While many of us cakes likes vanilla flavour cakes that are perfect for celebrating birthdays and other special occasions.

Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily obtained from pods.

Do you know that vanilla is the second-most-expensive spice, after saffron?

Producing vanilla is a labour-intensive chore as the plant has to be pollinated by either hummingbirds or bees native to Central America. As the flowers are open only for a short time, in order to harvest vanilla commercially, they are hand-pollinated.

credit: Times of India