left Mexico in the early 1500s on ships bound for Spain. It was originally believed only to have value as a perfume. It wasn’t until Cortés arrived in 1519 that they discovered that it could also be used as a flavour. Until the late 19th century, Mexico had the monopoly on growing vanilla, but now Madagascar grows the majority of the world’s vanilla crops.

People were using cinnamon on their food at least as early as 2000 BC.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon comes originally from Sri Lanka. It is made from the inner bark of various Cinnamomum tree species, particularly the Cinnamomum verum (Ceylon or True Cinnamon). It also grows wild all over China and other parts of East Asia. We know that people were using cinnamon on their food at least as early as 2000 BC in Old Kingdom Egypt. Cooks valued cinnamon because it helps to preserve food and keep it

from going bad.

Madagascan Periwinkle can help those dealing with leukaemia.

Medicine

Medicines that we take for granted every day come from rainforests. Many plants in the rainforest have medicinal properties. The Madagascan Periwinkle, for example, comes from the Rainforest in Madagascar and is used in some very important medicines. It helps people dealing with Leukaemia, Hodgkin’s disease, and has also been seen to have properties which help fight infections and cancer. The bark of the Cinchona tree helps to fight Malaria. These are just a few of the many plants that provide vital medicine to us. Poorer families living near rainforests rely on these plants for medicines.

Interested in learning more? Get in touch to book one of our rainforest-focussed workshops.