Description
Homemade Vanilla Extract will put you off of ever buying it in the store, again. The deep, rich flavor is unmatched!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 24 Grade A Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans (or beans of your choice)
- 4 cups vodka (least expensive you can find)
- 8 (4 oz) *amber bottles with lids (if you will be gifting the vanilla)
Instructions
- Slice vanilla beans open, lengthwise.
- Place 3 split beans in each of eight (4 oz) bottles cutting them into small enough pieces to make them fit the bottles.
- Pour 1/2 cup vodka over the beans in each bottle.
- Tighten lids on bottles and tuck away in a cool dark cabinet to “ripen”. Let the vanilla set at least 2 months. The flavor will be deeper and richer the longer you let it sit. A good way for me to know when I need to make the next batch is to start a new batch when I hit the half-way point on the last batch.
Notes
To cut costs and make standard single-fold vanilla, cut the number of beans to 12 and add 1 1/2 beans to each bottle.
If you make this for your own personal use, and not for gifting, you can certainly use one large bottle and place all the beans into it. Since I bake often, that’s exactly what I do for my own kitchen. I buy a 750 ml bottle of vodka, then split and drop 18 beans right into the bottle.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Category: Seasoning
- Method: hand mix
- Cuisine: American