After a bit of googling and come consultation with my DIY partner in crime, I gathered my supplies and got to work.
We knew that if we were going to keep this adventure as frugal as possible, we wouldn't be able to spend the $2-$3 per vanilla bean at the store. Lisa looked around and found they were available on ebay for a great price! We also learned that while all vanilla beans aren't certified organic, the large majority of them are organic because most of the farmers are too poor to do it any other way.
Next, we needed vodka. I was hesitant to buy any old nasty cheap vodka, so I chose Svedka. The guy at the liquor store said it's a nice middle of the road vodka and should work great. It's best to use a glass bottle because plastic isn't 100% gas proof.
In my blog browsing, I found that the number of vanilla beans used varied greatly, from just a few beans to well over 50 beans. I decided to go with 35 for 1.75L of vodka.
Pour out some of the vodka to make room for the vanilla beans. Using a knife or kitchen shears, cut them almost all the way through and put them in the vodka bottle.
Pour as much of the vodka back in as you can without overflowing the bottle. Put the lid back on and label it the with the date. Give it a good shake and store your vodka/beans in a cool dark place, shaking it vigoursly once a week or so.
The length of time to let your vanilla beans marinate varied greatly in my research, from just a few weeks to 6 months. Just to be on the safe side, I went with 6 months.
My vanilla just happened to be ready just as I ran out of my last store bought bottle.
Using a strainer and some cheesecloth, strain out all the bits and chunks of vanilla bean.
I strained mine into a glass meansuring cup, making it easy to funnel into little glass jars for gift giving. Dark colored jars work best for this as light can age and damage your extract.
so I'll never run out again!
**UPDATE** With my most recent batch, in addition to just cutting the beans, I chopped and scraped some as well. I also ended up with an almost 9mo soak time (just because I was too lazy to strain and bottle) and the vanilla is FANTASTIC! **UPDATE**
In addition, DO NOT throw out your beans after you strain the vanilla. Simply pour in more vodka and set it to soak again!
12 comments:
damn you!
your vodka labels are SO much cooler than mine! i love this project. so easy for so much awesomeness.
This post describes the process perfectly. Good job! It's so much fun doing projects with you. Even when we do them separately and converse about our results through text.
What are we gonna do next....?!
What a cool idea! Mind posting the link where you got the beans? I might want to try this!!!
wow! i totally need to do this. your vanilla bottles look so cute!
Wow! Would have never thought of making extract myself. I could kick myself we just returned from a vacay in mexico where the vanilla extract is dirt cheap & I didn't buy any!!
wow, therese, this is awesome. I wish I had money to do this. Great idea. (this is Laurie BTW)
Thank you for the great post, definately will be making some in the new year :)
Love this post! I learned how to do this from a chef years ago and it blew my mind how simple it was. Absolutely a wonderful gift to give as well.
These are so nice! Would you be able to share the printable for the labels with me?
seasidesmitten@aol.com
So, the vodka that was given to me is in a plastic bottle and I'd like to use glass. I have a gallon glass jar. Can I use that and not have it completely full?
The glass jar will work fine. In fact, I always keep some "brewing" in a jar with a high bean to vodka ratio so I have vanilla if I ever run about before a regular batch is ready. You just want to make sure all the beans are completely submerged in the vodka.
This is awesomeness! I can't wait to try this. Thanks for sharing :)
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