I was absolutely fascinated when I came across tutorials for how to make homemade vanilla extract. It looked so easy! And frankly, the cost of pure vanilla extract is enough to make anybody wonder how they can make homemade vanilla extract. Have you priced that stuff lately? Eeek!
Well, I’m delighted to report it wasn’t very hard at all. My first batch is well underway and I’ve even started using it. It’s delicious.
You Too, Can Make Homemade Vanilla Extract!
It’s seriously easy.
Choosing Your Alcohol
The right bottle here was made with bourbon, the middle one with vodka, and the left one with half of each. Within about a week, the only way to distinguish between them was the smell of the extract. I made this homemade vanilla extract maybe a month and an half ago? And made sure I had plenty of beans in each bottle so I wouldn’t have to wait so long. I cut most of my beans in half, but left a few full-length beans in there for easy access in case I wanted some for cooking. It also looks pretty, I think.
Every alcohol I tried tasted good. It would seriously be hard to get this wrong. As long as youve got some basic hard liqour in there, it’s gonna work.
Vodka was the most neutral vanilla flavor. Bourbon gives a ‘gourmet’ vanilla vibe. Later on I gave it a run with spiced rum, and I think that is my favorite. I just loved the extra nuance to the flavor.
And yes, especially if you use the decorative bottles, these are very well-received as gifts.
Vanilla “Sugar”
Bonus Project: I took those unused vanilla bean ends and let them dry out over several days and then ground them up (in a magic bullet, although a coffee grinder or even a food processor would work just fine). Add in some Erythritol, and boom–Vanilla “sugar!” Tastes great in coffee or nice for baking. Just make sure you grind the beans to a powder first; I made the mistake of not grinding them enough so now I get vanilla bean chunks in the bottom of my coffee. Oops! Probably should do another round of grind on ’em but it’s still darned tasty (and makes a mean whipped cream, too).
Have you ever tried making homemade vanilla extract? How did yours come out?
