NO
Orchid
I don't think you could caterogize this as a spice, but the orchid produces vanilla bean.
The vanilla bean is the seed of an orchid.
1 is vanilla bean
Vanilla is found in a seed (of the vanilla orchid) called a vanilla bean. The flavor is extracted from the bean by soaking it in alcohol. The vanilla bean is solid, the flavoring- vanilla extract, is a liquid.
Vanilla is derived from the pod of a certain variety of orchid, and this pod is called a vanilla bean. To make vanilla you have to soak vanilla beans in vodka to extract the flavor. So no, usable vanilla is never a solid.
Vanilla beans are the seed pods of a type of orchid. The tiny little specks in foods that use vanilla bean as a flavoring are the individual seed from inside the pod.
Vanilla grows as a vine and produces few flowers, one flower produces one fruit which is a seed pod from which the flavour is obtained
Vanilla is derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla (making it the only fruit bearing member of the orchid family) which was originally native to Mexico.Vanilla planifola, Vanilla tahensis, and Vanilla pompona are the three major variants and are grown around the world in Madagascar, Reunion, etc (Bourbon Islands), Tahiti & other South Pacific Islands, and Central/South America, respectivelyVanilla plant!
Yes, anything that is part of a fruiting body (it is a seed pod) is considered a fruit. It is a legume fruit. Vanilla pods are the ovary of an Orchid, this makes them botanically fruits. (Orchids are not legumes but the terms pod and bean are used for both legumes and vanilla thus causing confusion.) In cooking vanilla is a spice. The definition of the term "fruit" is somewhat different in cooking and botany.
There are purple beans but the vanilla bean is brown.
Vanilla extract can be used in place of vanilla bean paste. The equivalent of 1 tablespoon of paste is 1 tbsp. extract.