My original thought was to do this as homemade Christmas gifts but it takes about 2-3 months to make and I thought of it only a few weeks before the big holidays. I'm now in prep mode to buy the best stuff and not mess this up. The 2 ingredients: vanilla beans and vodka. Wahoo so crazy easy! Basically you slice vanilla beans and let sit fully submerged in vodka for 2-3 months and you've got quality vanilla extract.
Those are the basics; now I'm into the details... what beans to buy? from where? Does the quality of vodka matter? What kind of little jars or bottles should I use? Should I make one large batch in the main vodka bottle or distribute into little bottles first then 'make' the extract? How many beans to use? How much should I make? What cute labels should I create?! Should I go all organic? We've gotten organic vodka before, what about vanilla beans?
Oh the choices.
I have some amazon.com store credit burning a whole in my digital pocket so I'm planning on buying the beans through there. Thanks to some surveys it'll cover at least that portion of the project. There are some good vendors it appears there. There is a lot out there: bourbon, Madagascar, Tahitian, Mexican, Indian who knows what else. I'm looking at maybe this:
Then next up will be a trip to the ABC Store and I'm getting some refund money from a double Christmas gift so that should more than cover a cheapo bottle of vodka. Maybe I'll spring for the not bottom shelf vodka; who knows. Depending on how much I get that'll determine (or in reverse order) what little bottles I should buy (where the heck to get the best price and not $$$ on shipping... or local?) then onto the proportions of beans: vodka.
Look how pretty!
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ps. if any company wants to send me free vanilla beans to review and blog about please contact me here. Thanks.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog since this summer and I very much appreciate your "Semi" approach!
My mom has been making homemade vanilla for years (she also makes homemade kahula...yum!)
If you are not giving it away, a plastic soda bottle works fine. That is what she keeps in her kitchen on a regular basis. But for gifts, she will save nice glass bottles thru the year or buy small bottles like in your picture. I have bought bottles like that from Micheals or AC Moore with the coupon. You could also save any of your old extract bottles and re-lable them.
Hope it goes well!
I am planning on trying to make your DIY Laundry detergent this month.
Thanks so much Steph!
DeleteI've been making homemade vanilla for a while too. Beans from Amazon have the best prices, I've found. I wouldn't get more than 12 beans to make a jar of vanilla for 2 people to go through. It doesn't go bad, but there's no need for you to be using 4 year old vanilla in the future!
ReplyDeleteI like to use Absolut 100 (http://www.absolutads.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/absolut100.jpg) for my infusions and extracts because you want a decent vodka with less impurities and the least amount of external flavor.
I wouldn't worry about leaving it for 2-3 months necessarily, but yeah the longer you leave it, up to a point, the more potent the flavor. I started using mine about two weeks after tossing the vanilla beans in.
Word of caution: don't use a screw cap Ball jar as your pouring vessel because it starts to be a bitch to get the lid off! The kind you posted above with a cork does much better, imho. Have fun, it's way more cost effective and delicious and less chemical-y!
Thanks so much for the info April!
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteGreat post and lovely pictures!
One key component for making homemade vanilla extract: Use at least 5 vanilla beans per 8 ounces of alcohol. This is based on the FDA standard for commercial production of vanilla extract.
I hope this helps! Happy Cooking
-Brent
Vanilla Specialist - Beanilla Premium Vanilla
www.beanilla.com