make your own vanilla extract

There was a time when I didn’t bake so much. And, I admit, I used to use imitation vanilla extract.  I didn’t even know you could make your own extract, and if I had, I probably would have put it in the category of making your own shoes.  You could, but why would you?

  Then I read about what they make imitation vanilla extract from.  It’s the run-off from the wood pulp in paper mills.  Then chemicals are added to make it taste like vanilla.  Yum! That’s just what I want in my cupcakes!  So I committed to only buying the real stuff, one tiny brown bottle at a time.  That got expensive quick.  And suddenly, making my own vanilla extract didn’t seem so ridiculous.

  As it turns out, it’s easy.  You just need the beans, some vodka, a glass jar, and a knife.  I use a mix of Tahitian and Madagascar beans, 2 each for a 6 ounce jar.  The Tahitian beans give it a floral quality, and the Madagascar beans add a rich, smoky note.  You can use any beans you like, and even less beans for a small jar.  I use a lot of beans because 1) I bought over a hundred of them on the internet and 2) it makes the extract strong and it steeps quick.

  All you need to do is slice your beans down the middle, leaving the ends intact.  Use your fingers to open them up.  Put them in your jar, add vodka(don’t use the Grey Goose in your freezer!  Go get the cheap stuff you drank in high school), close it up and shake!  That’s it!  Put the jar in a cabinet and give it a good shake every day.  You should be ready to bake in a week or two.  The longer it steeps, the better it gets.  When the jar gets about half empty, refill it with more vodka, then shake and steep for a day.  Keep doing this until your beans get worn out.  This could be years depending on how much you bake.  I had a jar going for 1 1/2 years.  It finally died during my cookie marathon this Christmas. When they do, dry them off and stick them in a bag of sugar.  In a week you’ll have vanilla sugar.

I got my Tahitian vanilla beans from this website and my Madagascar vanilla beans from this seller on Ebay.  The quality and experience was great both times. I did end up with a LOT of beans!  After I ran out of friends to give extract to, I put the rest on Etsy.  The cute bottle labels I made from a template I found on this lovely blog.