Real Vanilla NOT Immitation
They say that imitation is the best form of flattery.
I beg to differ when it comes to using vanilla in my kitchen. Fake vanilla is comprised of Water (that sounds natural enough), Propylene Glycol, Artificial Flavor, Caramel Color, Citric Acid, and Sodium Benzoate.
Umm . . . where is the vanilla in vanilla?
OK . . . I will give you a dollar to put in your bank that imitation vanilla is less expensive than vanilla extract. But after that, you lose.
Personally, I would rather spend a few extra bucks to know what my ingredients are that I am ingesting. Don’t you wonder what concoction of chemicals created the artificial flavoring that mimics the vanilla taste and smell? I actually have an idea, but it is a LONG and COMPLICATED process.
Let me at least save you a little bit of money. Make vanilla on your own–in your own kitchen!
All you need are TWO ingredients: 2 vanilla beans and Vodka (or brandy).
Lay your vanilla bean on a cutting board and slice the bean open, making sure NOT to slice the bean into two separate parts.
Once your bean is sliced like a hot dog bun, gently open the bean up to expose the vanilla seeds. Leave the seeds in the bean.
Place the entire bean in your mason jar or any glass jar. If need be, go ahead and horizontally slice your bean. It is important that the entire bean be immersed in the alcohol. If you are using two beans, you can add approximately 3/4 cup of alchol to the jar. Use 1/2 the alcohol if you only have one bean, like me.
Cover your jar and let it sit in a dark place for at least two weeks. Below, on the left, is the vanilla I made today. The right mason jar is some vanilla that was made several weeks ago.
Please note, if you are baking something using my vanilla recipe, use caution if you know that someone who struggles with drinking will be eating your culinary creation. Typically, most people say that alcohol cooks out of food when heated, but be mindful of the person you love.
Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble,
I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
1 Corinthians 8:13
homemade+vanilla+extract immitation+vanilla vanilla+recipe
I have been wanting to try this for sometime, thanks for explaining it for us! Are you going to leave the bean in the jar until it is all used up? I hear the longer the bean is in the jar, the better the vanilla is.
Beautiful – something I HAVE to try. How exciting. I stopped using fake vanilla about 16 years ago. Being an avid dessert 'maker' I have issues using 'crap' (best word I can find) ingredients. Yay for this post :o)
Hmmm… do you have a way that doesn't use alcohol? I would LOVE to make my own, but feel funny about having alcohol, even for cooking, in the house. And where do you buy vanilla beans??
Natalie, yes leave the bean in the jar until all of the vodka or brandy is used up. Additionally, you can add more alcohol as you use it up and replace your bean every so often. You will see floates and this is OK.
Kristen, I don't know of any other way to create real vanilla extract. I struggled initially with the alcohol. The first couple of times, I had my mom go buy it for me–when we were in charge of Children's Ministry. I have gotten to the point that I buy it at Target when they have it on sale. But I usually have my mom with me still! It does stay in my house, but in the VERY back of my pantry! 🙂
Anyone else know of a way to make it without alcohol?
I get my vanilla beans through our coop, but in the past I have purchased them at Meijer and Kroger. They are typically about $7, but cheaper through Frontier cagalogue.
It is probably possible to use vegetable glycerin to make a type of alcohol-free extract. I use it when I am creating herbal medicines that children or pregnant women will take. It might change the texture of whatever you are making, especially if your recipe calls for a lot. But, it should work.
I do not worry about alcohol used medicinally or in cooking. We do not drink. We thought for a long time that we would not have alcohol in our home at all. But we ended up feeling okay about using it in small amounts for these specific purposes. My husband grew up in a home that never drank or had alcohol around at all. I grew up in a home where alcohol was consumed perhaps once a year and it was totally a “take it or leave it, if you like it, have a sip” kind of thing. No one ever got drunk. It was just another thing that you liked on rare occasions, or not. So I feel like I grew up with a very healthy attitude towards alcohol. I can have it around and not even be tempted. It’s just another drink or ingredient that I use. I know others might be convicted differently, I just wanted to share my thoughts.
By the way, I order beans on Amazon or in my coop group, and I usually get them for $0.50 each or less. Which is great because I make a very strong extract and a LOT of it!
Thanks for sharing that, it never even occurred to me to try and make my own.
From Diane, my cousin: "And also please let people know that there may be an allergen in what they're eating. I can neither consume traditional vanilla or imitation vanilla. Depending on the alcohol being used, it may have gluten. Not preaching, just mentioning."
I use rum, which is made from sugar cane (safer for many with allergies), and we like the flavor better!
Wow interesting! Thanks for sharing. I bet this'll save a lot of money over buying it. Vanilla is so costly. 🙂
Very impressed!! bonnie j.
There are a ton of different kinds of vodka. Does it matter which one you use? I am very excited about this!!
You know . . . I got mine at Target. I would go for as natural as you can. To be honest, I don’t know much about vodka. I have used gin too.