I don’t remember where I first saw instructions for making vanilla extract, but it’s a safe bet that it was on the internet. I do know that I was shocked at how simple it is, and I may have kicked myself for spending so many years buying those tiny, pricey bottles of it at the store.
I don’t think you should kick yourself, but I do think you should think about making some vanilla extract. This really is way simple, and it makes a lovely and powerful extract.
Step One: Gather your supplies
- 3 vanilla beans per cup of vodka
- cheap vodka
The last time I made vanilla extract, I made it in the bottle the vodka came in. This time, though, I had a gallon jug that had previously held some fancy apple juice, and I thought it would make a nice container for a gigantic batch of vanilla. But that meant that I needed a lot of vanilla beans and vodka. My in-laws found a wholesale source for vanilla beans online and bought a very large number of them awhile back, so I didn’t have to buy beans for this project. I did have to buy vodka, though. I don’t drink,* and it felt very odd to go into the liquor store and ask where to find the cheapest vodka. And then to buy two giant bottles of it. The liquor store guy didn’t look at me in horror, though, so I guess he’s heard it all before.**
Step Two: Prepare the vanilla beans
Using a sharp knife, split the beans open lengthwise. That is all.
Step Three: Combine
This is exceptionally easy if you’re using the vodka’s original bottle: Drop the beans into the vodka. If you’re using a different bottle, it’s only standard-issue simple. I dropped the vanilla beans into the bottle, then I used a funnel to pour in the vodka. If you’d like to ramp the difficulty up a notch, try to take a picture of yourself pouring it in. And then be happy with the one resulting picture that actually has the bottle in frame.
Step Three: Cap & Stow
Put the cap on, give it a shake or two it you’re feeling saucy, then put the bottle away in a cool, dark place and forget about it for a couple of months. I take the bottle out every now and then and give it a good shake, but I don’t know if that’s actually necessary. It does, however, make me feel like I’m contributing to the process.
I’m sure there are other things I buy that I ought to make myself. (This does not and will not include: Frocks, socks or ketchup.) So tell me: What readily available item do you make, and do I have what it takes to make it, too?
*I don’t drink alcohol. I do drink other liquids, because I am not a robot.
**He did not, however, ask for my ID. It was the third time in a row that I wasn’t carded in a cardable situation, which leads me to the unavoidable conclusion that I am most assuredly Getting Old. And also Looking The Part, apparently.
Chicken stock! Whenever I roast a chicken for dinner, I take the leftover carcass (back ,breastbone, etc)and put it back in the pan I roasted it in, add a cut up onion and a couple of carrots- don’t even peel them, just chunk um up and throw um in there, a few black pepper corms, a few cloves of garlic,lightly mashed and put it back in the over (425 degrees) and roast again for 45 minutes or so, until the bones are brown. Put it all in a large crock pot with a few stems of thyme or oregano and fill it with water. Cover and set on low, and let it go overnight into the next day, whenever you have time. Scoop out the solids and package up the liquid (I use freezer bags,2 cups at a time) and freeze.My large crockpot lets me make about a gallon,and I use the broth for soups or cooking grains. Since I can’t have salt this is the only way I can get a decent stock.
you made it soo easy! cool post!
I make my own vanilla extract, too!! Saves me so much money, because I bake constantly! Great tutorial.
I have not yet required a small store-bought bottle of vanilla extract in my entire 38 years. Therefore, I must conclude that 1 of 2 possibilities exist:
1) You cook a lot with vanilla extract and/or be using vanilla extract in the next months in dishes that don’t really require its use, such as, scrambled eggs, spaghetti, baked potatoes, etc
2) You drink heavily and really like the taste of vanilla vodka, that * ain’t foolin’ nobody!!