Homemade Vanilla Extract

by wiffy on December 13, 2011

in Baking,Gift Ideas,How-To,Recipes,Western,Western Desserts

Homemade Vanilla Extract
Homemade Vanilla Extract

Since my interest in baking is reignited this holiday season, I am reminded of my homemade vanilla extract which I kept forgetting to write about. The bottle you see above is 3 years old! Homemade vanilla extract is unbeatable in terms of both price and quality.  And it is so easy to put together, it is a pity not to make your own if you love baking. All you need is a glass bottle, vanilla pods, vodka and some time … and you will be rewarded with a never-ending supply of good quality vanilla extract. It will never run out because you can simply top up with more pods and vodka as you use it. Homemade vanilla extract makes a great hand-made gift for the holiday season (you can put together a diy starter kit, or give a bottle with a tag to indicate the estimated ready date).

(Get more photos, cooking notes and ingredient list on page 2)

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{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Hi December 13, 2011 at 2:47 pm

Wow this is really brilliant! I’ve never thought about this at all ;) Wiffy, you’re the best in giving cooking/baking tips!

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2 Suhailee December 13, 2011 at 2:48 pm

can suggest other/non alcoholic drinks to substitute vodka 

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3 wiffy December 13, 2011 at 3:35 pm

Hi, this link (http://www.mothering.com/community/t/964957/can-you-make-vanilla-extract-without-alcohol) shows how to make vanilla extract with glycerin instead of vodka, but I have not tried it myself.

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4 Small Small Baker December 13, 2011 at 3:12 pm

Thanks for sharing! I still have vanilla extract, so I never bother to find out how to do homemade ones. :) Ask you, how do you store the extract, in the fridge? And when you top up with more pods, do you remove the old ones?

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5 wiffy December 13, 2011 at 3:37 pm

Hi SSB, you bake so much, you should make your own extract!! I store them in my kitchen cupboard, no fridge – I think the alcohol sort of preserves it well. If there is space, I simply add on without removing the old ones. But when it starts to get too crowded, you can remove starting from oldest pods. HTHs :)

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6 Joanne April 13, 2012 at 8:06 pm

Does it taste or smell of the vodka at all after seeping for months? Also, if you want to remove the older ones, how do you know which ones they are? Thanks HTHs

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7 Daphne December 13, 2011 at 4:03 pm

This looks sooo easy!!!  Good way to use the bottle of vodka up as well!

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8 mr bunny chow December 13, 2011 at 7:26 pm

what a brilliant idea, I wonder if you could replace the vodka with other spirits maybe a smokey rum or whiskey

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9 wiffy December 14, 2011 at 10:10 pm

yes you can use rum or whiskey. personally I prefer vodka as it has a more neutral flavour.

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10 Platanos, Mangoes and Me! December 13, 2011 at 10:03 pm

I needed vanilla and when I went out for some I did not realize how much it costs now.  So I did what you said, grabbed all of the above and made mine.  Thanks!

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11 Pipana December 14, 2011 at 3:53 am

I will have to try this!!!
I mean, easy, delicious and pretty-looking! ^_^

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12 Littlecornerofmine December 14, 2011 at 8:16 am

Homemade definitely better!  Must be real fragrant!

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13 Anonymous December 14, 2011 at 3:46 pm

I totally agree! Homemade vanilla extract is the best! And my! Yours is intense! :)

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14 Von December 14, 2011 at 6:27 pm

Wow! I never knew that making vanilla extract was so easy! I’ll definitely have to try this some time!

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15 Angie December 15, 2011 at 2:54 am

I made some months ago too..smells really good now.

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16 Juliana December 15, 2011 at 7:16 am

Wow, homemade vanilla extract…I am sure that must taste and smell much better than the store bought ones…thanks for this nice recipe.
Hope you are having a wonderful week :-)

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17 Tigerfish December 15, 2011 at 8:32 am

The longer it’s aged, the better it is? I like the pretty bottle.

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18 wiffy December 15, 2011 at 6:11 pm

i think the longer it seeps, the deeper the flavour

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19 Rachel Tan December 21, 2011 at 3:08 am

where do you get your vanilla pods from? ^^ oh whoops, sorry realized you mentioned it in your post already!

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20 wiffy December 21, 2011 at 6:31 pm

no prob, hope you find it too :)

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21 Catherine December 28, 2011 at 8:22 pm

Got mine at Phoon Huat, Red Man Brand 10 sticks in a vacuum pack for $10 =)

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22 Shiamillion December 31, 2011 at 4:55 pm

where to get the bottle stopper? can fit into any bottles?

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23 wiffy January 1, 2012 at 4:03 pm

I got mine from Cold Storage, but many places sell it too (e.g. household/kitchen section of departmental stores). Yes I think can fit into all the wine glass bottles.

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24 Joanne January 19, 2012 at 2:19 am

Does this homemade vanilla extract replace the vanilla’s they ask for in all recipe’s? Like cakes, cookies, ect… Thanks.

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25 Catherine February 22, 2012 at 8:37 pm

yes it does Joanne =)

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26 Samantha April 13, 2012 at 11:13 am

Where to get the vanilla pod?

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27 wiffy April 13, 2012 at 11:45 am

Hi Samantha, I got them from ebay – updated the seller link in the blog post.

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28 Samantha April 13, 2012 at 3:09 pm

Thanks for the info:)

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29 SK May 15, 2012 at 2:35 pm

Hi, do i need to wash the vanilla pods?

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30 wiffy May 15, 2012 at 3:31 pm

Hi SK, personally I do not wash the pods.

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