6 thoughts on “Wordless Wednesday….Making Vanilla Extract”
I have always wanted to make my own vanilla, but can't bring myself to purchase the vodka….
do you always make your own vanilla? we buy the gluten-free vanilla powder at the health food store. It's delish, but expensive
I do always make my own. I don't like the artifical stuff, not too fond of eating petro chemicals and the real stuff is either expensive or has other ingredients that like want to avoid, like high fruitcose corn syrup (!!). So anyway, here is what I do with the approx cost. I make this a gallon at a time, but you could easily do smaller batches (a gallon lasts well over a year, maybe a year and a half or more). I buy a gallon of the cheapest vodka I can find, the stuff we just bought was 12$ for a half gallon bottle, so 24$ for the whole gallon. Then I buy a pound of vanilla beans on amazon for about 45$. All you do is add the vanilla beans to the vodka (I do it in a gallon size glass jar) and let it sit for about 6 months. I don't know how the vodka works with a gulten free diet, it is make for grain, but any type of clear fairly tastless alchohol will work, you would have to research that. It is a lot of money up front, but I think it is well worth it and in the end for the amount you make it is cheaper than buying pure extract. The flavor is fabulous too, the extract you make at home is full potency, "pure" extract purchased at the store can be cut with water (there is some percentage allowed by law, and I can't really remember what that is off the top of my head) so you don't get the full flavor.
Oh cool! First butter then vanilla extract-you are too awesome.
Hooray! That vanilla is SO WONDERFUL and so much better than anything you can buy! Looks like you're back to being busy.
I am going to have to try this. It really fascinates me. Also, I've been thinking about trying to make butter in my Blendtec. What is your process?
I have always wanted to make my own vanilla, but can't bring myself to purchase the vodka….
do you always make your own vanilla? we buy the gluten-free vanilla powder at the health food store. It's delish, but expensive
I do always make my own. I don't like the artifical stuff, not too fond of eating petro chemicals and the real stuff is either expensive or has other ingredients that like want to avoid, like high fruitcose corn syrup (!!). So anyway, here is what I do with the approx cost. I make this a gallon at a time, but you could easily do smaller batches (a gallon lasts well over a year, maybe a year and a half or more). I buy a gallon of the cheapest vodka I can find, the stuff we just bought was 12$ for a half gallon bottle, so 24$ for the whole gallon. Then I buy a pound of vanilla beans on amazon for about 45$. All you do is add the vanilla beans to the vodka (I do it in a gallon size glass jar) and let it sit for about 6 months. I don't know how the vodka works with a gulten free diet, it is make for grain, but any type of clear fairly tastless alchohol will work, you would have to research that. It is a lot of money up front, but I think it is well worth it and in the end for the amount you make it is cheaper than buying pure extract. The flavor is fabulous too, the extract you make at home is full potency, "pure" extract purchased at the store can be cut with water (there is some percentage allowed by law, and I can't really remember what that is off the top of my head) so you don't get the full flavor.
Oh cool! First butter then vanilla extract-you are too awesome.
Hooray! That vanilla is SO WONDERFUL and so much better than anything you can buy! Looks like you're back to being busy.
I am going to have to try this. It really fascinates me. Also, I've been thinking about trying to make butter in my Blendtec. What is your process?