Photo Friday: marc - "Vanilla extract and delayed gratification"

Vanilla extract and delayed gratification

Making your own vanilla extract is easy. Split, scrap, and cut up vanilla pods, place in a bottle of vodka, shake every day for at least a month, and wait at least 2-months, but much longer if you can help it.

The first batch I made pre-dates Jason's birth in 2017, and I'll run out of that "vintage" in probably 6-months from now. So I got crackin' (and splittin' and scrapin')

This batch is from 4 different varieties and locales, 48 bean pods all together.

It already smells crazy good. So that's one week down, just 51 (or more) to go! I had to do something to make 2020 worth remembering.

#glass #vanilla #diy #delayed #gratification

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Sep 29 2020

I'd love to know if you give it a try, Ken. I'm a compulsive DIY'er, and while it's true that vanilla beans aren't cheap, for extract purposes, you want to look for the "b" grade of the best beans you can find. "b" just means that they're already too dry/brittle to be comfortably split and scraped, but their flavor qualities are still intact. Can be much less expensive than fresh, pliable beans. More than half of the pods in this batch were brittle, so for those I cut them on a steep diagonal and so far, the batch looks quite promising!

marc · Sep 29 2020

Sounds excellent. I used to know someone who made coffee liquor in a very similar way. Should try this

kenwhite · Sep 29 2020