Making homemade vanilla extract for your baking needs is unbelievably simple. The only thing required of you is some patience.
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This is a post that I have been planning to write for ages, but a recent post in our Facebook group (thank you Wendy!) prompted me to go ahead and share it now.
You see, one of our great members posted about the increase in vanilla prices being brought on by crop loss. A cyclone earlier this year took out 30% of the vanilla crops. (See article: HERE)
That said, even when there isn’t a “crisis” in the baking world, making your own vanilla extract is incredibly simple and economical.
You only need three things.
Vanilla Beans
Vodka…and time.
How to make it:
To make the extract, purchase some good quality vanilla beans and good quality vodka. You don’t have to get top shelf, but don’t get “lighter fluid” vodka either.
Split the beans open and scrape all of the wonderful seeds out. Drop them into a bottle of vodka. Then drop the split bean pods into the bottle as well. You’ll want about 2 beans for every cup of vodka that you use. I’ll tell you though, that any time I use vanilla beans for another recipe, I’ll toss those pods into the bottle as well. It won’t hurt a thing and will only boost the vanilla flavor in your extract.
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Place the bottle in your pantry and leave it be. Once in a while when you go into your pantry for something, give the bottle a shake to move the beans & seeds around in there.
You want to let these to steep for at least 4 or 5 months, but you can leave it in there indefinitely.
So how economical is it exactly?
Well let’s take a look at this. For a typical bottle of good quality vanilla, I pay about $8-9 for a bottle that is only about 2 ounces. Splitting it in the middle, that’s about $4.25 per ounce.
A bottle of decent vodka is about $20 for a bottle that is 25 ounces.
Vanilla beans normally come in a jar with two beans inside and I can get them at my local store for $7-10. For a full bottle, I would use 6 beans. That would run me about $21-30. I watch for them to go on sale and stock up at that time. But even if I pay the full $10 for each 2 bean bottle, the beans and vodka together would come to around $50.
That’s only $2.00 per ounce for homemade vanilla extract as opposed to the $4.25 an ounce for the store bought vanilla extract!
This is a great money saver, especially if you do a lot of baking.
Have you ever made your own vanilla extract?
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Homemade Vanilla Extract
Ingredients
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1 c vodka
Instructions
- To make the extract, purchase some good quality vanilla beans and good quality vodka. You don’t have to get top shelf, but don’t get “lighter fluid” vodka either.
- Split the beans open and scrape all of the wonderful seeds out. Drop them into a bottle of vodka. Then drop the split bean pods into the bottle as well. You’ll want about 2 beans for every cup of vodka that you use. I’ll tell you though, that any time I use vanilla beans for another recipe, I’ll toss those pods into the bottle as well. It won’t hurt a thing and will only boost the vanilla flavor in your extract.
- Place the bottle in your pantry and leave it be. Once in a while when you go into your pantry for something, give the bottle a shake to move the beans & seeds around in there.You want to let these to steep for at least 4 or 5 months, but you can leave it in there indefinitely.
Nutritional information is auto-generated and the accuracy is not guaranteed.
Please research the FDA requirements for making Pure Vanilla Extract. 2 beans may or may not ( most likely not though) equal an ounce required to make extract in a cup of alcohol. Your recipe needs to be updated and corrected so people understand they are making flavored alcohol and not an actual extract. Your recipe will be good in a cocktail but not so good in baking.
I’ve always wanted to make my own vanilla extract. Thanks for sharing this. I was wondering what you thought of adding a cinnamon stick also. I love all your recipes. I made the pumpkin bundt cake and it was delicious!!
Now I know why extracts always smell a bit like alcohol! This was really helpful. I’m not sure if I’ll usually have the time for this but I could probably adapt this to make extracts from things it’s harder to find extracts of on the shelf.
I get so bored of store bought vanilla! I’d love to make my own! Great post!
I did make my own vanilla extract a few years ago, and gave it out as little gifts for Christmas. I bought the food save bottles at Hobby Lobby. It was good, but it said to soak the vanilla beans and pods for 2 months, not as long as you said. I liked it, but maybe longer would be a lot better. I wanted to try to make bourbon vanilla extract too. Would you soak the beans for the same amount of time?
Hello! Yes, you can do it exactly the same way. My next batch is actually going to be a bourbon vanilla. I think it has an even richer, deeper flavor.