Homemade Vanilla Extract

Thanks to Pinterest, I've been wanting to make my own homemade vanilla. There are so many different recipes out there! A friend of mine saw my pin on Pinterest and told me the recipe I had pinned was wrong. So, she sent me a link with the FDA approved recipe and let me know where she bought her beans from. I was excited to get started!

What you need:

Vanilla Beans (I used Madagascar Bourbon Grade B from here)
Vodka (I used the cheapest stuff I could find)
Jars

I used 8 oz. of vanilla beans and 8 cups of vodka. You need 1 oz. of vanilla beans per 1 cup of vodka.

Slice your vanilla beans into 1/2" pieces.


I decided to put my vanilla extract into one quart mason jars. So I put 3 cups of vodka and 3 oz. of vanilla beans in two of my jars and the rest in the last jar. Then I shook them up real well!

It will take about 6 months for the vanilla to fully extract from the beans. For the first couple of weeks, you'll want to shake the jars every day. After that shake them once every couple of weeks or whenever you think about it. When it's ready, strain the vanilla beans and you're good to go. I'm going to put my vanilla into 4 oz. jars and give them out as Christmas presents. Of course, I'll keep some for myself.

The vanilla should keep indefinitely from what I've read. Supposedly you can also top off your jar of vanilla with some vodka to make it last longer. Wouldn't that dilute it a little? I'm not sure. Guess I'll have to try it and see.

Here's what it cost me. The vanilla beans were $16.23 (One pound is $32.45 including shipping and I split them with my sister-in-law) and the vodka was $12 for a total of $28.23. That's only 44 cents an ounce!! I dare say that is MUCH CHEAPER than Walmart!! Have fun!!