Home-made vanilla

I love to cook and I love using a clean vanilla extract, which is hard to find anymore. So I make my own.

I start with some good alcohol….not vodka. Straight, pure alcohol. Nothing less than 151 proof, the 190 even better. Six vanilla beans go into the bottle, which is then re-capped tightly and placed in a brown paper booze bag and set away in a dark closet for no less than 6 months.

The bottle on the left hasn’t been opened yet but will be getting the beans seen here. The bottle on the right is a year in the making and is ready for use. If you want to make something for the little lady/baker in the house, make them a jug of vanilla. This is the best vanilla I have ever laid my hands on and puts to shame all those black Mexican vanillas.

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And here’s my home-made Amaretto.

The four Apricots are due to come out soon. They should be tasty.

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I need to do this. Questions:
1) 6 beans in a liter?
2) Where do you buy your beans? Those little f-ers are expensive!

Sweet! I’ll be happy to taste test any of these if you should need the assistance. Especially the amaretto!

The beans I got today cost $1.99/each. Very fresh too. I get mine at a whole foods store, one of those health food stores that sells everything in bulk, or at least a lot of stuff in bulk. And yes, 6 beans at a minimum to a liter. When you have the beans in the booze make sure you put the bottle in a brown paper bag and shelf it somewhere that it won’t be disturbed for at least 6 months. If you don’t want to spend the money for the liter, buy a pint and 4 beans and process the same way. Simple and its the finest vanilla you’ll ever use. This can go into an angel food cake and not color it in the least!

And Sharon, I’m sure I’d get a visit from someone with a tin star if I sent a sample thru the mail or ups or fedx. I might get away with it at speedy but they likely do the taste testing, not you. The Ameretto is simple to make thou. Just be sure to use a pure, alcohol based almond extract, not any that is imitation or water-based.

Combine and cook until the sugars are completely dissolved the following:
3/4 cup of water
1 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar….then allow to cool completely

Next put three cups of good vodka in a quart jar along with 4 dried apricots, and then stir in 2 tablespoons of almond extract. To this add the sugar syrup, cover and gently shake to mix the syrup and alcohol….this takes a while because the simple syrup is thick. Once the components are fully blended, set the jar in a dark close for about five days, then remove the apricots. You liqueur is ready to use now.

Don’t throw those apricots. Chop them up with a little of the booze and serve on chocolate ice cream. Yu can thank me for this tid-bit later.