Homemade Vanilla Extract may sound complicated to make, but it’s so easy, you’ll wonder why you’ve never done it before.
I started making my own Vanilla Extract several years ago after I found out how simple it was to make, and just how much more cost effective it was. You can buy Vanilla Flavoring pretty cheap, but the last time I checked, the name brand Vanilla Extract would set you back about $5 for a tiny jar. $5 for a tiny jar of anything makes my eyebrows furrow and a confused look to appear on my face.
Why should I buy commercial made Vanilla Extract when I can make it at home? Why, indeed? I couldn’t come up with an answer to that question, so I turned the name brand stuff around, read the ingredients, then headed home to see what I could find out on the internet.
It turns out that you can use different bottles of liquor to make Vanilla Extract. You could use a cheap bottle of Vodka, or you could use a more expensive bottle of bourbon. I chose to go the cheaper bottle of Vodka route because I was trying to do this as inexpensive as possible but still produce a good bottle of Vanilla.
You can buy a higher-priced bottle of Vodka if you want to. The main Vanilla Beans used are Madagascar, Mexican, and Tahitian. Each kind of bean produces a difference in the taste of the homemade Vanilla. I used a bottle of Smirnoff and Madagascar beans I found on Amazon.
Once your beans come in and you’ve made the trip to the liquor store to get the alcohol, you are ready to get started. I’ve read some recipes that just put the beans in a jar and covered them with liquor. What I chose to do was to cut my Vanilla Beans open and then pour the Vodka into the jar over the beans so I could get as much of that Vanilla Bean goodness as possible.
The thing to remember is that if your beans are good sized beans, you’ll usually use 5 to 6 beans per 8 ounces of liquor. After you’ve added the beans and liquor enough to cover them, put the lid on, turn the jar upside down a few times, and put it in a cool, dry place. Once every few days, go turn that jar upside down a few times to shake things up, then put it back. Do this for at least two months, preferably longer. The longer you let it stay in that jar, the better it will be.
I leave my beans in the jar until I’ve used all the Vanilla. Recently, I learned I could let the beans dry out and put them in a container of sugar to make Vanilla flavored sugar. I mean, really, why have I not thought of that before?
Homemade Vanilla Extract makes a great gift and will last for a long time, you just need to remember to make it a few months ahead of time so it’s ready to be used when you gift it.
What about you? Have you ever tried homemade Vanilla Extract?