Thread: What's Cooking?

In my sometimes questionable wisdom I've decided to make Vanilla Extract.

I purchased 2 ounces of Tahitian #1 beans and started in. However after a bit more research I decided to order 4 ounces of Madagascar #1 beans. I also picked up some 80 proof (40% alcohol) vodka to use to extract the oils from the beans. (While I don't drink vodka, I can always use it to make pie crusts )

The YouTube guy I'm using as a base would be what a good friend called 'Pretty Extreme' he has close to 30 years of making vanilla extract and is quite picky, however if I don't shake my bottles 4 times a day I can live with that.

The one thing that I've taken a step further than the YT guy did is that he uses a Vacuum Bag Sealer's hole to attach to jars to remove a bit of the air. I am using my vacuum chamber which will stay on as long as I want so it will remove more air than the bag/jar sealer.

I split the beans lengthwise and then into 3rd's before putting them into the jars.

Here's the pint that I made yesterday afternoon. This was taken today at about the same time I started the process.



To show what a difference the vacuum makes, here's the before and after from tonight when I first split and cut the beans, added the vodka and then put the jar in the vacuum chamber for 1/2 an hour.





Yes the second batch will be a quart. If it all goes well, in about 3-4-5 months I should have either a lifetime supply of pure vanilla extract and enough to share with family and friends or a worthless experiment.

But the way I look at this project is that the final product HAS to taste better than the artificial vanilla flavoring that my mother used.

Wish me well