Recipe
Homemade vanilla extract
- Herb:
- Flat-leaved vanilla Vanilla planifolia
- Method:
- Tincture
- Plant part:
- Fruit
About 10 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Slit 5–6 vanilla pods lengthways to open the seeds and halve them if needed to fit the bottle.
- Put into a clean 250 ml bottle and cover with 40 % spirit (vodka, rum) so the pods are fully submerged.
- Close and leave at least 8 weeks in the dark, shaking weekly. The extract darkens and grows fuller in scent.
- Use by the teaspoon in batters and creams; leave the pods in the bottle and top up the spirit as needed.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 5–6 pods per 250 ml
- Solvent:
- 40 % alcohol (vodka), macerate for 8 weeks or longer, shaking occasionally
- Shelf life:
- years; the pods can be left in the bottle and the liquid topped up
- Target compounds:
- vanillin and hundreds of other aromatic substances dissolve readily in alcohol; the extract darkens over the weeks
Notes
A kitchen recipe with no particular risks; it contains alcohol, which bakes off. Vanilla is flavour only — the catalogue holds no medicinal claim.
Why it works
Vanillin and the hundreds of other volatiles of the cured pod are lipophilic and pass into 40 % spirit over weeks. That mixture is what makes 'real vanilla' taste — synthetic vanillin is a single component.
Literature
- Culinary vanilla extract — traditional method — Culinary method; no health claim.
Related
Flat-leaved vanilla — Herb card
Tincture — Processing method detail