A kitchen essential, discover how to craft your own homemade vanilla extract using only two straightforward ingredients. Elevate your baking with this delectable vanilla extract, adding a whole new dimension to your creations.
Why Make Your Own Vanilla Extract?
- Quality Control: When you make your own vanilla extract, you have control over the quality of ingredients used. You can choose high-quality vanilla beans and the type of alcohol you prefer, ensuring a superior product compared to some commercial options.
- Customization: Homemade vanilla extract allows you to customize the flavor to your liking. You can experiment with different types of vanilla beans, such as Madagascar, Tahitian, or Mexican, to create unique and nuanced flavors.
- Cost-Effective: In the long run, making your own vanilla extract can be more cost-effective than purchasing small bottles from the store, especially if you bake or cook frequently.
- No Artificial Additives: Homemade vanilla extract is free from artificial additives, colors, and preservatives that may be present in some commercial extracts.
- Sustainability: By making your own extract, you can choose sustainable and ethically sourced vanilla beans, contributing to better environmental and ethical practices.
- Gift Ideas: Homemade vanilla extract makes a thoughtful and personalized gift for friends and family who enjoy cooking or baking. It's a unique and heartfelt present.
- Freshness: Homemade extract often has a fresher and more robust flavour compared to store-bought options, as you can control how long it extracts.
- Creative Uses: Beyond baking, you can use homemade vanilla extract in various culinary applications, from making cocktails to enhancing the flavour of desserts, sauces, and even savoury dishes.
Fresh vanilla bean.
Living in Mexico comes with many perks - like buying fresh vanilla beans! We buy all our vanilla beans in a small Magic Town in Mexico called Cuetzalan. It is a beautiful elegant small town with a distinctive colonial design. 3 hours from Puebla. 5 hours from Mexico City.
Hello! Just us at Cuetzalan.
Ingredients
Vanilla Beans: You will need whole vanilla beans. The number of beans required depends on the quantity of extract you want to make and your flavour preference. Typically, you can use 3 to 6 vanilla beans for every 8 ounces (240 ml) of vodka.
These Organic Madagascar Vanilla Beans are great for the price and flavour. It is the most popular choice on Amazon, but since I live in Mexico I will always promote Mexican Vanilla beans if you ever have the chance of coming across them because they are strong in flavour and less of a carbon foot print.
Vodka: Choose a high-quality, unflavored, and clear vodka with a neutral flavor profile. The alcohol content should be at least 35-40% (70-80 proof).
***Keep in mind that the quality of your vanilla beans and vodka will significantly impact the flavor and quality of your homemade vanilla extract. The better the ingredients, the better the result.
Equipment
Making homemade vanilla extract is a straightforward process, and you don't need many specialized tools or equipment. Here are the basic items you'll need to make vanilla extract:
- A Clean Glass Bottle or Jar: Use a glass container with a tight-sealing lid to store the vanilla extract. The size of the container should match the amount of extract you plan to make.
- Knife or Scissors: To split the vanilla beans open and expose the seeds.
- Cutting Board: To safely cut the vanilla beans.
Optional items that can be helpful but are not strictly necessary include:
- Funnel: A funnel can make it easier to pour vodka into the bottle without spills.
- Labels: Labels can help you keep track of the date of preparation and the type of vanilla beans used.
- Dark Glass Bottles: While not essential, using dark glass bottles (such as amber or cobalt blue) can help protect the extract from light exposure, which can degrade its quality over time.
Why Use Alcohol (Vodka) Than Water?
Alcohol, typically in the form of vodka, is used to make vanilla extract instead of water for several important reasons:
- Extraction of Flavour Compounds - Vanilla beans contain a wide range of flavour compounds, including vanilla flavour compounds like vanillin. Alcohol is an excellent solvent for these compounds, allowing them to dissolve and infuse into the liquid. Water, on the other hand, is not as effective at extracting these flavour compounds.
- Preservation: Alcohol acts as a preservative, inhibiting the growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria and molds, that can spoil the extract. This helps ensure the extract remains safe to use for an extended period. Water-based extracts are more prone to spoilage and have a shorter shelf life.
- Longer Shelf Life: Vanilla extract made with alcohol has a longer shelf life, often lasting for several years. This means you can make a batch of vanilla extract and store it for an extended period without losing flavour or quality. Water-based extracts are more susceptible to spoilage and degradation.
- Flavour and Aroma: Alcohol not only extracts the flavour compounds effectively but also helps preserve and enhance the aroma of the vanilla. The alcohol carries and intensifies the vanilla scent, resulting in a more aromatic and flavorful extract.
- Versatility: Vanilla extract made with alcohol is more versatile in the kitchen. It can be used in both sweet and savory dishes, as the alcohol evaporates during cooking, leaving behind the concentrated vanilla flavour. Water-based extracts may not perform as well in high-heat cooking.
While alcohol is the traditional and preferred choice for making vanilla extract, it's worth noting that there are alternatives for those who prefer non-alcoholic options. You can make alcohol-free vanilla extract using glycerin or food-grade glycol, although the flavour and shelf life may differ from traditional alcohol-based extracts.
Recipes to Showcase the Vanilla Flavour
Explore these delightful recipes that perfectly showcase the unique flavour of your homemade vanilla extract. Get ready to impress and delight everyone with the exceptional taste it brings to these dishes
Horchata Water - Refreshing and the most delicious rice beverage to make at home. It's our family most beloved drink. Find the authentic Mexican horchata recipe here.
Birthday Sugar Cookies - Beautifully designed rainbow sugar cookies for any special occasion! Both dough and icing sugar needs vanilla extract and it's the best time to reveal vanilla bean extract with this recipe!
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Fresh vanilla bean ice cream is extremely delicious and tastes nothing like your average store-bought artificial-flavoured ice cream. With its smooth and velvet-like texture, you can make this with 20 minutes of hands-off time.
Salted Caramel Pecan Ice Cream - Delicious gooey full full-flavoured pecan ice cream! Rich nutty-flavoured ice cream swirled together with some salted caramel and roasted pecan nuts.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
Equipment
- A clean glass bottle or jar with a tight-sealing lid
- A sharp knife
- A cutting board
Ingredients
- 6-8 vanilla beans (Grade B or Grade A beans work well)
- 1 cup high-quality vodka (at least 35-40% alcohol by volume)
Instructions
- Lay your vanilla beans flat on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to make a lengthwise slit down the middle of each bean, leaving about 1/2 inch at each end uncut. This will expose the tiny vanilla seeds inside.
- Place the split vanilla beans in the glass bottle or jar. You may need to cut the beans into smaller pieces to fit them in the container if necessary.
- Pour the vodka over the vanilla beans in the bottle, making sure that the beans are completely submerged. Leave some space at the top of the bottle to allow for shaking.
- Seal the bottle tightly with the lid. Give the bottle a good shake to mix the vodka and vanilla beans. Store the bottle in a cool, dark place, such as a pantry or cupboard.
- Let the vanilla extract sit for at least 6 months to allow the flavours to develop. Shake the bottle gently every week or so to agitate the mixture.
- After a few months, your homemade vanilla extract will be ready to use. You can use it in your baking and cooking just like store-bought vanilla extract. As you use it, you can top off the bottle with more vodka to keep the supply going.
