Vanilla

spice · orchid · tropical

Comes from orchids. Vanilla isn't just a flavor, it's actually a spice made from the long seed pods of orchid plants. The orchids that make vanilla originally grew wild in Mexico and Central America.

Why so expensive?. Vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world because the orchid flowers only bloom for one day a year. Someone has to hand-pollinate each flower by hand, which takes a lot of work.

Tiny seeds inside. If you've ever seen vanilla ice cream with black specks, those are the thousands of tiny seeds from inside the vanilla pod. The whole pod gets scraped to get all those flavorful seeds out.

Grows in warm places. Vanilla orchids need hot, humid weather to grow, so today they're grown mostly on tropical islands like Madagascar and Tahiti. The beans have to be dried and cured for months before they're ready to use.

Flavors everything. Vanilla is used in way more than just ice cream. Bakers use it in cakes, cookies, and puddings, and it even goes into some perfumes and medicines.