How To Make Vanilla Extract

Last Updated April 26th, 2024 at 07:57 am by Lisa

Taste the difference in homemade frostings, ice cream, cookies, cakes, pies, and other desserts, and make your own vanilla extract!

Good quality extracts can be expensive due to the cost of growing the pods on tropical vanilla orchids. Not all extracts are alike. Create this easy recipe at home with concentrated fragrant flavor to use in baking or gift during the holidays...

Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe

Once you mix up this real extract try this. Grab your storebought extract and pour some into a small glass and then pour some homemade.

You will notice the scent will be a strong, fragrant, aroma in yours and typically weaker with commercial products from the grocery store. Now, here is what you will need to make-your-own batch of vanilla extract in your kitchen!

How To Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

Ingredients & Equipment

12 whole vanilla bean pods

8 ounces vodka

Instructions

1. Clean and sterilize your jars or bottles.
2. Slice each of the 12 beans down the length but not all the way through using a sharp knife.
3. Place the sliced beans into the clean bottle or jar, you can cut them in half with scissors if they don't fit.
4. Cover the beans completely submerged with 8 ounces of 80 proof vodka. Shake daily the first week, then rest in a cool dark place at room temperature out of direct sunlight for at least 6 months. You can use it after 2 months, it just gets better with time!
5. I like to use a small glass jar, like Mason jars or tall clamp-style glass bottles for a large batch. It's also fun to use labels and write the date with a Sharpie marker.
6. An extract can remain indefinitely as long as you add new beans sliced open and more vodka as you use it in your baking.

PRO TIP: I highly recommend using at least 12 beans per 8 oz of vodka or alcohol you choose! You will get a final product with the highest quality natural vanilla extract, in other words, the real thing.

Best Vodka Type

Extracts are most commonly made from vodka, which has 80 proof alcohol content. You can also make it using different liquors, how about a bourbon one or a spiced rum extract like I made? Wouldn't those be great in baking?

100 proof vodka is too strong, and not good to use unless diluted with water. 80 proof vodka is what you want. To bake gluten-free, buy a certified gluten free alcohol or vodka. Don't use any brand of flavored vodka, they are loaded with artificial flavors and will overpower the natural ingredients of pure vanilla.

Equipment: Glass Bottles, Jars & Funnel

Tall glass 8-ounce bottles with a clamp work really well. You can also use a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Bottles with a convenient swing top and tight seal are great for gifts and storage.

A Small Funnel makes pouring into a bottle clean and neat, I use these in my kitchen all the time!

What Vanilla Pods Are Best?

Vanilla beans come from several parts of the world and are now the third most expensive spice in the world behind saffron and fennel pollen. (They were the second most expensive spice at one time!)

Madagascar Vanilla Beans – very common in stores and online, rich and a creamy and rich flavor
Mexican Vanilla Beans – grown in Mexico are dark, bold, almost smoky flavor
Tahitian Bean Pods – easy to buy online, have a rich sweet floral flavor, sometimes grown in Papua New Guinea
Tonga - earthier, sweet fig and raisin notes
Indonesian - mild and balanced
Indian - full flavored with chocolate notes

Did you know that vanilla beans grow on orchids? Well, they do. In fact, vanilla orchids (Vanilla planifolia) are the only orchid that produces edible fruit!

The drying process for the beans is 10 days in the sun and 2-3 months in the shade. After that, they are aged in maturation trunks for 12 months where they develop their deep flavor.

Whole Vanilla Beans

Buy the finest quality vanilla beans online or at a good price at warehouse stores like Costco. Online, I found 25 Grade B beans labeled Tahitian Vanilla Beans that weighed 2.2 ounces and measured 4-6" each. You might also see Mexican vanilla beans or packages labeled Madagascar vanilla beans online or in stores.

Grade A vanilla beans are a higher grade, and will be longer, and a bit thicker, due to the moisture inside them, than grade B vanilla beans. The surface of grade a beans is slightly more oily, and shiny as well.

