I just had to toss this out there, Its so simple, easy...and Damn it.... If you enjoy baking you NEED to know how to make your very own Vanilla Extract :-) Rather that getting ripped off by the Imitation Shie-eeeeet that is basically made from Oak wood.. Bah

Here we go-

Basics are... Alcohol+Vanilla Beans

the Alcohol can be a Grain/vodka...Hell even Brandy, Rum... etc. They will all transfer the flavor in different ways with other subtle or extreme differences.

The most basic is Snag a bottle of Everclear (Ouch). My reason being, Higher proof alcohol will produce a stronger extract, that later on can always be cut down. In MN i can only get the 75% stuff... and when i was in Iowa i heard they are trying to not even make the 95% stuff any more... ONLY REASON is because in the plastic 1.75 bottles it eats away at it.. so there thinking instead of making 2 totally different batches, the hell with the strong one.. For drinking.. Thats a good thing.... BUT NOT FOR VANILLA EXTRACT! lol

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Vanilla Beans... Normally used "Madagascar... Bourbon.. Tahitian"

Madagascar is a basic neutral Vanilla I would say, while Bourbon Vanilla beans give a lingering essence to what it is used on. For Tahitian, it gives the Classic INSTANT Burst of Vanilla loved and adored by bakers world wide.. But the absolute best would be an actual mixer of Bourbon and Tahitian i would say... ( quick link that i have had great service with www.organic-vanilla.com )

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For amounts I suggest 10 beans per 750. Bottle of Boozage. You can use more but its over kill and i will mention why shortly.
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Split the beans in half while holding on to the stem, you can put the beans as is in the bottle and be 100% fine, but... I'm an American so QUICK RESULTS- Is in my general direction lol, SO if your in my boat, slice and also scrape the inner seeds , toss those in the bottle, along with the bean itself. DO this to all 10, and you will already see the gran alch. Gain color..

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SHAKE THE HELL OUT OF IT for about 30 Sec. put it in a cool dark place, wait a few days.. Shake Shake Shake...
Do this for 3-4 Months and you will be blown away on how dark this gets.... Normally when it will not get darker its good to bottle in smaller bottles for easier use, Strain everything through a coffee filter and your good to go, IT WILL LAST FOR EVER. But be sure to toss everything back in that bottle cause you think those beans you just spend good money on are done? Heck no, They will Last and Last for multiple batches, but a good rule of thumb is always be sure to toss in another fresh bean or so if you strain it out 100%.
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Normally chefs keep the extract in the original bottle, beans and all, and when the liquid gets low, Add more... simple as that. :-)

Any Questions?
-If i do another batch i'll be sure to do some pictures





"Dark bottles are much better for the extracting process if you cannot supply sufficient darkness..or something like that, ENJOY!"
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just a quick bump, I believe mine are more then ready to drain, and attempt to fill the base bottle with the remainder bean with more raw alcohol and give it another year.:-)
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I'm excited to hear how this turns out for you Sam.

I might have to pick up some Everclear (the good high % WI stuff. :-)).
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Any other good sources for vanilla beans? The site you posted says all (yup, all of it) if the vanilla beans are sold out. I would love to try this out.

Do you recommend making a bottle with 5 beans of Bourbon and 5 of Tahitian?
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I found www.beanilla.com out of Grand Rapids that seems to be a worthy source.
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I'm lazy. I buy from Penzey's

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penze...ysvanilla.html
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I use amazon for our vanilla beans. When we make chocolate from the cocoa bean we use a vanilla bean to round out the flavors.
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