(Click on picture for up close image of vanilla seeds.)

No, it's tiny seeds from a vanilla bean. In Germany, it's considered a mark of quality to see little black specks in custard, ice cream or flans. In Spain, it's the opposite. Legend has it, they believe it's fly poop. The beauty of international marketing is to figure out differences in behavior in whole groups of people. For some countries, vanilla ice cream must be pure white, in others it should be yellow, and in others still it should have little specks. In the US we distinguish between vanilla (white) and French vanilla (yellow).

Vanilla seeds and ground vanilla bean, or pod, is much stronger for flavoring than vanilla extract or vanilla sugar. You can buy whole beans or vanilla paste all over the internet, by searching in your favorite search engine for vanilla bean or vanilla paste. They can be split open and warmed in milk for custard, or the tiny seeds can be scraped out and used in recipes, such as this apple cake with custard filling or this recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream.