Make your own Vanilla Extract

Making this at home was really easy! It also seems like it will be a lot cheaper- organic vanilla extract (a small 4 oz jar) was $11 at my local food co-op- woah! For ingredients when making this at home I spent:

$10- 5 vanilla beans$10- a Fifth of Smirnoff Vodka$6- 2 blue glass bottles
So the total cost per extract was expensive for this round, but I have enough vodka left to make four more bottles of extract, and I also won't need to purchase the bottles any more. Next time I make vanilla extract, it will only cost me $5-8/bottle!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Makes 16 ounces.

Ingredients:

5-8 fresh vanilla beans (more beans will yield a stronger extract)

2 cups vodka

Directions:Split vanilla beans and scrape out seeds. Cut pods into 1" pieces. Put seeds and pod pieces into a dark glass jar or bottle. Fill with vodka and fasten and tighten lid. Store jars in a cool dark place, gently shaking the mixture several times per week. For best results, allow to distill for at least two months, if not longer. The vanilla will get better with age. Strain out solids prior to using.