Homemade Vanilla Extract, Day 1
I love the taste of vanilla, the scent of vanilla candles, vanilla is so wonderful. Last December, I stumbled on The Italian Dish blog. I don’t remember how I found it, but am so glad I did. I found a Elaine’s recipe/tutorial on making Homemade Vanilla Extract.
I couldn’t believe just how simple it is. Two ingredients… and 6-8 weeks and that’s it!
Elaine recommended a couple of places to buy bottles. I ordered 25 4-ounce clear Boston round bottles with lids from Specialty Bottle Company for 67 cents each for a whopping $16.97, shipping was almost as much, but for a total of $27.71 (we don’t have sales tax in Oregon) I was very happy. They’re from Seattle so they didn’t take long to get here. Shipping was nearly immediate. I was VERY impressed and completely recommend buying from them. I didn’t have buy 25 bottles, but wanted to have extras just in case.
Elaine also recommended Beanilla for the beans but every time I tried to pay with PayPal I got an error message so I gave up. I didn’t want to take the time to call and place my order. It was frustrating because they have so many different varieties of vanilla and I wanted to order a sampler… just to see (taste) the differences. I may try again, but for now I picked up some Nielsen Massey whole vanilla beans around town at a fairly reasonable price.
As I mentioned, it takes 6-8 weeks for the vanilla extract to be ready, so I thought I would chronicle the progress. Yeah, it’s a long process, but I’m curious how it will progress.
So without further delay, let’s get started…
Cast of Characters: Whole Vanilla Beans, unflavored Vodka and bottles with lids.
Here are the 4-ounce clear Boston round bottles I ordered.
Wash them and let them dry (now that sounds kind of funny given they’re going to have liquid in them, but I didn’t want to have water in the bottles when I started).
Cut your whole vanilla beans in half.
Slice them down the middle to expose the tiny vanilla caviar (this caviar isn’t fishy 😉 ). Do not scrap the caviar out, just leave it exposed.
Place 2-4 vanilla pieces in the jar – I put 3 pieces (1 and a half beans).
Using a funnel, pour the vodka into the jar and cover the beans.
Screw a lid on tightly and Ta-Da! You’re done.
Elaine says that as you use it you can add more vodka and it lasts “practically forever”. As the flavor starts to fade, add a couple more vanilla beans and you’re set to never run out of vanilla extract again. Can I hear a YIPPPEEEE! 😀
I ran out of vodka, so I only got two bottles done tonight. Am hitting the liquor store after work to get more and then I’ll finish all the rest.
I plan on taking pictures each week so I can see how it progresses. Be sure to come back and see for yourself.
Have you ever made Homemade Vanilla Extract?
I can’t believe it’s that easy! I’m excited to see how it turns out!
I know. I was stunned at how easy it is. Even after 12 hours I could already see a difference.
I actually started mine last Monday (the 17th)
Cool. How many beans did you use per bottle and how big were your bottles? (Oh crap… did I miss that post on your blog… sorry if I did… now off to find out.)
Yes, BUT I didn’t know about splitting the beans, so Thank You!
Yes, BUT I didn’t know about splitting the beans. Thank You!
Glad to help!
The fact that it has vodka in makes it worth the wait! Never knew that’s how it was made.
Yeah, no kidding!
One bottle of vodka for two little bottles?! Boozehound!
Nooo, Silly! I was low on vodka and had to buy more (1.75L).