Wikipedia
Ah, the sweet scent of vanilla! Although most commonly used as a spice added to baked goods, pure vanilla extract can also be used medicinally to soothe achy tummies and reduce fever. Or add a few drops to rich jojoba, sweet almond, or avocado oil and use to massage away stress. Additionally, the soothing scent of vanilla can help induce a good night’s sleep or turn up passion fires when used as an aphrodisiac.
Pure vanilla extract is obtained from the dried fruit pods of the “Madagascar-Bourbon“ Orchid which must be hand pollinated. This unfortunately makes vanilla oil one of the most expensive of all spices, unless of course you make your own!
Commercial vanilla extract usually has simple syrup (sugar water) added to the extract to give it a sweet aftertaste. You can do this if you want, but if you are using the vanilla for baking, there really is no need.
Ingredients
3 vanilla beans
1 cup vodka
glass jar with tight fitting lid
Method
1 Use kitchen scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, leaving an inch at the end connected.
2 Put vanilla beans in a glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid (mason jars work well). Cover completely with the vodka.
3 Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while. Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.
Lasts for years. You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.
You can also make vanilla sugar by putting a split vanilla bean into a jar of white, granulated sugar. Great way to infuse the sugar with vanilla flavor for baking.
We owe a big thank you to Simply Recipes for sharing this easy DIY recipe to make your very own vanilla extract.
Jaszy McAllister is the Head Honcho of Modern Hippie Media and the driving force behind MHMag. Her desire to give voice and document her own personal eco-journey and discovery was the basis of creating Modern Hippie Mag. Outside of being the Editor in Chief, Jaszy is a spokesperson, host, model, actress, and self-professed workaholic, computer junkie. She enjoys good food, good company and dancing her tushy off at local Latin dance clubs.
Interesting about the health bendfits of vanilla; I was just wondering about it the last few days and about to google it.
I always buy liquid vanilla without the alcohol so do you have a recipe for one without alcohol?
Hello Diana, thanks for visiting! When doing research for this article I came across several other recipes but they all called for using vodka or rum. The alcohol aids in drawing out the flavor of the vanilla from the pods. I'll keep my eyes open for an alternative and if you find one please share!
Hey, that post lveeas me feeling foolish. Kudos to you!
Thats raelly shrewd! Good to see the logic set out so well.