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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Homemade vanilla extract

Homemade vanilla extract


Before Colin came to visit me during CNY, he asked me to suggest a gift that he could bring for me, so I quickly suggested good vanilla beans from US as I have been thinking to make my own vanilla extract.


















When I first see Ju ~The Little Teochew~ making her own vanilla extract, I immediate bookmarked. I followed exactly to her recipe and steps. Thanks so much to Ju !


First get a good vanilla beans, Thanks Colin!

vanilla pods


Before I getting a bottle of vodka (we don't drink this at home), I throw the beans into a caster sugar jar to make Vanilla sugar for future baking purposes.


vanilla sugar


Once I got a bottle of vodka (with higher alcohol content of 35% which could produce strongest extract). Since i need only 1 bean for making Vanilla chiffon cake (will share recipe later) , I use a small clean glass bottle which could store 50ml vodka. First I split one vanilla bean lengthwise and scraped the seeds for making chiffon, and put the empty bean into a small glass bottle. Store in a cool, dark place and give it a little shake every few days.


Homemade vanilla extract


This sunset effect happened just about an hour later, this is beautiful right?

Homemade vanilla extract



I'm so happy now, because I will have never-ending supply of homemade vanilla extract !! Happy Baking !!
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33 comments:

  1. AnhMarch 22, 2011 at 5:35 PM

    great idea! And I bet the fragrance is much better :)

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  2. Little InboxMarch 22, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    Cool...

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  3. AnonymousMarch 22, 2011 at 6:23 PM

    Sonia, you really make full use of the vanilla bean ^_^

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  4. JanineMarch 22, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    I have my own jar of homemade vanilla extract and it's super nice smelling! glad you have started your own too :D

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  5. MinMarch 22, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    Wah, so nice, Sonia! You can have your own vanilla extract, will be very fragrant I think :)

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  6. Honey Bee SweetsMarch 22, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    It's always good to have homemade vanilla. Ever since i started making my own, there was no looking bk. But you know, even my several trips back to California, I never buy the vanilla pods from Nielsen-Massey, I find it too expensive, heehee! I would invest more in a better alcohol. Btw, try using rum next time Sonia, it is way way better then vodka, trust me. Enjoy!

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  7. UnknownMarch 22, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    so great!!homemade wan...do you sell it or not? ha

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  8. divyaMarch 22, 2011 at 9:15 PM

    Great tip...

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  9. UnknownMarch 22, 2011 at 10:32 PM

    my friends in malaysia told me that vanilla beans are so much cheaper than here in the US, like 4 beans for RM10.00

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  10. busygranMarch 22, 2011 at 10:43 PM

    I am so into home-made vanilla extract that I have one full vodka bottle of it with 20 beans. Crazy, isn't it? Next I'm going to use rum!

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  11. Blessed HomemakerMarch 22, 2011 at 10:57 PM

    Sonia, you know what? I've got my vodka and vanilla beans before Ju's posting. And then, they are still sitting comfortably on my table top, untouched!

    I put the whole bean into my sugar jar to make vanilla sugar but I find it such a waste as the beans are still intact, not fully utilised.

    You've just given me a push to work faster on this.

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  12. tinyskilletMarch 22, 2011 at 11:00 PM

    I made my own vanilla extract too and used organic beans and was lucky to find some organic vodka. I gave it as Christmas gifts. You have to plan ahead for it. I think next time I'll try using rum. Now I just add vanilla beans and vodka to a bottle that I have for my use, so I don't have to wait like last time.

    So funny I just notice busygran's comment!

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  13. lenaMarch 22, 2011 at 11:52 PM

    thanks for sharing this, this comes in very appropriate as i have a few vanilla beans at home now,novodka but since honey bee sweets can be soaked in rum, maybe i'll try rum.

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  14. Spoon and ChopsticksMarch 23, 2011 at 2:21 AM

    Thanks for this tip, Sonia. Very useful!

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  15. My Little SpaceMarch 23, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    Nice！ I am going to make my own vanilla extract once I receive my vanilla beans from my blogger friend. Can't wait!
    Kristy

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  16. daphneMarch 23, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    Nice!!! This is probably a better way of using extract that the fake store bought ones!

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  17. Love2cook MalaysiaMarch 23, 2011 at 8:56 AM

    Wow..home made vanilla extract! Bet it is good...

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  18. Swee SanMarch 23, 2011 at 9:16 AM

    i soaked the vanilla beans in rum.. very nice smell too..

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  19. AnonymousMarch 23, 2011 at 11:06 AM

    I am yet to make my own! It does sound easy.

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  20. CoraineMarch 23, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    whoah..wish i can make that too! it's more natural than ready made ones..
    I saw the same vanilla beans with the same package here in singapore..
    but it's really expensive!

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  21. WendyinKK March 23, 2011 at 4:41 PM

    Sonia,
    Next time, if I ever buy in bulk from the net, I ask u as well ok.
    Last time, Swee San, PeiLin and I shared 250gm of beans. It's a lot leh!

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  22. Ju (The Little Teochew)March 23, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    Very happy to see that you are doing this. My vanilla extract is now really dark & syrupy. I should do an update!

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  23. ICook4FunMarch 23, 2011 at 8:33 PM

    I too made my own vanilla. I normally make a big bottle of it so I can stuff a lot of beans into the bottle. It gives a stronger flavor.

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  24. Angie's RecipesMarch 23, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    I made some vanilla extract with vodka last month, but not quite satisfied with the result. And I used 6 vanilla beans....maybe I should try with rum next time.

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  25. CheahMarch 23, 2011 at 10:31 PM

    Looks like I'll have to jump into the bandwagon too. Think, I'll go for rum. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  26. Three-CookiesMarch 23, 2011 at 11:15 PM

    Great idea, I will definitely give this a try

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  27. Little Corner of MineMarch 24, 2011 at 12:51 AM

    Nice!

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  28. pigpigscornerMarch 24, 2011 at 5:46 AM

    I really should try making some myself!

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  29. VictorMarch 24, 2011 at 10:35 AM

    I made vanilla extract with vodka like last year. I get mine from iheartvanilla.com, cheap but excellent quality.

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  30. SimplyfoodMarch 24, 2011 at 3:53 PM

    This is intersting but what is asubstitute for alcohol if you are ateetotaller???
    Colour of vanilla nad vodka fusion looks amazing one beautiful click.

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  31. Colin WoonApril 6, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    Didn't know you can use vanilla bean this way, glad that you can put it into good use!

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  32. amantinoApril 17, 2011 at 9:25 AM

    thanks for sharing this! but where can I find vanilla pods in Malaysia!? actually I am student here and don't know about cooking and baking suppliers in Malaysia. I hope you can help me :)

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  33. serikayaMay 11, 2011 at 11:26 PM

    hi amantino, try www.greenvanillastore.com for vanilla beans...bought some plump gourmet vanilla beans last month there and I think they were better than the store-bought ones

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