Especially if you bake a lot, vanilla extract is one of the easier ingredients to switch over to homemade! It takes some patience but it is worth the wait! Not only is it much more cost-effective than buying organic vanilla extract in the store, it also tastes better. And on top of that, it makes a great gift for teachers or neighbors (Or really anyone. Who doesn’t love vanilla extract?!). Also deeply important to me, it is real and doesn’t have any of the fake artificial flavorings and ingredients you find in imitation extract. It also doesn’t contain synthetic vanillin, which is created in a lab and made from wood pulp. Yes, I’m serious. I can’t make this stuff up. While imitation vanilla extract is cheaper than the real stuff, I’d rather make it myself and be confident about the ingredients.

With just a few ingredients and several months of waiting, you’ll have basically a never-ending supply. I prefer to make one large bottle of vanilla extract and then transfer to smaller bottles once it is ready, but you could also use several smaller bottles if that’s what you have on hand. I’m actually not quite sure where I bought the bottles I use for vanilla extract, but they have a fairly large capacity. Whichever you decide, you’ll want to make sure your bottles are made of glass and have a tight seal (I like to use bottles with a flip top).

Ingredients and materials:

• Glass bottles with a tight seal. Anything will do, but I prefer the bottles with the flip tops like these. They are slightly larger than mine, but they would offer a bit of extra room for shaking. I also have saved a variety of amber-tinted bottles from buying vanilla extract over the years, which is what I use to store vanilla extract. They can easily be bought though – 8-oz bottles are great for gifts but I preferthe 16-oz bottles for at-home use.
• Organic Madagascar Grade A vanilla beans. I have seen different vanilla bean to vodka ratios, but you’ll generally want approximately 12 beans per 3 cups of vodka. If you’re using a smaller bottle, use approximately 6 beans for 1.5 cups of vodka. You can always add more vanilla beans if you prefer!
• Sharp knife for scoring the beans. A pairing or even serrated knife will work.
• Funnel. Use whatever you have on hand to help you pour the vodka.
• Vodka. I’ve read different opinions regarding the quality of vodka. I usually end up with a mid-range brand.

Process:

• Begin by gently scoring the vanilla beans to expose the interior of the pod. Be careful – the Grade A beans are slippery. You don’t need to cut all the way through the pod, just cut enough to open them up.
• Add the beans to your glass bottle. Cut them if needed for the height of the bottle.
• Using a funnel, fill the glass bottle with vodka. You’ll want to make sure that the vanilla beans are completely submerged.
• Seal the bottle and give it a gentle shake.
• Place the bottle in a cool dark place for at least 3 months, shaking it every few days. Longer is better though. I much prefer to steep the beans six to twelve months for a stronger flavor.
• Once it’s ready, transfer to smaller bottles and keep in a cool, dark place.

More thoughts:

• Believe it or not, you can actually use the vanilla beans more than once as you use the extract! Fill the bottle back up with vodka to cover the beans again and repeat the process.
• I like to date the outside of my bottles with when I started the batch. It is very easy to forget when you started it!
• More on the vanilla bean to vodka ratio – I am fairly loose with my ratio because I am just using it at home and not selling it. However according to FDA, there should be 0.83 ounces of vanilla beans for every 8 ounces of vodka. If you want to be more precise, you could measure the weight of your vanilla beans for an exact ratio. I don’t personally find this to be necessary, but you may find yourself needing to do that.
• Use homemade vanilla extract as you would store-bought. It’s great in everything.
• If you find yourself needing to use vanilla extract that is weaker because it hasn’t steeped long enough (like the in-between extract you see in the last picture), using a little extra than the recipe calls for works just fine. I know baking is supposed to be an exact science, but I think some things can be left up to interpretation.
• Grade A or Grade B beans are suitable for making extracts. I happened upon Grade A beans by accident while looking for organically-grown, but Grade B are considered extract-worthy.

If you decide to give homemade vanilla extra a try, please let me know! I’d love to hear how it goes!