home made vanilla extract

I first came across a post on home made vanilla extract at the italian dish. I loved the idea straight away and was surprised at how easy it was to make...the only down side was that you had to wait a couple of months before it was ready to use...I'm not sure exactly how long you need to wait...opinions range from 6 weeks to 2 years...but I guess all that really means is the longer you wait the better your vanilla extract will be...anyway the waiting didn't really matter in the end because it took me 2 months to decide on what bottles to use!

All you need to make vanilla extract is alcohol and vanilla beans. I use vodka for the alcohol but I've seen other recipes that use rum. I simply pour a cup of vodka into a jar, add 3 vanilla beans slit lengthwise and then cut in half  to make them short enough to fit in the bottles. You need to store it in a cool dark place and give the jar a shake every week or so. When my bottles finally arrived I decanted the liquid into the bottles and popped 2 pieces of vanilla bean in each bottle.


The bottles I finally chose were 75ml round glass bottles that I found at Gala Imports. If you're interested in knowing a little about all the different varieties of vanilla beans and their different flavours then go to vanilla garlic for a great run down.

2 comments:

  1. This are nice size jars that you've use. Yes, I know it's so simple to make vanilla extract, huh? Best of all, you know the quality of the beans you're putting into it. :)

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  2. I MUST try this and share it on my blog!! Of course I will mention I found it on your blog. Such a cool idea. Thank for sharing :)
    http://mummygoesmad.blogspot.com.au

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