How to Make Your Own Vanilla Extract

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This uses only 2 ingredients – anyone can do this! Here’s how to make your own vanilla extract.

Vanilla extract is pretty much a staple when it comes to baking. Countless recipes call for it. I even use it to flavour whipped cream. It’s simply a must-have in the kitchen.

For years I have used artificial vanilla extract. For the home baker, it is an economical and cost-efficient way to buy vanilla. The cost of pure extract is definitely out of reach for me. So I figured it was time to make my own.

Why Make Your own Vanilla Extract?

As mentioned, real vanilla extract is expensive. While making your own is certainly not cheap (vanilla beans can be pricey), the value, in the end, is better.

The main reason to make your own extract, however, is flavour. Everything I’ve read and heard is that real vanilla extract just makes all the difference in terms of flavour. It’s true!

Homemade vanilla extract also makes great gifts. I’m always looking for something unique for family and friends. But this takes time, so start several months before if you can. So even though Christmas has passed, I’m telling you about this now, for NEXT Christmas.

Fun Fact – did you know that vanilla beans come from an orchid? Each orchid plant produces one vanilla bean and it has to be pollinated by hand! That’s why pure vanilla is so expensive.

Shopping for Vanilla Beans

As mentioned, vanilla beans can be pricey, so you want to make sure you know what you are looking for.

There are several types of vanilla beans. The most popular are Madagascar, Tahitian or Mexican. They are somewhat similar but offer their own unique flavour.

• Madagascar – rich, full-body woody flavour; this is probably the most popular
• Tahitian – delicate flavour with light floral overtones; slightly cheaper than Madagascar vanilla beans.
• Mexican – very similar to Madagascar in flavour, but slightly mellower, smokier and smooth in flavour

You can’t go wrong with any of the above vanilla beans.

Sometimes the beans are marked Grade A or Grade B. Grade A is intended for cooking while Grade B is intended for making extract. You can save a bit of money by using Grade B vanilla beans.

You can find vanilla beans in most grocery stores (including Costco) and even online.

Supplies Needed to Make Your own Vanilla Extract

• Vanilla Beans – you’ll need 4-6 vanilla beans for every 1 cup (250 ml or 8oz) of liquid. The more vanilla beans you use, the stronger the flavour will be. You could go as low as 2 beans, but for great flavour, use around 5.
• Vodka or Bourbon – these are the 2 most commonly used alcohols when making vanilla extract. Both make a wonderfully, delicious extract. Rum is also used, but I haven’t tried it (yet!).
  Since you are using the alcohol to make vanilla extract, there is no need to get the fancy, high-end stuff. Just get the cheapest bottle you can find. Just make sure it is pure vodka or pure bourbon – without any added flavourings.
• Jar or bottle with a lid to seal. I like to make batches of vanilla extract so that I can give some away as gifts, as well as keep some for myself. I made mine in an old pasta sauce and jam jars. Once done, I put the vanilla extract in nice bottles afterwards for gift giving.
• Funnel – optional: just makes it easier to pour the liquid.
• Patience – it takes a while to make vanilla extract. This is not one of those instant gratification projects. I started in the summer so that these would be ready for gift-giving at Christmas.

First, Prepare the Vanilla Beans

Carefully slice the vanilla beans, lengthways so that the insides are exposed.

Look at all that vanilla goodness inside the bean. That’s where all the flavour is!

You may wish to cut the vanilla beans into smaller lengths so that they will fit in your jar.

Next, Pour in the Alcohol

I told you this was easy. Just pour in your alcohol so that the vanilla beans are completely submerged.

Cover the jars. Store them in a dark place – like in the back of a cupboard. That’s it!

Let it sit for a minimum of 4-6 weeks. The longer you let it sit, the better the end result will be. If possible, let it sit for 6 months or even a year. Every time you take a peek at it, give it a few shakes.

Since I did 4 different combinations, I labelled mine with how I made it, as well as the date. That way I could keep track. The waiting part is the hardest part. As mentioned, the vanilla extract is usable after 4-6 weeks, but if you can wait longer, you should. I forced myself to wait 6 months. It was a long haul!

Homemade Vanilla Rxtract for Gifting

Homemade vanilla extract makes great gifts. Anyone who bakes will certainly love it and appreciate it.

To give your homemade vanilla extract as a gift, you may wish to remove the vanilla bean and strain the liquid. It’s not necessary. If you like the look of the vanilla bean in it, you could part of one in the bottle. My first batch of gifts had only sat for 6 months so I used the original vanilla beans. After a year, you may wish to put a new vanilla bean in.

Using a funnel, pour your homemade vanilla extract into a bottle and label it for gift giving. You can find nice little bottles at the dollar store, IKEA or online.

Amber bottles are neat and help protect the contents from UV rays – although my vanilla extract sits on a shelf in the cupboard, it looks really nice!

Once a quarter of the vanilla extract is used, you can top it up with more alcohol (either the vodka or bourbon) to extend it’s life. I like to include these instructions to the recipient so that they can do that too.

I made this cute little tag on my Cricut.

Don’t throw out that used vanilla bean! Dry it off and add it to the sugar in your pantry. It makes vanilla sugar! Those vanilla beans were expensive, remember. Get your money’s worth out of them!

Homemade vanilla extract does make a lovely gift. The process was so easy. Like I said – you just need to be patient.

Like my bottle labels? I did them using waterslide paper. Check out my post entitled, All About Waterslide Decals for details.

Want to remember how to make your own vanilla extract? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.