Beaver what?!?

Just in time for the summer weather, ice cream shops like Kelowna's Moo-Lix are gearing up for the busy season.

But, as luck would have it, the price of one of the most common ingredients is skyrocketing.

The cost of vanilla has been rising for years, but now but owner Lionel St Pierre says it has jumped from $200 a gallon to $700.

"I'm just buying up as much as I can – in fact, I'm on a vanilla hunt today," he said.

Wholesale prices in Canada have jumped from $20 US per kilogram five years ago, to $850 per kilo today.

One of the reasons is that consumers are demanding natural ingredients, and one of the top producers, Madagascar, was hit by a cyclone last March, destroying much of its output.

St Pierre says his shop doesn't use artificial vanilla – and he doesn't intend to start.

"Artificial just doesn't have that same smell and taste."

Fun fact – one of the various artificial vanilla flavours out there actually comes from beavers. According to Wikipedia, castoreum is the yellowish secretion of the castor's (beaver) anal sac.

"I have never heard that," says St Pierre, so it goes without saying that he doesn't use it in his products.

St Pierre says even though vanilla isn't the most popular item on his menu, he has no intention of taking it off.

"At some point, I may have to do something. But I really don't want to pass the cost on to the consumer."