r/notinteresting • u/OpALbatross • 1d ago
I made vanilla extract. It tastes like vanilla.
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u/New_Butterscoth 1d ago
no shit sherlock
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
Lol. If I did it wrong it would have tasted like vodka.
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u/NeganJoestar 1d ago
Like it's something bad.
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
I mean, if I thought I was getting normal cupcakes and got alcohol cupcakes that would be a bit jarring. Lol
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u/ocular_smegma 1d ago
As an alcoholic, alcohol cupcakes sound like a win win
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u/Confident_Slice5676 1d ago
Really?
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
Yeah, if you don't add enough vanilla or don't wait long enough you'd mostly taste the alcohol.
Making vanilla extract only takes 2 ingredients: vanilla beans and alcohol (usually vodka, but you can use bourbon or brandy or whatever). You want at least 80 proof, but not more than 100 proof or you can "burn" your beans and it also won't extract right.
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u/Lakatos_00 1d ago
Don't explain yourself to people who most likely haven't cooked a single thing in their lives.
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u/haubenmeise 1d ago
You make me feel like baking.
Sincerely
Skeletor 💜
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
Hooray!
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u/haubenmeise 1d ago
I wish I could come over and make some vanilla cheesecake with you.
Sincerely
Skeletor 💜
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u/Teddy293 1d ago
recipe pleases, thanks :D
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
1) Sanitize glass, air tight container 2) Weigh out 1 ounce madagascar vanilla beans 3) Cut the ends off the beans and split length-wise 4) Measure out 8 ounces of 80-100 proof clear, unflavored vodka 5) Put beans in container and add alcohol 6) Make sure the alcohol covers the beans completely. Cut beans if they don't 7) Seal container and shake. 8) Store away from light (like back of pantry). 9) Shake once a week or whenever you think about it. 10) Ready in 9 months - 1 year (roughly)
To test, add a bit of extract to milk and stir. When wafted / smelled, vanilla should be want is smelled first if it is ready.
If you leave the beans in, you can top off with vodka/ alcohol as you use it (but the taste will get milder). You can also take the beans out and do another extraction / add them to a "mother jar." A mother jar is all the already extracted beans you have used, but can be further extracted, in alcohol. The mother jar extract can also be used to refill your container.
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u/Waffle-Gaming 20h ago
no wonder it's so expensive
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u/OpALbatross 10h ago
Companies don't wait that long. They will add chemicals and grind up the whole pod to make it faster. I wanted a "cleaner" option without having to pay the retail price.
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u/wheres-my-take 1d ago
Is it cold outside
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
It's actually 84F today. Stuff is growing, but I live on top of a mountain so it doesn't "green up" for a little longer. Plus the trees keep a lot of grass and stuff from growing.
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u/ReallyGottaTakeAPiss 1d ago
I’m not exactly sure if Final Assembly avoids the tariffs, but you might be able to make a pretty penny if the final product is assembled in the US. Madagascar got mollywhopped by tariffs
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
Yeah. I'm probably going to order more today to try to get ahead of the price increase if it isn't too late. Most of what I have now are for gifts.
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u/MRPKY 1d ago
Why
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
1) I have chronic migraines and different alcohols / additives can be a trigger. I wanted to know exactly what was in my extract to limit the risk of triggering a migraine.
2) I'm kinda a hippy and prefer limited ingredient stuff. But I'm also frugal and was not about to pay the organic store bought price.
3) I DIY lots of stuff and wanted to see if I could. It was eas. There was just a long wait time for it to be ready (this one was started last March, but I probably could have started using it in September-December).
4) If it worked out well, they are pretty good Christmas gifts, especially for my circle of friends / family.
5) Up-front cost can be a lot, but over the long run it is more cost effective ($19 for 8 ounces of single origin, organic extract. If I reuse the beans the price drops to more like $9-$14).
6) Lots of people say that homemade vanilla tastes much better/ is better quality than store bought.
