Homemade Vanilla Extract

We go through A LOT of vanilla around here. Those little jars can be expensive after a while, so I was excited when I learned that you can actually make your own vanilla at home from this book that I picked up at the library. It is actually quite simple to do using vanilla beans and -ahem- Vodka.

Should I tell you this resulted in my first trip to the Liquor store- ever? After searching in the grocery store for Vodka to no avail, I gave up and asked my husband where I could find it. I am so glad I didn’t ask a store employee! Oh well, I guess that isn’t a bad thing, right? I made my husband go with me, who thought me buying Vodka was quite funny. Anyway….

You will need Vodka, organic vanilla beans (atleast 2, the more the you use the stronger the flavor and faster it is done, I ended up adding in 2 more) and a jar with a tight fitting lid.

This is a terrible picture,I’m sorry. I tried! You need to slice the beans down the middle to expose the seeds.

Place the Vodka and beans in a jar. Place the jar in a dark location. I put mine in my spice cupboard. Every day or other day, shake the jar up.

This is what it looks like three weeks later.

While baking yesterday, I realized I was out of vanilla. This is supposed to sit for 6-8 weeks, but since it smelled so much like vanilla, I decided to use it anyway. Our cake came out delicious, so I guess it worked!

After it has sat and is ready to use, remove the beans and start another batch for a constant supply of vanilla. You may want to add some fresh beans to your second batch. I haven’t made a second batch yet, so I don’t know how many times you can reuse the beans. I figured the total cost to be about .25 per ounce of vanilla with this method. Much cheaper than the store bought variety!

For some other great kitchen tips, visit Tammy’s Recipes

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