VANILLA EXTRACT
Why make your own vanilla extract when a bottle sits so readily on the supermarket shelf? Because there’s something quietly wonderful about it. With the price of vanilla ever-changing, it is often far more economical to craft your own. More than that, you can shape its character—deciding just how deep, rich, and fragrant you’d like the flavour to be. A little patience, and you have a bottle infused with pure comfort, ready to stir into cakes, creams, and puddings
You only need two things to make your own.
INGREDIENTS
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4–6 whole vanilla pods.
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1 cup 80% alcohol. I use vodka. It works very well with Bourbon and Rum.
HOW TO
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Take each vanilla pod and carefully slice it in half, releasing its dark, fragrant seeds. Slip the pods into a clean glass jar, pour over your chosen spirit—vodka is most traditional—and seal it well.
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The beans will begin to weave their flavour into the alcohol almost at once, though patience is richly rewarded. After eight weeks you will have a usable extract, but if you can wait six to twelve months, the result is deeper, darker, and wonderfully aromatic.
Vanilla pods are often sold as Grade A or Grade B. Either will work, though Grade B is especially well-suited to making extract.
For another little kitchen treasure, you may also scrape out the tiny seeds and stir them into sugar. Stored in a jar, this becomes vanilla sugar—perfect for cakes, creams, dusting biscuits, or sweetening a cup of tea.