Baking is only as good as the ingredients as you use. A lot of time our budgets just don't allow us to buy the best so we have to compromise. I hate buying imitiation vanilla extract - it just isn't quite the same as the "real" stuff. A fellow bread baker shared this recipe for true vanilla extract and I haven't looked back since. Who would have known it was so easy to make! Of course, I have to explain to my husband why he comes home to find a half empty bottle of vodka on the kitchen counter!
Homemade Vanilla Extract
2 cups Vodka (I buy the cheap stuff from Walmart)
5 to 6 vanilla beans
Split the vanilla beans in half and cut in 1 inch lengths.
Put vanilla beans and Vodka into a glass container (I use a quart mason jar with a secure lid) that will hold 2 cups.
Put the container into a dark location.
Shake the container periodically, every day or so.
Mark a calendar or label the jar with the date it was prepared.
The vanilla flavoring should be ready in 6 (six) weeks from the day it is started.
After the first batch is finished, pour it into smaller bottles, as desired, and pour 2 cups of Vodka in the
original container and let it set 6 (six) weeks. This will make a second batch of flavoring.
When you reach the point where the beans will not color the Vodka in the prescribed time, start over with new beans.
I get my vanilla beans from a seller on eBay called VanillaProducts. I am not affiliated with this individual - they have a great product and offer great services.
You can do the same with Cinnamon sticks and get a cinnamon extract.
I love vanilla extract and use it all the time in my cake recipes. There is nothing like the real thing.
ReplyDeleteI make homemade ice cream,too, and you can tell the difference between ice cream made with the real stuff and the imitiation. No comparison between the two.
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