Make your own vanilla extract!

for those folks fortunate enough to live in climates where vanilla beans are grown, they probably already know this,

BUT

a couple months ago, on a canning board i'm a member of, some folks started talking about vanilla extract and how EASY it is to make.

And omgosh, it's true!

all you need to do is buy some vodka and/or rum (some folks like vodka, some like rum, some like the vodka infused with some rum). . . and 3 vanilla beans per bottle. just slice the beans and drop in. store in a dark cool place and shake the bottle every once in a while. in less than 2 months, you'll have vanilla extract.

i know. sounds too easy, right?

but it works!!!! i started some about 2 months ago and they're smelling SO GOOD!

cost me less than $30 for the liquor as well as the beans (i am a member of a coop so bought at wholesale the beans).

i do a LOT of baking and average anywhere from one ounce to 6 oz of vanilla extract used every week. the cheapest price i've ever found for vanilla extract (REAL) not imitation is $1/ounce. i currently have 2 1/2 liters of vanilla extract in the works. that's a lot of extract!

folks on the canning boards give this as a gift to those who bake. 'cause it's GOOD - really REALLY good! and now you know how cheap and easy it is to make. just takes some patience to get it ready for use.

has anyone figured out how to grow these kinds of plants outside of the typical area? i would LOVE to have some vanilla plants growing!!!!!

so i'm all ears on how, if you've figured it out. just one or 2 plants would be sufficient.

Happyfrog, I've never grown vanilla, but with the high cost of vanilla beans your post intrigued me so I googled. This site had the most information I found:

http://www.essortment.com/home/gardenplantsgr_syjg.htm

They are a tropical orchid and the plant grows to around 25 ft before blooming. They do best when grown from a cutting which can be ordered online from tropical plant suppliers. Allow them to grow up and down a stake or other support. They must be hand-pollinated of course, when grown inside. They require humidity and indirect sunlight to grow well.

They appear to be fussy, but it does seem possible to grow one's own in non-tropical areas if you're up for it.

I make mine w/ rum, YUM!

Vanilla orchids are VERY fussy -- I knew an orchid breeder in Florida who had been trying for YEARS to get his to bloom, and finally succeeded. Apparently it's a real feather in one's cap to get it to bear fruit.

(anything that's still fussy when grown in 90% humidity and near-tropical temperatures is fussy indeed.)

my husband, the chef, has made some from vodka and some from rum. I don't know yet which one is better - but they both smell fabulous!

Debs, homemade vanilla extract will be brown, not clear.

Not sure how she gets hers to be be clear.

(I've been making my own from Bourbon vanilla pods and cheap vodka for a couple of years)

vanilla sugar.. .yum!

my vanilla extract is turning a delightful amber color and the rum is turning a darker amber color.

and wow, do both of them ever smell just lovely.

i can't see how they could stay clear.

but i'm always eager to learn.

Does the quality of the Vodka or Rum make a difference in the quality of the end result? In other words should I buy good Rum or inexpensive ?
Al

al - i was told it really didn't matter, BUT if you have the money, to buy 'better' liquor.

so i bought middle-top of the road vodka and rum. i had the liquor lady help me pick out since i'm not a drinker.

and what i personally came home with from tehliquor store is:

Kamchatka vodka 80 proof 1 liter (i bought 2 of these)

and

bacardi gold original premium crafted rum puerto rican rum 40% alcohol by volume 375 ml

hth

all i did was put 3 sliced vanilla beans in each bottle. i shake whenever i think about them - they live under my kitchen sink right now.

i've been told it takes 2-3 months to 'make' vanilla extract.

i haven't decided if i'm blending or keeping them separate - but this way i have that option if i so choose.

I wonder how weird the look would be if you gave this as gifts...LOL

I like different things and I like coming up with different gift ideas. I was wondering how you could bottle it to make it mail-able. My sister who bakes would think it was cool....and if I got on the ball early enough next year I could make 15-20 gifts this way. A little Vanilla and a cool cookie recipe or something.

I'll have to look and see where I could find some cute bottles to put it in.

Thanks for this info HappyFrog, I would have never known it was this easy.

jennie - i was surprised too at the simplicity! and now that i know, i won't be buying anymore 'ready made' vanilla extract - i will always have a bottle 'in the making' so i'll be prepared.

i have a family with many severe, life threatening food allergies, so as a result, i have gotten quite adept with baking and cooking (man i love that digital meat thermometer that beeps when it's 10*F less than you want the meat - another thing i learned was meat continues cooking another 10*F after you remove it from heat so now i have perfect food that's not overdone. .. *grin*) sorry about tangent

anyways, because of the allergies, i've become very aware of ingredients in products. and because of my health 'issues' i've learned that cooking with 'real' ingredients is actually HEALTHIER than cooking with 'fake' - margarine, alternate sweeteners, etc. all my medical professionals tell me repeatedly that soy and aspartame and those other sweeteners, along with 'spreads' and margarine are terrible carcinogens. . . our bodies process 'real' ingredients so much better.

so on doctor's orders, i bake with real butter and sugar and cream and well, you get the idea.

i'd rather folks had a small serving - one or two bites of something and feel satiated instead of an entire plate of something that just didn't 'hit the spot'.

and once you go homemade, it's real hard to settle for storebought chemically treated shelf stable food.

gosh i sure went off on a tangent!

i am just real passionate about food and the source - which is why square foot gardening totally ROCKS!!! we have such control over what we eat!

as for 'weird' gifts - i think that if you choose the recipients carefully, they will LOVE this gift - esp if they're bakers. the folks who love to buy prepackaged cookies from the grocery are probably not your intended demographic, lol. but i can think of 25 friends off the top of my head who would just JUMP at the opportunity to have homemade vanilla extract that is made in a peanut free/tree nut free household.