From which part of the orchid does vanilla pods come from?

They are the dried seed pods of the vanilla orchid.

From which part of the orchid does vanilla pods come from?
What is Vanilla?



Vanilla flavor comes from the fermented seed pods of the Vanilla plant, which is an orchid. The small dark specks that you see in real vanilla ice cream are the seeds. They are called beans due to their resemblance of green string-beans.



The Vanilla orchid grows as a vine, and can reach lengths of 100 feet. In cultivation it is grown much as is a bean-stalk, on a pole for support. There are around 50 species of Vanilla, but only three are used for flavoring. Vanilla planifolia (or V. fragrans) produces the best flavor. The vanilla does grow easily when cultivated indoors, but needs very bright light to bloom. Without the blooms, you will not get seed pods. There are several species of Vanilla available, including variegated forms.



The flowers must be hand pollinated, with an average worker pollinating 1000 to 2000 flowers a day. After 8 or 9 months, the nearly ripe fruits are harvested and dipped in hot water to stop further ripening. They are then sun-dried for a couple of hours during the day, and wrapped at night and allowed to "sweat". This is done until the beans are a shriveled and dark brown, and may take up to 5 months.



Vanilla extract is made by dissolving the essential flavor components in an alcohol-water mixture. The beans are chopped up and placed in the mixture for 48 hours between 60ˉF and 130ˉF. The liquid is then separated from the residue. Sugar is added to mellow the alcohol.



There is a definite difference in taste between pure vanilla extract and synthetic substitutes. This is especially noticeable in non-baked goods such as ice cream.



History of Vanilla



The Totonac tribe of Mexico is credited with being the first to use vanilla as a flavoring, possibly over a thousand years ago. The beans were later used as tribute to the Emperor of the Aztecs.
Reply:Vanilla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Encyclopedic article on Vanilla ... The main species harvested for vanillin is Vanilla planifolia. ... Vanilla grows as a vine, climbing up an existing tree, ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla - 59k - Cached
Reply:the seed pod