A Basic Preparation of Vanilla Extract

Several years ago my sister made vanilla extract — a few gallons of vanilla extract, to be precise. And we all said, 'Well, isn't she clever!' Christmas rolled around a few months later, and we all received beautiful bottles of homemade vanilla extract from her. This caused us all to say, 'Well, would you look at this! Never mind clever, she's practically a genius!' And I still stand by this, because really, who makes their own vanilla extract?

Of course you realize that a nice bottle of Madagascar vanilla extract costs about 20 dollars, and you can find it anywhere. I usually opt for either Williams-Sonoma or Sûr la Table because I am very brand-loyal, the brand being Nielson-Massey Vanillas, Inc. Apart from my sister's vanilla, I've been buying this brand for ages — even though I am sure there were times when I probably shouldn't have.

Anyway, I'm also sure that you are aware that if you have a propensity to bake, you can go through quite a lot of vanilla. The recipe for my Aunt Martha's chocolate chip cookies alone calls for 2 teaspoons, and that is only because I cut the recipe in half. And now that summer is unofficially ending, that means that holiday baking is 'right around the corner', as they say.

This brings me to how I spent Sunday afternoon. Actually, that is not true. It would be more accurate to say this is how I spent roughly 10 minutes of my Sunday afternoon, because vanilla extract is absurdly easy to make. All you need is: 8 Madagascar vanilla beans, a quart of vodka, and a few mason jars.

I purchased my vanilla beans on-line from a wonderful site I've just discovered called Beanilla (http://www.beanilla.com/). And seriously, it is a bargain. I am used to spending 10 dollars for 1 or 2 beans from Whole Foods or QFC or wherever. These were $1.50 each (usually $1.75, but I got them on sale), which is why I got 15 of them. They also sell pretty much anything else you may need, relating to vanilla. I also bought a few brown glass bottles to put my vanilla in when it is ready in a month or so.

Selecting the vodka was much more difficult for me because the recipe merely calls for a 'good quality' vodka. I typically buy Absolut and use it for making Penne with Vodka Sauce and things like that. But that is about the extent of it for me. So on Saturday I quickly ran into the liquor store and asked the gentleman behind the counter what his opinion was. He told me that Absolut generally has a stronger alcohol flavor than some of the others, which I found to be a bit off-putting. He convinced me to try a Polish vodka —Sobieski — and said it has been getting rave reviews. Plus, it was 10 bucks less than my old stand-by, Absolut. Having settled the vodka dilemma, the gentleman then went on to discuss Poland and the many wonders of the Catholic Church, raising many a fine point all the while. To be perfectly frank, I found it rather refreshing, if not a little odd.

Vanilla Extract:
8 long, soft vanilla beans
1 quart (960 ml) good-quality vodka

Split 6 of the vanilla beans length-wise, and then cut them into small pieces.

Place the vanilla and vodka into a clean glass jar(s) that will tightly seal. (I used 2 Kerr canning jars.)

Put the jars in the back of your cupboard for a month or so, taking them out to shake-up, from time to time.

Strain through a mesh sieve that has been layered with 2 layers of cheese cloth.

You can then put the vanilla in your lovely little jars, or back in the glass mason jars that you just cleaned.

Add the two remaining whole beans to the jars and seal tightly. (Recipe from: The Professional Pastry Chef, by Bo Friberg, John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2002.)