Vanilla Extract

[evaelisabeth]

So I go this idea from a youtube in the States https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ_C7InOfRR6KIe7G90wTZA

Homemade Vanilla Essence, it will take 18 months to 2 years to mature but if I start a couple of bottles now I'll have homemade vanilla essence by next Yule. It's dead simple 3 split Madagascar Vanilla Pods per 500ml vodka. For the first month shake every day, 2nd month shake twice a week, 3rd month shake once a week and keep doing that in perpetuity till it's done. Start a new batch at the same time every year and you will be swimming in tasty vanilla essence in no time.

Comments

[korpikuusi]

That sounds really interesting - I wonder could you make other flavours with that method as well?

[evaelisabeth]

This kind of thing is used in medicine all the time, it's called a tincture, the alcohol pulls all the chemicals out of the plant matter. The vanilla flavour seems to do well maturing for a long time. What aromas would you be interested in preserving? I guess one could try almond essence?

[korpikuusi]

Almond was the first that came to mind. Maybe orange? Rose?

[evaelisabeth]

Citrus usually doesn't have that long a lifespan, it's more fleeting and I think roses are too delicate to stand up to the alcohol. When extracting their essential oils you have to use fat if you are doing it by hand. It's a fascinating process where you spread a neutral fat over glass, gently press the rose petals into it and then just keep replacing the petals until the scent is in the fat.

[kareina]

I made myself some homemade vanilla extract years ago, because one can't find liquid vanilla in Sweden, and found it usable after only a couple of months. We used the Swedish brännvin because it has a fairly neutral smell/taste. I then topped off the bottle every time it started getting low, till I ran out of brännvin. It might be time to buy more...

[evaelisabeth]

The original poster mentioned that a lot of people only leave it for 3 or 4 months but that she finds the depth of flavour she gets from long curing is amazing so I can wait and see how it turns out next Yule :-) I'm hoping to set up a rotation and I can then gift bottles to my baking friends.