The Epicurious Blog

I'm tidying up all my references this week, trying to be complete in my kitchen-tale telling. So since I mentioned it yesterday in my recipe for brown butter icing, I though I'd give you the recipe for homemade vanilla extract.

Its' about as simple as can be, and the first time I made some I was in college. I bought myself a pretty, tall jar with a rubber gasket seal, and filled it with as many vanilla beans as would fit. You don't need to use the super-highest quality vanilla beans here. The less expensive hard ones (as opposed to the fat, thick, soft ones that cost $5 each) work just as well. Anyway, stuff those beans into your jar, as many as you can fit and afford. The jar should be tall enough for the beans to stand upright, but not so much taller than that. Then fill the jar with brandy. I use cheap VSOP Cognac, but anything will work. You could also use vodka, but I like the flavors of brandy and vanilla together.

Once filled, let the jar sit for at least a month. You'll see all the hard vanilla beans turn soft and leathery. At this point, squeeze the beans into the jar, milking them of their crunchy seeds. Then return the beans to the liquid with the seeds and use as you would regular vanilla extract, taking care to shake the jar before opening to disperse the seeds, which will have settled at the bottom. As the level of brandy reduces, add more to top it off. Taste the extract every now and again and when it begins to taste more like brandy and less like vanilla, it's time to refresh the beans. Pull out the old beans (don't shake the jar this time so you can leave the seeds on the bottom) and add new ones. It will keep going for decades, kind of like a sour dough starter, but sweeter. And it makes a great gift!