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How to Make Vanilla Extract

How to Make DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe
Homemade vanilla extract is simple to make and great for gifting! Here's how we make ours...

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DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe

Homemade vanilla extract has the best flavor and aroma! We've been making and gifting DIY vanilla for many years now. The longer it steeps, the better it gets. You can keep adding beans and alcohol to the same bottle for years.


INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES

All you will need are some vanilla beans (we buy ours from Amazon), alcohol (at least 40% alcohol) and bottles. Pretty labels add a nice touch. I used these labels from Minted.



How to Make DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe


You will need approximately 75 Grade B vanilla beans per 1.75 liters of alcohol to make 12, 8 ounce bottles of vanilla extract.

Use a sharp knife to slice your beans lengthwise. You can cut them all the way or leave the ends intact.

How to Make DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe


Next, submerge your beans in alcohol. We make big batches, so we just pop the beans directly into the 1.75 liter bottles of vodka. Place your vodka bottle in a bowl to catch the overflow.

How to Make DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe


After 2 months, I funnel the vodka into the smaller jars along with the soaked beans.

Another option is to make your vanilla extract directly in the 8 ounce amber bottles. If you do, use 6 beans per 8 ounces of liquid. You can cut the beans to fit the jar, just make sure they're completely submerged.

How to Make DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe


Your vanilla extract will be ready to use in 2 months. The longer it sits the better, but 2 months is a good amount of time to develop a rich color and flavor. Give your vanilla bottle(s) a good shake once a week, or whenever you remember.

If you want to gift your vanilla extract sooner, just add a tag that tells the recipient when the vanilla will be ready to use (for example, "Ready on March 1st").


How to Make DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe

Pin or print the image below to refer back to later!

How to Make DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe


I hope you found this helpful and enjoy making your own vanilla extract! Our friends and relatives ask for it every year so we have started to buy vanilla beans throughout the year when prices are lower. Tip: Set Amazon alerts for the vanilla beans and buy them when prices drop.

Another tip: Any alcohol greater then 40% will work—experiment with whisky, etc. for new flavor profiles.



Comments
This is so helpful! I want to start making my own vanilla extract but I had questions about how long it would take, what kind of vodka to use, etc. This post answered all of my questions. Thank you very much.
#1 Fox on 2024-03-11 06:04 (Reply)
I am so glad to hear this post was helpful, thank you for sharing!
#1.1 Dianna Baros on 2024-03-11 12:47 (Reply)
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