Homemade Vanilla Extract

on Friday, October 26, 2012
Quick post today to show you how easy it is to make your own vanilla extract. I made mine back in August but not had a chance to blog about it yet. I've been using it in my cakes and it's delicious! It's definitely worth making this at home if you bake a lot as a small bottle of vanilla extract costs quite a fair bit. The best thing about this is that it lasts for years and once you've made the first bottle, you can continue topping it up and you'll have an everlasting supply of vanilla extract! 

Disclaimer: This is NOT an advertisement for the brand of vodka shown here. I initially bought a beautiful Kilner bottle but in the process of sterilising it by putting it in the oven, the cap melted off so I was unable to use it. Besides it's cheaper and simpler to use the bottle that your alcohol comes in! 



 1 x 350ml bottle of clear alcohol (vodka in this case) and 10 vanilla pods which I ordered online 

 Pour out a small glass of vodka and place the vanilla pods inside. I also scraped out the vanilla seeds into the bottle so that the flavour develops quicker. 

 This is what it looks like to start with 

 after 1 week.. a bit of colour developing 

 after 4 weeks, its ready to use

Tips : 
Store in a dark, cool cupboard.
Shake the bottle every so often. 
Continue topping up with vodka as you use up the vanilla extract.
If you have any spare vanilla pods that you've used in baking, wash and dry them and then pop them in the bottle. 
Pour them into little presentation jars and tie with a ribbon for a Christmas or birthday gift for bakers.






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