The Homemade Pantry: Vanilla Extract

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.

To find bulk vanilla beans simply do a google search and you will likely find a much cheaper price than what you can get at any of your local stores.

Vanilla Extract

For every 1 cup (8 ounces) of Vodka, you'll need approx. 8 Vanilla Beans (1 ounce of beans - the number depends on their size).

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 add to the bottle of vodka.  You can scrape them if you prefer, it does give even more vanilla flavor.  If you do this, add the scraped pods + what was scraped to the 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 a minimum of 6 months.  If you can wait 8 months to a year, it has the best flavor.

Weekly, or when you think of it, shake the bottle.  Check it after 6 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.  

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