I love buying products with as little processing as possible and as natural ingredients as possible. I recently bought 100 organic beans for less than $17AUD delivered that's much better than the $8AUD i paid for 3 at the local organic shop! I'm setting aside half to use 'fresh' where the recipe calls for vanilla beans, but sometimes I like to use vanilla extract. I read the back of my vanilla extract and the main ingredient is ethanol - um isn't that what they make cheap petrol from????? well i don't want to ingest that organic or not. So I'm making my own! From vanilla beans and vodka! EASY!
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| My lovely organic vanilla beans. So soft, shiny and smelly! |
You need 50 ml of vodka per vanilla bean. Find a clean jar and make sure the vanilla beans are submerged under the vodka (you could use another liquor but i think vodka is the best as it has a 'neutral' flavour) and allow to infuse for 6 months. after that strain through a coffee filter and bottle for later use! YUM can't wait for this stage!
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| My first batch of vanilla extract |
Hey Nat, I found your blog and have been enjoying reading! Making my own vanilla extract has been on my list for a long time! Do you mind telling me where you got the beans from for such a good price?
ReplyDeleteThanks again for dinner last night. You have a real gift!
Thanks Katherine! It was great meeting you again last night! Sure, I found them on ebay, they come from India but are certified organic. You can either buy 50, 100 etc, or gram amount, i think buying 100 worked out cheaper though. The postage was reasonably quick considering they came from India, took less than 2 weeks :D
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com.au/itm/330690195383?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_1633wt_1037
Happy Vanilla Extract Making!
Hi Nathalie. I followed your link from G+ Food preservation group. This is a great post, but you did make me chuckle. Organic or otherwise, the alcohol in vodka and all other spirits is ethanol. Really the only difference between vodka and what they use to make extracts is that spirits have water added.
ReplyDeleteReally, the ethanol you put in your tank is nothing more than corn whiskey.
Let us know how this turns out. I was thinking of getting some beans and giving this a try.
MJ
Thanks MJ for your insights.
DeleteThe alcohol it's self is not organic I was referring to the vanilla beans.
The vanilla extract is beautiful, very fragrant. I didn't strain my extract as I like the specks of vanilla seeds throughout, and have 'stored' the beans in the liquor so it can keep developing it's flavor. It's not thick and syrupy like the commercial stuff, as I don't add sugar. But well worth the little effort it takes to make :D