Vanilla Extract Follow-Up... Finally!

4th February 2008

Vanilla Extract Follow-Up… Finally!

posted in Food, How-To |

Can you tell I’m trying to tie up loose blog ends? First the quilt, now the vanilla.

In June, I started making vanilla extract … basically you just get an air-tight container, fill it with liquor (vodka, rum, or brandy are good choices) and stick in several split vanilla beans (just cut them lengthwise with a sharp knife). Then wait for a longlonglonglong time.

By July, the vanilla was starting to extract but it still smelled strongly of alcohol. The tall bottle is rum vanilla extract, and I started another little jar of vodka vanilla extract.

When the holidays rolled around, the extract was ready! I decanted it into little glass bottles (each with a little chunk of vanilla bean inside) and labeled them to give as gifts along with homemade gingerbread cookies.

homemade vanilla extract

After I decanted the vanilla extract into the little bottles, I refilled the big bottles with rum and vodka (plus some fresh vanilla beans added to the ones that were already there) so that I can make more extract for next year! And this is what it looks like now. (The little jar is the vodka extract… it’s not really that much darker than the rum. It just looks that way because it has more depth)

homemade vanilla extract in wire bale bottle and jar

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 11:00 am and is filed under Food, How-To. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On February 4th, 2008, Kieutie Pie said:

Wow! I actually hadn’t even thought of home made vanilla extract. How’d you come up with the idea? Do they still smell strongly of alcohol? I hate the taste of alcohol ={

posted on February 4th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

2 On February 4th, 2008, RegalBeads said:

wow, how neat!

posted on February 4th, 2008 at 3:37 pm

3 On February 5th, 2008, Anna said:

Great gift idea! Does it work exactly the same way as store bought vanilla extract? Or do you have to use more or less?

posted on February 5th, 2008 at 9:21 am

4 On February 5th, 2008, Joyful Abode said:

Kieutie Pie, my friend Brandi told me about one of her relatives making it … a long time ago. And it stuck with me. So I finally made it myself! It does have an alcohol taste/smell, but not too strong… consider that store-bought vanilla extracts (even “100% pure”) are diluted with water. Mine isn’t. So… maybe if you wanted, you could dilute it.

Anna, it is a bit stronger. I use the same amount in baking, but if it isn’t going to be cooked (like in frosting) I use about half the amount of store-bought.

posted on February 5th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

5 On February 5th, 2008, cc said:

Great idea. What size approximately is the big bottle? Thanks for this idea!!

posted on February 5th, 2008 at 7:43 pm

6 On February 5th, 2008, Sarah C. said:

How wonderful to stumble upon your post. I too am making homemade vanilla extract. I started some time ago and threw used pods into some vodka. Recently I sampled it and though the vanilla flavor is better than other store bought versions I have, the boozey kick is a little harsh.

I have some questions for you: 1) does that boozy kick diminish with time? 2) Do you think your vodka based extract has more alcohol taste than the rum?

posted on February 5th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

7 On February 6th, 2008, Tom said:

I tried this a few years ago, using vodka. After six months I tested the homemade extract verses McCormick by mixing 1/2 tsp vanilla with a couple tablespoons of powdered sugar, and tasting the the two against each other. Verdict? Mine came nowhere near the intensity in flavor of the standard-issue McCormick. After another three or four months I came up with the same results. I decided to abort the experiment and filter my extract and simply label it as homemade vanilla vodka. ^_^

It tastes pretty good in hot chocolate.

posted on February 6th, 2008 at 8:29 am

8 On February 6th, 2008, April said:

What do you mean by “decant”? It sounds like it might just mean to pour, but before I waste any precious (expensive) vanilla beans I would like to make sure. This looks delicious!

posted on February 6th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

9 On February 18th, 2008, Shaky said:

I use so much vanilla for my baking. I would definitely try this since I love making things from scratch or my way. I just don’t have idea where to get the vanilla beans other than the places mention above (ebay & Amadeus Vanilla Beans) Any suggestions for the Jacksonville, FL area?

posted on February 18th, 2008 at 12:23 pm