Kitchen

[Dusty1]

I did a search & saw that this has been discussed before, but not for a while, so I thought I would bring it up, again. The homemade Vanilla is so good & so easy to do. You certainly don't need to make as much as I do, but I find that I have a lot of "friends" when I mention that I have made my vanilla, so I make enough to share.

My grandson loves to help with I make anything so he was taking notes for me on amounts in each bottle & he made labels with that & the date & used a glue stick & tape (He didn't want the label to fall off.) to put that on each bottle. Then he took bottles home for his Mom, Aunt & other Grandma.

There are a lot of recipes on the internet & if you do a search here for the past posts, so you can decide what products & how much of each you want to use.

I think I will try a small batch with Bourbon next time.

This is what we did:

Vanilla Extract

2/1/2015

I bought 1/2 lb of Grade B Madagascar Vanilla Beans from Beanilla.com ($31.45-10% Coupon=$28.31 Free S&H)

There were 61 beans in the 1/2 lb bag. Their web site says "Approximately 72-85 Beans", but I weighed them & it was exactly 1/2 lb.

I bought 2 1.75 liter (7.4 Cups/14.8 Cups for 2. There are 16 C in a gallon.) bottles of Korski 80 Proof Vodka ($14.00 Each)

$28.31+28.00=$56.31 $3.80 per C (8oz) of pure Vanilla Extract.

If I had to buy bottles the cost would be a bit higher, of course.

For this batch, I used clean bottles I had saved from Starbucks Frappuccinos (1 C of Vodka/4 Vanilla Beans), Smucker's Jams (Smaller jars were 2 C Vodka/8 Vanilla Beans. Larger jars were 3 C Vodka/12 Vanilla Beans) & Maple Syrup (1.5 C Vodka/6 Vanilla Beans).'

I sliced each vanilla bean with a sharp knife & scraped out the "caviar", the black paste in the beans. These Grade B beans had more caviar then the Grade A beans that I had bought before, even though they look sort of dry & shriveled.

I worked on 1 batch on Friday & just stuck the beans back in the bag without sealing them. When I finished the batch on Sunday the beans had dried out a little bit & were slightly harder to work with.

I measured out the Vodka & poured it into each bottle using a funnel. Then I split the beans, scraped out the caviar & added them to each jar. For the shorter jars I cut the beans in half, after scraping them, so that they would be covered with Vodka.

After each jar was filled I put the lid on & shook them. The only jar that leaked was my Smucker's Jam jar, so I will have to shake it without turning it upside down.

Set them in the cupboard & shake them every couple of days.

Let them set from 4-6 months.

[adoreqvc]

Homemade vanilla extract is the best!

[house_cat]

That sounds so good! I never, ever would have thought of it. As much as I like cooking, there are some things I'd rather just buy. I always buy a good quality extract, but I'm sure your homemade is even better!

[Snicks1]

Dusty1, I am also going to try bourbon next time I make vanilla. Right now I have a good supply. I also give bottles of my homemade vanilla as gifts to friends and family, lol, they have come to expect at least a bottle every year. It is so good. And I also learned about making it here on the board.

[Nonametoday]

Way too much overload for this brain that loves quick and easy but my mother would and did make it, just like my grandmother before her.

[Harpa]

You must have had fun!

I just get the 375 ML of Jim Beam, (is that a pint?) slice about 6-7 Madagasgar vanilla beans (that I buy from an outlet) and throw them in the Jim Beam bottle and let them macerate away.

(I have to remove about an ounce of the bourbon first.) (hic!) Actually, my DH drinks it, which he only gets every 6 months or so.

Of course, the longer the vanilla beans steep in the bourbon, the better.

There was quite a discourse at one time on here about shaking the bottles v. turning them. You can read on-line about the scientific differences of each method. If I have to use the vanilla rather quickly, I'll shake the bottle. If I'm not baking for a while, I won't shake the bottle again.

[PamelaSue72]

I've been making my own vanilla now for years. I use Grey Goose vodka for one batch and then I use Wild Turkey for my second batch. 15 vanilla beans for each bottle, split length-wise and scraped well into the liquor. For the first four weeks or so, I turn the bottles once a week by gently rolling them a few times. After that, I just keep the bottles in my cabinet to let everything mingle for about six months or so, getting them out and rolling them once a month. I start in around the beginning of June and don't use any until the end of November.

I really like bourbon vanilla for things like pound cake, vanilla ice cream, bread puddings, and similar foods. It seems to add just a good flavor, between the scent of the vanilla and the scent of the bourbon. For everything else, I use the vodka vanilla.

My MIL will not use any other vanilla but mine. Homemade vanilla is decadent!

And don't forget to make your own vanilla sugar, too!

[Dusty1]

Is there a brand or type of Bourbon that I should use? I know most places say to use any 80 Proof cheap Vodka, so that is easy.

[Eliana]

I made homemade vanilla extract and gave away as Christmas presents this past Christmas. I also used two 1.75 ml bottles of vodka, ordered my beans from Amazon. I put approximately 30 beans in each bottle. I didn't scrape the beans, just sliced them lengthwise, starting about an inch from the top, and dropped them into the vodka. I purchased brown glass botttles from Amazon to put the vanilla into, printed labels and tied a ribbon with twine around the cap.

[4uthebest]

On 2/1/2015 Eliana said:

...I put approximately 30 beans in each bottle. I didn't scrape the beans, just sliced them lengthwise, starting about an inch from the top, and dropped them into the vodka. ...

You are almost duplicating my method but instead of 30 beans I used 3-5 / bottle but I also used Tahitian beans as well as Madagascar, Bourbon, and Mexican and my favorite for cream products is that from Mexico.