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Homemade Vanilla Extract

December 12, 2013 by Ali 8 Comments

Homemade Vanilla Extract

My husband is the one that gets really excited about making things that most people just buy. He convinced me a few years ago to try making almond milk, and also making our own vanilla. He really loves anything that is homemade.

IMG_4686

This year, we finally got around to it and made a bunch of vanilla. We made some with vodka and some made with bourbon. I wanted to try the difference between the vanilla made with vodka, and vanilla made with bourbon but it needs to cure for 5 more months before I can compare them. I promise to update this post with a comparison.

To make it I bought:

  • Swing top apothecary bottles
  • Madagascar Vanilla Beans Extract Grade B –
  • and some cheap vodka and bourbon from the liquor store, not  a store that I frequent.

Rule of Thumb: Use one whole bean for every 6 oz. of liquid to get a nice rich vanilla.

IMG_4690

Directions:

Scrape out the black fleck seeds from the bean and put it in the bottle.

Then cut the bean to the proper length for each bottle and add it in as well.

Pour the alcohol over the beans using a funnel.

Last, seal it up and let it sit for at least 30 days before using. It will be at its prime in six months, so if you can wait, it will be worth it.

$$$ I did the math to see what the cost of doing this is. $$$

I spent 79 cents per ounce including the bottles. If I didn’t buy the bottles and make it in the liquor store bottle, it would go down to 28 cents per ounce! That is cheap!

If you are doing this for neighbor Christmas gifts, try these mini bottles.

Filed Under: Christmas, DIY Projects, Food, Gift Ideas, Misc., Reviews, Save Money Tagged With: diy, Homemade, vanillaextract

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Comments

  1. Izzabella Sayer says

    December 13, 2013 at 5:57 am

    I use a lot of vanilla in my cooking and this is a great idea I am going to try it out and give it for gifts next year ……thank you so much for the idea and the share

    Reply
    • Ali says

      December 18, 2013 at 11:03 pm

      No problem, I hope you like it Izzabella!

      Reply
  2. Katie says

    March 5, 2014 at 9:33 am

    Does this mean it is alcohol? I am so confused.

    Reply
    • Ali says

      March 6, 2014 at 11:38 am

      Yes, homemade extracts along with store bought extracts have high alcohol content in them. You would never want to drink an extract though, you could get very sick. They are meant only to use in small amounts for flavoring. The alcohol pulls the flavor from the vanilla beans and makes it into liquid flavor. Hope that helps.

      Reply
      • Katie says

        March 6, 2014 at 12:15 pm

        Cool. You learn something new every day. And I would NEVER try drinking an extract. I don’t even drink alcohol.

        Reply
  3. Deborah says

    May 8, 2018 at 9:12 am

    I didn’t find the follow up blog! How did it go? I’ll be making my own soon!

    Reply
    • Ali says

      November 8, 2018 at 11:38 am

      GREAT!!! I finally ran out and should have started another batch a month ago.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Last Minute Gift Ideas for Procrastinators! says:
    December 18, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    […] Homemade Vanilla from The Mamas Girls […]

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