(those pictured are silicone with bamboo handles) and give it another go. Surprise! You've stretched that jar of peanut butter one sandwich further.
I’ve been meaning to make my own vanilla for ages, but I keep forgetting. My husband (the baker in the family) sees that we’re low and picks up a big bottle at Costco, perpetuating a vicious vanilla cycle. Every bottle we get from the store is one more piece of plastic that we have to figure out what to do with, so making my own in a reusable glass bottle makes sense from a waste perspective. But here in Hawaii, it makes sense from a locavore perspective, too: we have a vanilla farm right down the road. How ridiculous to buy imported vanilla in plastic! Even if you don’t have access to locally grown vanilla, it makes sense to make it yourself simply because it eliminates waste and a single batch of homemade vanilla can last indefinitely, since you can keep topping off the jar as you use the vanilla.
Inspired to try?
Split two vanilla beans down the center with a knife or scissors and slip the beans into a recycled glass jar (one that holds roughly 2 cups of liquid) or a pint-sized canning jar. Fill the jar with vodka and allow it to sit for three to four weeks before using your homemade vanilla in recipes. Leave the vanilla bean in the jar and when your supply starts to get low, add more vodka. (Eventually, you may need to start fresh when the vanilla beans start to lose their oomph.)
Just after filling the jar
After sitting for about a month or so
This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFLINS.
Don’t forget that when it gets too full of vanilla beans, you can pull out old bean casings and use them to flavor your sugar. Just toss them into a sealed glass jar with sugar and you’ll have gently vanilla flavored sugar in no time. Two for one!
Melanie @ Frugal Kiwi recently posted..Pet NZ Interview & Dog Update
Excellent point! Thanks, Melanie.
Kris, I must admit I read the title of your post and thought, “Yeah, right.” Make vanilla?! I had no idea it was as easy as this! How very, incredibly cool. I bet it tastes so much better than store-bought as well. I will definitely try it. Thanks!
Lisa, funny. I do aim for *doable* projects. Thanks for sticking with me and realizing that it’s so easy!
Thank you! I usually buy high quality vanilla but use it quickly! would you recommend a top shelf, well, or cheap vodka?
You can also make this with rum. If you make it with rum, use a good rum. If you make with vodka, it matters less.
Melanie @ Frugal Kiwi recently posted..Pet NZ Interview & Dog Update
And, I’ve read, brandy. Vodka is the only one I’ve tried so far, but I may try a different kind of booze next time. Wonder what would happen with a *mix of alcohol? Hm…
Elaine, honestly I don’t know if it makes a difference. I used cheap, because, well, I’m cheap! The vanilla smells just divine.
You have a vanilla farm down the road? How cool is that?! I second the suggestion on the vanilla sugar. Yummy on toast!
It is very cool! I actually want to try to grow some myself, but that’s still to come.
I had no idea it was this easy either. You’ve inspired me to give it a try!
Wow thanks for this post. I will totally make my own. I had no idea it was so easy. Will buy some pods asap.
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I had no idea it would be this easy. Wild. Seriously. Wild.
Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart recently posted..Dog Health- Spider Bite
I had no idea that this was even possible! How cool!
Julie recently posted..Preserving historyone VHS tape at a time!
Who knew it was that easy? Thanks for this. I’ll give it a go.
sarah henry recently posted..So You Want to be a Successful Food Blogger Here’s How
That’s all? Really? So easy!
My MIL bought me a “kit” for this once. It always seemed as if the vanilla did not taste as good as the stuff I buy from Penzey’s. Any idea why?
No idea. Maybe the vanilla wasn’t very fresh or good quality? (It seems like maybe they’d use a 2nd rate vanilla bean for something like this.)
I’m going through an ‘I don’t like vanilla’ stage so I’m omitting it when I see it in recipes. That said, I think this is a wonderful idea. My mom used to make her own flavored vinegars. I’ve been meaning to try that myself.
MyKidsEatSquid recently posted..3 secrets to better shish kabobs
So cool! Who knew???!!! I love your “vicious vanilla cycle.” I buy organic vanilla in bulk (I think it comes from Madagascar) and bring my own glass jar so I don’t have the plastic or Costco issues. But I want to try this! I think my kids will love doing it too.
@MyKidsEatSquid, how can anyone go through an I don’t like vanilla stage?! Shocking!!
I had no either you could make your own vanilla either! Sounds like a cool projec.t
I had no idea it could be made so easily, everyone says. As for me, I had no idea it was all alcohol!
Vera Marie Badertscher recently posted..Surprises in Iran
I bought one of those kits and it says to let it soak for 4 months…I haven’t opened it yet but it gets darker as time passes. I’m waiting until I run out of store bought to open. The package says the bean can be used to make 2 recipes…we’ll see how it turns out. Thanks for sharing!
Deanna recently posted..Vanilla Frappuccino recipe
Thanks heaps for this post. I had NO idea it was so easy. I’ve just amde my own please check it out on http://nzecochick.blogspot.com/2011/06/vanilla-essence-and-vanilla-sugar.html Love your blog. xx
Madeleine Booth-Smits recently posted..Vanilla essence and vanilla sugar
made this and love using it- and it is such a conversation starter when I bring it out if I am cooking in front of friends.
And when you tell your friends about it – and how easy it is – you might have another convert, thus diverting one more plastic bottle from the landfill!
[...] 2 teaspoons vanilla [...]
i live in Dominica now where vanilla beans grow, but we’re missing the natural pollinator & have to fertilize the flowers ourselves with a needle (very cool for kids). The local rum is used, which is pretty terrible on its own but fine for the beans,
CHEERS!