The Homemade Pantry: Vanilla Extract

Neither of us drink alcohol although you'd never guess that if you look in my kitchen cupboards.  We store beer and wine for soap, tequila for tequila-lime chicken, bourbon for bourbon ham and vodka for vodka sauce and for this.

I've been hooked on making my own vanilla extract for a few years now.  If you've looked at some of the extracts on the
shelf of your grocery store, you'll likely see corn syrup as an ingredient.  Yuck.  Making it yourself ensures you know exactly what's in it {2 ingredients} and it will have the best darn vanilla flavor you've ever had.

Don't buy your vanilla beans from the grocery store - it will cost you a fortune.  Instead, google vanilla beans and you'll find a plethora of inexpensive sources.

Vanilla Extract

For every 1 cup of Vodka, you'll need 3 Vanilla Beans

If you're adding to a full bottle of vodka, start by removing about 1 cup of vodka and set it aside.  Split your beans down the center and scrap the beans from the pod with a knife.  Add the beans and the scraped pod to the bottle of vodka.  Once you've done this with all beans, add the reserved cup of vodka until the bottle is full.  Shake the bottle and put aside in a dark, cool area for 2 -4 months.

Weekly, or when you think of it, shake the bottle.  Check it after 2 months.  It should smell strongly of vanilla and be dark and slightly syrupy.  If it isn't, put it aside for a couple of weeks and continue to shake and check on it.  Strain the extract and discard the beans.

You can pour it into smaller bottles or keep it in the vodka bottle to use.