Making Your Own Vanilla Extract.................
Decorating By MikeRowesHunny Updated 18 Mar 2007 , 7:23pm by nefgaby
In Germany we use Vanilla sugar in our recipes and I have been making that for years now. Same principle, slit pods and drop into screw glass jar and fill up with sugar. I use 4 pods for 500 gr sugar and refill 2x when I finish the jar. Works beautifully. Have also made the extract. However the sugar is better than alcoholbased if you need some for whipped cream or tiramisu etc.
You can get vanilla pods at Penzeys Spice Stores or at www.penzeys.com. For those of you in central Iowa there is a Penzeys Spice in Des Moines. I see in the catalog there are also stores in Alabama, Arizona,California, Colorado,Connecticut,Florida,Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. They have great spices for those who love to cook and bake!
I agree, their spices are fabulous! And if there are any others of you out there in Maryland, there is a store opening soon in Rockville. I can't wait! I don't know exactly when (maybe it's even open already), and I haven't seen mention of it on their website the last time I looked. If you aren't lucky enough to live near one, I have ordered online from them many times, and even if you pick the cheap "slow" shipping, I have usually gotten my stuff in less than a week. 
On a foodtv show here in Canada called "chef at home" the chef (Michael) always talks about his home-made vanilla....he uses high quality brandy and lots of split vanilla beans (lots = 10 or so) and puts it all in a mason-jar in his pantry. Wonder what the flavour difference would be with brandy or vodka...
Hmm....that sounds good. Well, vodka isn't sweet, but I think Brandy is. I know that alot of commercial vanillas have are made with Bourbon. Is Bourbon and Brandy similar in flavor? I think it is but not sure.
Does anyone have the exact ratio of vodka to vanilla beans? I have seen 4 to 6 pods to a bottle, but what size (mL) bottle are you using? Then I thought I saw on here 2 pds to a 200mL bottle?
I am a measurement person, need exact please.
TIA!!!
Hi, the instructions on the original thread calls for a 750ml bottle and 2-3 pods for the 1st month and 2 pods for the second month. HTH.
Now just wondering... do you buy Madagascar or Mexican Vanilla Beans?
Which one is best? Too much difference in flavor? Thanks.
Madagascar is like the good vanilla you would typically find in a grocery store. Mexican has a very different flavor and I love it and use it in everything and have for years now. If you have never tried the Mexican vanilla I would strongly suggest doing so because the difference in the two is pretty extreme. Mexican vanilla is much stronger too so when a recipe calls for 1 tsp of vanilla I only use 1/2 to 3/4 tsp at the most of the Mexican vanilla.
Thank you soo much, I´m going to try the Mexican Vanilla pods which I think I´ve had. (I was born and raised in Guatemala, south of Mexico... This vanilla is grown in both countries, same stuff, I´m pretty sure my sis can get me some 
funny, in Guatemala the "fancy" thing to get is the Madagascar beans 
)
I just found this when I googled this topic. It has some useful info and a recipe using vodka. Thought I would try it and pass it on. http://www.henriettesherbal.com/archives/best/1995/vanilla-1.html
I am so itching to try this now! It would be great for saving money and also to give as gifts! I would be just tickled if someone gave me a bottle of homemade vanilla! I wonder where you could purchase small glass bottles to put it in? Any ideas?
I am very excited to try it too, and had the same idea about gifts for next Christmas! I was going to try the dollar store for bottles. There is a Dollar Tree near me and I think I have seen some there before.
I just had a thought. Does anyone know if it would need to be stored in dark colored bottles, like what you buy in the store? I think I remember hearing once that the reason for the dark color was to preserve it somehow.
I thought of the same thing, that is why I got a bottle of SKYY vodka, which is a dark blue bottle.
Mae1118 I just found some bottles that are very reasonable. They sell in bulk, but you can buy in smaller amounts. A box of 4 oz. amber colored bottles are $4.95. It is soap supplies, but they have metal lids like the bottles of extract you buy in the store, so I don't see why you couldn't use it for extract. Haven't checked on the shipping prices yet. Just wanted to post it in cases anyone wanted to check it out.
http://www.bottlesandmore.com/productlist.asp?CategoryID=1-31
I know I said how much I love Penzey's products, but I just bought vanilla beans on amazon for way cheaper. Here is the link for my amazon search:
www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_kk_2/103-3579854-7371836?ie=UTF8&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=vanilla%20bean
I bought 16 Madagascar beans from JRMushrooms & Specialties, Inc. for $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING! 
You can also buy other quantities from the same company. I found this company also has a website of their own, www.jrmushroomsandspecialties.com, that offers the same deal. Just thought this might be helpful!
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