How to make Pure Vanilla Extract

You see, I bake quite often, therefore I use ALOT of vanilla extract. And if you bake too, you know that stuff aint cheap! I'm talking about the pure extract, not the el cheapo imitation junk. So last month I decided to do some research and learn how to make homemade vanilla extract. It sounded & looked super easy, but truthfully I was really intimidated. I had wondered if it was really even worth it? So I did a price comparison.

I went to my local bulk foods store to check out their pure vanilla extract. The largest size they carried was 16 oz. for around $7 plus tax. Now to break that down even farther, it will end up costing around .44 cents per ounce. Not too shabby, but I knew I could beat that by making my own. 

I looked around & was able to find 1/4 pound (it equaled about 36 vanilla beans) of Organic Madagascar Vanilla Beans Here on Ebay for $11.95 (shipping included). I then purchased a 1.75 liter bottle of the cheapest Vodka I could find at my local grocery store. It ended up costing $6.88. My total is now $18.83 for 1/4 lb organic vanilla beans & 1.75 liters of vodka. This will end up making half a gallon of pure organic vanilla extract & will end up costing just .29 cents per ounce! For ORGANIC Pure Vanilla Extract! Let me show you how I did it :)


 
You will need:

1. 1 half gallon size mason jar.
2. A pair of sharp kitchen scissors.
3. About a 1/4 lb of vanilla beans.
4. 1  1.75 liter bottle of vodka.

Now you need to grab a vanilla bean & make sure you're holding it so the curvy end is at the top. Next you will need to carefully start at the bottom & cut the vanilla beans up the middle till you get about an inch from the top, leaving that portion uncut. Drop it in the mason jar & repeat till you've got all the vanilla beans split.

Now that you've got a jar full of split vanilla beans, grab your bottle of vodka & start pouring over the beans.

Put a lid on it & there you have it, the almost finished product! I say almost because you will need to let this sit in a dark space for 6 months. Yes, that's right, 6 months. I put mine in a paper bag & put it in the back of one of my cabinets. Make sure to take it out and give it a good shake every now & then. I would say a couple times a month would work.

Here is the same bottle as pictured above, & it's been sitting for 1 month exactly. Look at how beautiful and dark brown its gotten in just a month! I can't wait till June to strain it out & start using it. When that time comes, I will make sure to write a post showing you exactly how I do that.