A Worthy Investment

Left to Right: Vanilla Bean & Seeds, Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Bean Paste, Powdered Vanilla, and Vanilla Sugar

It's very easy to take vanilla for granted, because it seems like it's in everything.  However, equating vanilla's ubiquity with flavor simplicity is a rookie mistake.  We've all glossed over it in recipes: 1 teaspoon here, 1/2 teaspoon there.  Can't I just leave it out if it's such a small amount?  Well, your vanilla-less baked good won't taste bad, but something will definitely be missing (it's called flavor), and that 1 teaspoon of delicious, aromatic complexity will be mocking you.  Vanilla is anything but plain!

Vanilla's powerful combination of sweet, spicy, and floral characteristics are strong enough to conjure up warm and fuzzy childhood memories, and delicate enough to successfully complement just about everything.  Given the powerful nature of this flavoring, I've always wanted to try and make vanilla extract myself.  As with anything in the pastry world, making it on your own teaches you to truly appreciate the end product, while developing your own tastes, preferences, and skills.  There are many articles and recipes online that discuss the procedure for making vanilla extract, but in the past I haven't been able to convince myself to spend the money on the vanilla beans themselves.  You've probably seen them in fancier grocery stores where they are selling two very dry beans for $8 to $12.  Seriously?  Not worth it.  So how did I finally convince myself to take the plunge?  I found out I could buy vanilla beansin bulk on amazon, along with some nice bottlesfor turning my extract into a nice holiday gift.

Now I've never made it before, so this is an experiment.  If you'd like to join in the fun, you can order your own beans.  Or if you are in Philly, I'll share my stash with you at cost.

Vanilla Extract Experiment: Day 1

I wish you could smell my apartment right now.  I just opened an eight ounce package of Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans, and I could just sit next to it all day.  The aroma is intoxicating.

Ingredient Ratio:

6 vanilla beans (tahitian, bourbon madagascar, whatever you can get your hands on)

1 cup of vodka (80 proof)

Notes: Some recipes say as few as 3 beans (per cup of vodka) others as high as 8 beans, so I split the difference.  Also, the majority of recipes call for bottom shelf vodka since it's essentially flavorless, but you can use bourbon, or rum as well.

Tools & Equipment: Clean bottle or jar with lid, measuring cup, knife, and a cutting board.

Directions:

1) Split vanilla beans in half the long way with a knife on a cutting board lined with parchment paper.  Parchment will keep the beans from staining your cutting board.  Some recipes recommend scraping the black flavorful paste out of the bean, but I'm going to skip this step.  The little seeds should come out on their own, and scraping the beans can get very messy.

2)  Big batch: If you have a brand new bottle of vodka, you can steep the extract in the bottle itself, but you'll have to remove about 1/2 cup to make some room for the beans.  For a one liter bottle of vodka add 24 split beans.  For a 750ml bottle of vodka add 17 split beans.

Small batch: Pour 1-2 cups of vodka into a small jar or bottle, and insert 6 split vanilla beans for every cup of vodka.  You may want to cut them in half so that they will remain submerged.

3) Now the hard part: Waiting.  Some recipes say shake the bottle everyday for the first week and then occasionally for 3 weeks after.  This seems like overkill and is probably the product of impatience.  I'll probably just gently swirl the extract every week.  Also, since these are delicate and volatile flavors we are extracting, it's best to keep the bottles in a dark place, so the sun doesn't affect the process.

Since I have a relatively high ratio of beans to vodka mine should be ready to use in one month with full strength at about 6 weeks, but I'll post any notable changes in color or aroma in the meantime.  Once it's ready, I'll decant it into smaller bottles for gifts.  Check back here to see what it looks like after a few days...Now go forth and extract!