Vanilla

Vanilla
Vanilla planifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Liliopsida
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Tribe:	Vanilleae
Subtribe:	Vanillinae
Genus:	Vanilla

Vanilla is a spice and a flavoring. The plant it grows on is the orchid Vanilla, which is a vine.

The main species picked for vanilla is called Vanilla planifolia. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.^[1]

Today, most of the flavoring is done in chemical laboratories because real vanilla beans are expensive. The pure (man-made) form of the flavoring is known as 'vanillin'.

1. ↑ The Herb Society of Nashville. "The Life of Spice". The Herb Society of Nashville. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Following Montezuma's capture, one of Cortés' officers saw him drinking "chocolatl" (made of powdered cocoa beans and ground corn flavored with ground vanilla pods and honey). The Spanish tried this drink themselves and were so impressed by this new taste sensation that they took samples back to Spain.' and 'Actually it was vanilla rather than the chocolate that made a bigger hit and by 1700 the use of vanilla was spread over all of Europe. Mexico became the leading producer of vanilla for three centuries. – Excerpted from 'Spices of the World Cookbook' by McCormick and 'The Book of Spices' by Frederic Rosengarten, Jr