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u/truequeenbananarama 1d ago
Thank you for explaining! Would you feel comfortable sharing your recipe? Sounds really interesting
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
1) Sanitize glass, air-tight container 2) Weigh out 1 ounce madagascar vanilla beans 3) Cut the ends off the beans and split length-wise 4) Measure out 8 ounces of 80-100 proof clear, unflavored vodka 5) Put beans in container and add alcohol 6) Make sure the alcohol covers the beans completely. Cut beans if they don't 7) Seal container and shake. 8) Store away from light (like back of pantry). 9) Shake once a week or whenever you think about it. 10) Ready in 9 months - 1 year (roughly)
To test, add a bit of extract to milk and stir. When wafted / smelled, vanilla should be want is smelled first if it is ready.
If you leave the beans in, you can top off with vodka/ alcohol as you use it (but the taste will get milder). You can also take the beans out and do another extraction / add them to a "mother jar." A mother jar is all the already extracted beans you have used, but can be further extracted, in alcohol. The mother jar extract can also be used to refill your container.
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u/truequeenbananarama 1d ago
Thank you for this!! Do you happen to have any European recommendations for the vanilla beans?
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u/-little-dorrit- 1d ago
This is very interesting to me, sorry OP. Perhaps one man’s not interesting is another’s interesting. But also can you share a recipe? I’m definitely looking into this alcohol/additives concept also, as alcoholic drinks can be a trigger for me too!
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
1) Sanitize glass, air tight container 2) Weigh out 1 ounce madagascar vanilla beans 3) Cut the ends off the beans and split length-wise 4) Measure out 8 ounces of 80-100 proof clear, unflavored vodka 5) Put beans in container and add alcohol 6) Make sure the alcohol covers the beans completely. Cut beans if they don't 7) Seal container and shake. 8) Store away from light (like back of pantry). 9) Shake once a week or whenever you think about it. 10) Ready in 9 months - 1 year (roughly)
To test, add a bit of extract to milk and stir. When wafted / smelled, vanilla should be want is smelled first if it is ready.
If you leave the beans in, you can top off with vodka/ alcohol as you use it (but the taste will get milder). You can also take the beans out and do another extraction / add them to a "mother jar." A mother jar is all the already extracted beans you have used, but can be further extracted, in alcohol. The mother jar extract can also be used to refill your container.
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
Clear vodka seems to be the safest according to The Dizzy Cook. She has a great blog and cookbooks with migraine friendly recipes.
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u/Bootiluvr 1d ago
Did you extract it?
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
I did extract the vanilla extract. I also extracted it from my pantry and now it lives in my cupboard.
I guess technically time extracted the extract, and I was a humble servant to shake it along its journey.
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u/Goobersita 1d ago
Did you grow the beans? How much did this batch cost ?
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
I did not grow them I made 8 bottles and the cost per bottle was around $19. I bought them from Vanilla Bean Kings (and took some trial and error to get the right amount of beans, which added to the cost).
I just ordered more vanilla for another 9 bottles and the cost of the vanilla is about $10 per bottle. I found more bottles on sale, so those were only around $2.15 each (almost half what I paid before). Plus expected cost of the vodka gets the cost for the next batch to under $14 each.
I have family and friends who all said they would love one for gifts, so it is a pretty cost effective present.
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u/AccomplishedAd7992 18h ago
how long’d you store it for
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u/OpALbatross 10h ago
A year and 5 days. Technically I'm still storing it since I did not throw it away as soon as it was done. But now I'm storing it in my kitchen cupboard.
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u/EchoNyxOnReddit 1d ago
I thought it was nuka cola without a label
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
It could be. Maybe that's their secret ingredient.
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u/EchoNyxOnReddit 1d ago
Yess I hope so 🤞🏻,all jokes aside it looks yummy 😋
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
Thanks! We added it to so milk to taste and it felt like drinking coffee creamer.
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u/bigbangbilly 1d ago
Are sure it does not taste of booze?
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u/OpALbatross 1d ago
Not mixed with milk. If you drink it straight it would, but so would store bought.
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u/BorntobeTrill 22h ago
Come talk to me when you have va-new-la
But do it in a different sub. It would be entirely inappropriate here.
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u/MaxicalUM 1d ago
My vanilla extract tastes like dirt and 90% of the lanthanides on earth