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 homemade vanilla extract. He really loves anything that is homemade.
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.
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
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
No problem, I hope you like it Izzabella!
Does this mean it is alcohol? I am so confused.
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.
Cool. You learn something new every day. And I would NEVER try drinking an extract. I don’t even drink alcohol.
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I didn’t find the follow up blog! How did it go? I’ll be making my own soon!
GREAT!!! I finally ran out and should have started another batch a month ago.