There's lots to know about Vanilla.  I'll concentrate on a fact or two, and save the rest for another time.  Vanilla pods (bean is a misnomer) come from a specific Orchid.  Vanilla is technically a fruit!  If you enjoyed this fun fact, subscribe to where it came from:  http://blog.lulasforlunch.com  !!  You'll get stuff like this about once a week.  - Lula