I was absolutely fascinated when I came across tutorials for how to make homemade vanilla extract. It looked so easy! And frankly, the cost of pure vanilla extract is enough to make anybody wonder how they can make homemade vanilla extract. Have you priced that stuff lately? Eeek!
Well, I’m delighted to report it wasn’t very hard at all. My first batch is well underway and I’ve even started using it. It’s delicious.
You Too, Can Make Homemade Vanilla Extract!
It’s seriously easy.
Make Homemade Vanilla Extract
1
bottle10
minutes0
minutesVery simple to make homemade vanilla extract, and beats out both the overpriced kind at the store and especially the fake stuff to heck and back! Also, it makes a nifty gift.
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☺ Stuff You May Want
Cute Decorative BottlesGet the Bottles I Used
✏ What’s in This Thing
Decorative Bottles
3 – 5 Grade B Vanilla Beans per bottle
Clear Vodka or Bourbon
⚡ Making This Thing
- Cut off the ends of your vanilla beans. You can also cut them in half lengthwise if it makes them easier to fit into your bottle.
- Stuff the cut vanilla beans into your bottle.
- Fill the bottle up most of the way with alcohol and cork up (or put the lid on).
- Shake it! Shake it good!
- Let the beans steep for a month to a year, shaking it up regularly. (The more beans and shaking, the shorter the wait.)
- Yum! You have vanilla extract!
☕ Notes About This Thing
- “Grade B” vanilla beans are less moist (and often less expensive) than Grade A beans, which can make them preferable for extract since you want them to soak up the alcohol. Grade A vanilla beans are better for cooking.
- By cutting off just the ends, you now have soaked beans that you can pull out and use as vanilla paste, squeezing out the vanilla goo that resides therein.
- You can top off your extract with more alcohol and fresh vanilla beans as needed. Since you’re using alcohol, it will last more or less forever. Yay, alcohol!
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Choosing Your Alcohol
The right bottle here was made with bourbon, the middle one with vodka, and the left one with half of each. Within about a week, the only way to distinguish between them was the smell of the extract. I made this homemade vanilla extract maybe a month and an half ago? And made sure I had plenty of beans in each bottle so I wouldn’t have to wait so long. I cut most of my beans in half, but left a few full-length beans in there for easy access in case I wanted some for cooking. It also looks pretty, I think.
Every alcohol I tried tasted good. It would seriously be hard to get this wrong. As long as youve got some basic hard liqour in there, it’s gonna work.
Vodka was the most neutral vanilla flavor. Bourbon gives a ‘gourmet’ vanilla vibe. Later on I gave it a run with spiced rum, and I think that is my favorite. I just loved the extra nuance to the flavor.
And yes, especially if you use the decorative bottles, these are very well-received as gifts.
Vanilla “Sugar”
Bonus Project: I took those unused vanilla bean ends and let them dry out over several days and then ground them up (in a magic bullet, although a coffee grinder or even a food processor would work just fine). Add in some Erythritol, and boom–Vanilla “sugar!” Tastes great in coffee or nice for baking. Just make sure you grind the beans to a powder first; I made the mistake of not grinding them enough so now I get vanilla bean chunks in the bottom of my coffee. Oops! Probably should do another round of grind on ’em but it’s still darned tasty (and makes a mean whipped cream, too).
Have you ever tried making homemade vanilla extract? How did yours come out?
I have been making my own vanilla since the 70’s. I have also used rum, vodka, amaretto, bourbon. I am now “curing” a bottle of whiskey just to see how it would be.
I make vanilla sugar by whirling cut up vanilla beans & sugar in a food processor. Before I went low carb I had used both white sugar & dark brown sugar. Now I realize I have to try this vanilla sugar with splenda or another sugar substitute.
I’ve been wanting to try to make homemade vanilla. What siz
What size bottles did you use, and where can I find them ? Thanks !
I used these bottles, bought from Amazon (aka my second home). Love them! <3
Editing to add: they are 8 oz each.
Thanks so much ! I love Amazon too. Put the bottles in my wish list !
To Dix, your link to which bottles did not open for me. Could you please repost?
I sent Amy an email, but for anyone else who has trouble with the link, try this one: http://amzn.to/1fyxQsq. 🙂
You’ve made the vanilla extract with both vodka and bourbon and stated that the only difference at that point was the smell of the extract. In the finished product, is there a big difference in taste between the two? If so, which one did you prefer?
There is a difference in the taste, yeah. Not overwhelming but notable. Some would depend on the booze you used and how much vanilla is added, but the vodka was more of a neutral profile. The bourbon had kind of a smokey, woodsy flavor. I liked both. For me, I would be more inclined to use the vodka because it’s more flexible overall. For a gift to a foodie who might appreciate something a little more special or out of the ordinary, I’d go with the bourbon. Does that help?
Yes! It helps immensely! I assumed the vodka would be more “normal” tasting but really didn’t know about the one made with Bourbon. I appreciate your thoughts on it. Thank you for taking the time to answer.
Do you always use as is or do you ever low heat it to get the alcohol taste out?
I’ve just used it as is. It’s such a small part of the overall ingredients, I’ve never had food come out tasting boozey. Just a hint of the flavor is in the final dish.
Where do you find vanilla beans?
I got mine online: https://www.lowcarbzen.com/product/B005CJJQKY/US/lczweb-20/
I would love to try making the vanilla!
I have been making vanilla for years and have used different types of alcohol as well. One of my favorite is the spiced rums add a very unique flavor profile. I have also sed many types of vanilla beans to include Tahitian, Mexican, Indonesian and even Madagascar. Love the variety of flavors.
You’ve gotta love something that’s both so easy AND so tasty! Thanks for sharing your experiences. 🙂