So my sister has always loved baking, and I came across a video one day of a guy explaining how you can make your own vanilla extract that will last infinately. I decided that would be the perfect christmas present for her! I have always loved giving christmas gifts that can be useful and not things that will just sit around and get thrown away eventually. So here is how I did it!
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It is actually super simple. You need a jar, vanilla beans, and alcohol.
I myself chose a 16 oz jar I just got off of amazon, but of course you can go as large or as small as you would like. I wouldn't go lower than 8 oz though, and it needs to be a glass jar with an air tight seal, like a mason jar.
As for the beans, you need to get
grade A madagacar vanilla beans. A lot of places say grade B is better for vanilla extract but the only difference is they are a bit dryer. I just went with grade A because thats what the guy in the video said to use. Lol. You could do grade B if you would like. It will be the same and they are slightly cheaper.
Here is the site that I got my beans from, but
here is another site you could use.
As for the alcohol, the best kind to use is plain vodka with no flavoring of course, and you want it around 35-40% alcohol, don't go above 60% because the extract will not turn out right. It needs the water content as well. You can also use burbon or rum but they add a warm, deep, and kind of sweet flavor to the extract. That may be fun to experiment with also, but for pure vanilla extract with the real vanilla flavor you want vodka, any brand will do.
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Now for the recipe, you need to have 1 oz of beans per 8 oz of alcohol. So like I said, I got a 16 oz jar. I got 2 oz of beans and of course the alcohol volume won't be exactly 16 oz, because the beans will take up some space in the jar. I think my alcohol volume was 13 oz in the bottle I bought, which also leaves a very small amount of air at the top of the jar.
All you have to do is split your beans, put them in the jar, pour the alcohol on top, shake, and wait for it to process! I cut my beans in half so they would fit in the jar beter then you want to split them down the bean so the insides can process better. Make sure the beans are fully submerged in the alcohol or you could risk getting mold on the exposed beans. The extract will be useable in about 8-10 weeks, but letting it soak for at least 3 months is best, and of course the longer the better! I just made my jar today so it will have a good 6 months to soak before my sister will use it. It is best to give it a good shake every week or so (really when you remember lol) The best part about making your own extract is, as I said, it is infinate! As you use some of it you just top it up with a bit more alcohol, adn the beans will start to turn a more pale lighter color as they become spent, then you can just add a couple more in.
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I will link the youtube video here but if you bake quite a lot and will use the extract frequently, a great option is to have what is called a "mother jar" and your regular jar. The mother jar will be a large jar you keep put up, and once you use a decent amount of your smaller jar, you can top it up with the mother jar. This allows the mother jar to sit and soak while you can use up your regular jar. Because of course if you are contantly adding to your regular jar, it will not have time to keep up.
(The youtube video also explains all the science behind the extract if you are interested in that)
I hope this was interesting and someone can use this to make their own!
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Summarized version of the recipe:
- Minimum 8 oz air tight glass jar (as large as you would like, I used a 16 oz)
- 1 oz Grade A madagascar vanilla beans per 8 oz of alcohol
- 35-40% alcohol plain vodka (Rum or Burbon can be used for a warm deep sweeter flavor)
- Cut beans in half if needed to fit in jar, split length wise
- Put beans in jar and fill with alcohol
- Make sure beans are fully under the alcohol to prevent spoilage
- Shake jar periodically (about weekly)
- Let process for at least 8-10 weeks (ideally at least 3 months for best flavor)
Moderate Temperatures and Overcast
