Growing up with two grandmothers who were extraordinary bakers, there’s no surprise that I picked up a few tricks along the way.
If you bake as much as I do, you obviously know that real vanilla extract is 1) a necessity and 2) crazy expensive to buy a few ounces at a time.
I’m going to share the easiest and best homemade vanilla extract recipe with you – and afterwards you’ll be kicking yourself for not doing this sooner.
Ready?
- Buy 3 un-sulfured vanilla beans from the bulk section of your grocery store.
Pro tip : don’t buy 1 bean at a time from the McCormick jars in the spice aisle. - Buy 1 bottle of cheap dark rum. (And don’t drink any of it…)
- Put the 3 whole vanilla beans in the bottle of dark rum, close the cap tight and put it in the back of your cabinet for at least 6 months.
- Oh – and label it so you know when it’s ready to roll.
Really? Yes, really. That’s it.
There’s no harm in leaving the vanilla beans and rum sit for a year, or two, or three. I think my mother has vanilla bottles from 1992 still laying around.
What the heck shall I do with all this vanilla?
- Use it every time a recipe calls for vanilla extract
- Use it in a recipe that doesn’t call for vanilla – just to add some flavor
- Bottle it up with a cute label and ribbon and hand it out for holiday gifts
Note: the dark rum may add a slight tint of color to any pure white recipes, like whipped cream, icing, etc. If you find yourself bothered by this, you can opt to use a clear rum instead. I personally prefer the flavor of the dark rum vanilla.
Enjoy!
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