Homemade Vanilla Extract
Make homemade vanilla extract! It's easy, fun, and allows you to control your vanilla supply. It's stronger, cheaper, and avoids preservatives and artificial flavorings.
Make homemade vanilla extract! It's easy, fun, and allows you to control your vanilla supply. It's stronger, cheaper, and avoids preservatives and artificial flavorings.
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (70g)
- Sodium 0.695 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 161 calories
Step-by-step
- With kitchen scissors, cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, leaving about an inch connected (not cut) at one end. Combine the vodka and rum. Using either a funnel or a measuring cup with a pouring spout, add alcohol to the washed and dried vanilla jar.
- Push cut vanilla bean down into jar. Close lid tightly.
- Add twine, raffia or ribbon, and stick on a pretty hand-lettered or printed label if you choose (and particularly if you are planning to give your jars as gifts).
- Store the jars for two months in a cool, dry place (like your kitchen cabinets, away from your oven). Occasionally, reach in and shake the jar a bit. The extract will be ready in two months, and will remain good for years. (If 2 ounces of vanilla extract lasts years, you aren't making enough cookies!)
- In the meantime, keep collecting vanilla bottles from your friends, neighbors, and family, and make more–for yourself, and for gifts. Re-use the jars you keep–always have one jar ready to use while another jar is maturing. Never run out of vanilla again!
- Using kitchen scissors, cut vanilla beans in half lengthwise, leaving about an inch connected (not cut) at one end.
- Now simply push the beans into the bottle. The beans are going to displace some of the vodka. This is not a problem! Get some orange juice and drink it! (I'm just kidding! Maybe.)
- Screw lid on tightly and store in a cool, dry location. Shake the bottle once or twice a day at first, then just whenever you think about it. It will take a month or two to steep good, but you can use it sooner if you're in a rush. Stored properly, it will be good for years, and in fact, get better all the time as it grows stronger.
- Use a small funnel to transfer the extract to smaller bottles.
- I like the extra kick of dark rum in my vanilla extract, so when I poured the first small bottle out, I added rum to the big bottle, using a funnel. The first few times you take out from the big bottle, it doesn't hurt to add some extra rum or vodka to stretch your vanilla beans–if you let it steep again, it will be just as strong.
- Tie raffia or ribbons around small bottles to give as Christmas gifts. Add a handmade or home-printed label. Or, if an avid baker is on your list, they'd love an entire big bottle, and be sure to make one for yourself!
- Or, to make 1 little bottle at a time, see the 2 oz method above.
Commercial flavorings often contain artificial additives and added sugars that muddy baked goods. Crafting a pantry staple from scratch requires patience rather than complex equipment. A two-month steep time allows the alcohol base to fully strip the aromatic compounds from the pod walls. Whole beans submerged in a neutral spirit break down slowly without heat. Kitchen scissors facilitate slicing the pods open lengthwise while leaving one inch intact at the base to keep the fragments organized inside the glass vessel.
Submerging the pods in an 80-proof spirit provides the necessary solvent strength. Vodka offers a clean canvas that highlights pure floral notes, while a splash of dark rum introduces subtle molasses undertones. Glass containers must remain sealed tightly and stored away from direct sunlight and heat sources in a dark pantry. Agitating the liquid periodically accelerates the transfer of flavor compounds into the alcohol. Tiny black specks will suspend in the liquid over time. Those particles indicate true bean content rather than a defect.
Dietary restrictions rarely pose an issue here. Standard grain alcohol is inherently gluten-free, vegan, and free from major allergens. Bakers managing specific intolerances can verify the source grain of their chosen spirit before combining components.
