Vanilla Time

It has been over 6 months since I began my last batch of vanilla extract. I bought a package of vanilla beans in my last Azure order. Later I stopped at Costco and bought a liter of their cheapest vodka. It looked like I was ready to start the party when I walked out of the store.

The first thing I did was pour off the completed extract into a smaller pouring vessel. It looked lovely and smelled even better.

Luckily, with the bottles I purchase they always include a small funnel. The first item that gets refilled is my own personal jar in my pantry. The next to fill are the brown bottles. Vanilla extract (and I believe all extracts) are light sensitive.

After I poured all the extract from the large container I washed it and placed the new beans in the clean jar and filled it with the vodka. It then gets pushed to the very back of my pantry. If I remember I will sometimes shake the jar but honestly I just set it and forget it until December. Some of this has already been gifted. You of course do not have to do such a large batch. Depends on the size of vodka bottle you purchase. The trick is to not let the beans be unsubmerged in the liquid. This is way cheaper than buying vanilla from the store. It is also better tasting in my opinion.