Vanilla Extract
If you read a lot of food blogs or like baking, you probably know this already. Vanilla extract is just vanilla beans and vodka. That’s it.
I was a little astonished when I found the “recipe”. Really? That’s it? And I’m paying up the wazzu for that?
I was unsure where to find vanilla pods. Oddly enough, it was a bulk find at Costco (of all places!). The cool thing is when it’s complete you can just top the jar with a more vodka and have an endless supply as you use it.
I bought this vodka when I went to visit family in Poland. Probably should have chosen something local. Note to self: that was silly, don’t do it again.
2 split vanilla beans for every 1 cup of vodka. Glass jar in a dark place for 2 months and voila! That’s it! I kid you not. That is it! Happy vanilla extracting!
Glad to see you are getting your chemistry on! Here’s a link which can give you varying strength or ‘fold’ of your extract. http://www.nielsenmassey.com/makingofvanilla.htm
Higher fold extracts are helpful if you are limited or want to limit the liquid contents of a recipe/formula.
I have a whole collection of different vanilla extracts from my old job ranging from the cheap off the shelf stuff to multi continent origin stuff. I think I found the perfect gift for you😃
Happy extracting !
Awesome, thanks for the tidbit as usual. It lays out the types of vanilla pretty nicely. I think that’s the part that made me a bit befuddled and skeptical, will I accidentally make hot sauce if I use the wrong kind? Ok, exaggerating… Ha, yea the way to my heart is vanilla and tea. You have figured it out.