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About a year ago, someone (probably an forgotten food blogger) tipped me off to the fact that you can buy volume lots of vanilla beans on eBay for cheap. I hopped on board that particular bandwagon and bought a ridiculously large number of beans for nearly no money. I shared some with my mom and used fresh vanilla in all my baked goods. I found myself with lots of used, fragrant bean pods and kept tucking them into my sugar jar to scent my sugar with vanilla goodness.
It turns out that Melissa, over at Traveler's Lunchbox, and I were doing almost the same thing at the same time, including occasionally running into the problem of needing unscented sugar and only having vanilla-fragranced stuff on our shelves. Only she did something much more clever than I did (I hate to admit that many of my used pods landed in the trash). She started tucking her used bean pods into a bottle of light rum, thinking she'd make infused booze for future cocktails. Only the alcohol in the bottle started getting darker, until she realized that she had created her own vanilla extract, just as good (or possibly even better) than the best quality stuff that you can buy in the stores.
You too can make your own vanilla extract. Just take a stroll on over to Melissa's post and see how she did it. She includes tips and sources for inexpensive beans. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go and bake something that requires vanilla, so that I can start my own bottle of extract.
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10-11-2007 @10:22AM jsmylie said... That's awesome! I do wonder if making an actual vanilla-infused drink is just as easy, though...
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10-11-2007 @12:37PM DC said... That's a very sweet trick. But the eBay tip is even more useful. Thanks!!
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10-11-2007 @12:26PM Tina said... I have been making this for years, the only difference is I use Vodka. It has no alcohol taste once infused, just straight Vanilla (extract). Great to cook with or whatever, just shoot it straight. When it starts running low, you just add more vodka & let steep again. One bean will last for a very long time.
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10-11-2007 @1:58PM MJ said... Thanks fot the tip on the low price on vanilla. You also can go to ethic markets and get a good deal. They sell bottles in the gourmet stores with a bean in it and tell you to fill with vodka and you wikl have extract on 2 - 3 months of I remeber correctly. I use my beans over and over again.....love it in pancake syrup. Let your imagination run wild!
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10-11-2007 @3:28PM Steven said... I actually saw Martha Stewart mention this many many years ago.. and I made vanilla extract in a little bottle of Absolut.
Didn't know about the eBay thing though - just went and bought 10 beans, including shipping, for $4.60CDN ($4.61USD hehe) ..that's a steal considering they're $2 a bean locally!!
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10-11-2007 @3:33PM thefishie said... Thanks for sharing this. It never occurred to me that I could make my own vanilla extract. Also thanks for the tip on the Ebay bargain beans! I just bought 20 good sized beans for less than $12, shipping included. Better than the 3 beans for $10 I'm used to paying. I'll be making extract and vanilla sugar, some will probably go into Christmas gifts!
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10-12-2007 @1:24AM moonablaze said... just one bean in a larger bottle of vodka will make vanilla vodka (or other liquor). lots of beans=extract.
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10-11-2007 @8:23PM ann marie said... im making limoncello again this year and in some bottles im adding a vanilla bean....limonello....i think it will be delicious.
here is some trivia for ya....during the american revolution when america and england could not legally trade goods...american botanist john bartram sent plant seeds he collected to his english patrons in bottles of rum on ships headed to france...the idea being that if the english caught a ship they would throw everything overboard except the rum...only crazy people would throw rum overboard....the seeds would survive the journey and most would germinate when they finally arrived in france and ultimately england....this was ben franklins idea.
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