How To Make Vanilla Extract...

Okay...making your own vanilla extract is hardly rocket science! I have no idea why I've never made it before. This is what happens...you start making your own stuff and it just gets a life of its own. You start looking around your pantry and imagining ways to fill your shelves with healthier products and less processed items.
Now that we make most of our food at home I've noticed I go through a boatload of vanilla extract. It isn't inexpensive! I've experimented a bit cooking with the actual vanilla beans but feel like I'm still a bit of a rookie.
I looked at a few different recipes when I decided to make the vanilla extract. You'd guess they are all exactly the same! I mean how many ways can there be?! Well...it seems there are several options.
You can save up your "spent" vanilla beans. You know, after you split them, scrape out the tiny mushy beans and use them in some delicious vanilla pudding or something equally divine. I opted out of this method. I figured by the time I have enough "spent" vanilla beans to make extract it will be a very long wait.
Vanilla beans are expensive. Buying them in a swanky cooking store or even at a grocery store or restaurant supply will set you back about ten bucks for a little vial of 3 beans. That would defeat the purpose of making your own. I started searching online for a good deal on beans and to see what I could find out. There are beans from Mexico and Madagascar and a few other exotic destinations. It seems for true connoisseurs there are different nuances to different beans depending on what you are going to use them for.
After looking at a few different websites I decided upon these beans...

Did I choose these vanilla beans because of my amazing knowledge of vanilla beans? Nope...I chose these because it says they are "extract grade vanilla beans"!  The description also gave me a couple of pointers. It suggested using one vial (24 grams) per 8 ounces of vodka. I also decided on these because of the price point. They were $9.99 each. I would guess there are even better deals out there.

I had a partially used bottle of cheap vodka leftover from making Kahlua.

Remember...don't waste your money on top shelf booze for making stuff like this...

This is what 24 grams of vanilla beans looks like. I think they may be the scratch and dents from the vanilla bean factory! No worries...a perfectly good use for them. They smell musky and sweet and alluring.

That's it! Nothin' to it! I made a double batch. Two vials of beans and 16 ounces of vodka. This will go onto a dark shelf in my basement. I will agitate it from time to time and plan to let it work its magic for about 8 weeks. You can also cover it with brown kraft paper or a brown paper bag if you don't have a dark hiding place.
I'm super excited about this. This is the start of my perpetual source of vanilla extract. My never ending supply of sweet and enticing burnished liquid. As you use it you just top it off with more vodka and shovel in a few more beans from time to time. I plan to start using more actual vanilla bean in my cooking adventures and will use those spent beans to replenish my bottle.
Oh...and, I love these bottles soooo much. I bought them a couple of years ago and use them for all sorts of fun activities! WECK is the brand. They are beautiful and well made and versatile. You can actually "bottle" fruits and vegetables in them with the unique glass lids, gaskets and clips. As a newbie to canning I found them a bit tedious for my level of experience but have found numerous uses for these fun jars...