Put your money towards the best beans you can buy, the flavor compounds are in the pods and seeds, so spend your money on quality.

Packaged Beans

My package of 25 beans weighed 2.2 ounces, but that weight can vary.

I made a spiced rum extract, which I thought would be great in baked cookies or cakes, and the Tahitian one was a gift from my wonderful friend Jill who brought it back from the islands of Tahiti, she toured the orchid bean farms!

What is interesting is that after several months, I could not see a difference in these extracts when poured into small dishes. The rum one of course smells more like rum!

Single Fold Vanilla Extract

A single-fold extract is lower in vanilla flavor and is made with a ratio of about 4 beans in 1 cup or 8 ounces of vodka. This is what most commercial store-bought version bottles are filled with.

This bottle below is what that looks like shortly after making it, but it needs more beans to get a deeper flavor.

With just 4 beans, it is not a very dark brown color and won't have the best flavor.

Double Fold Vanilla Extract

As you can see, this is getting much dark in color! I added 12 beans in 8 ounces of vodka and let it age for about 2 months, and it will get better all year!

Pin

A double-fold is richer in flavor and is made with a ratio of 12 beans in 1 cup or 8 ounces of vodka.

It gets very dark over time, and you can't see through the extract in the bottle like this...

Aging Extract & Waiting Time

The longer a homemade one ages, the better it tastes. You can use it after a couple of months, but it gets darker and gets better as it sits. If you are impatient and want to give it as a gift, you can add more beans, and speed up the flavor extraction process.

This is what aged dark extract looks like after one year 6 months! It gets much darker...

Want An Endless Supply?

As you use your extract in recipes, simply add a little more vodka into the bottle, and remove the old beans once a year. Simply add new split beans and this will become an endless supply. Take a look at my video for more tips!

At the first full year mark, pour the extract through a strainer into a bowl. Discard the old beans, and replace the new sliced open beans in your bottle. Add the aged extract back into the bottle and keep on using it! Add some more vodka as you use it throughout the year.

Flavors & Variations

Non Alcohol Extracts - Pure extracts are made from alcohol because it’s the easiest way to pull the flavor out of the key ingredient like spices and herbs. I’ve never made one with a nonalcoholic alternative, but there are some online recipes to try!

Various Alcohols To Try: All of these will create different flavor profiles for your baking or cooking. The main rule of thumb for good flavor is to portion at least 1.5 vanilla bean pods in each of the ounces of alcohol you choose. Each of these will add a unique subtle flavor to your cooking and baking!

• Bourbon
• Dark Spiced Rum
• Coconut Rum
• Brandy
• Everclear (dilute with distilled water to reduce proof to 80-100 range)

Homemade Extracts Are Cost-Effective!

A homemade bottle of extract is VERY cost effective, especially for serious home bakers!! Alright, so I read all over the internet that making your own extract saves money, but couldn't find the math so let's do it!!!

I am not really a math fan, but here is what I came up with. Assuming you use good quality ingredients, and that is always the best idea, I used the good stuff here.

Good vodka like Titos or Absolut is $30 a handle for a 1.75-liter bottle or $.49 per ounce as there are just shy of 60 ounces in a liter.

A popular store brand of extract (I know you know which one) in the grocery stores runs about $4.79 for 1-ounce bottle.

My beans were $19 for 25 and I used 12 of them, so about half the package, add in $10 for those. The 8 ounce glass flip-top bottle was around $10 dollars, but we get to reuse it, so not calculating that in the total cost.

So for an 8 oz bottle, the vodka is $4.00 + the cost of beans approximately $10. So the cost of my bottle is $14.00. My recipe is only $1.65 per ounce vs $4.79 in the store for a homemade high-quality extract!

PRO TIP: Bottom line, you save ⅔ of the cost to make your own at home, but it does make a large amount so you either bake a ton or can easily gift it to other bakers and home cooks!

Best Extract Top Tips

• Storage Tips: Once you make your extract, keep it at room temperature, out of direct sunlight in a cool dark spot, and give it a shake once per week.
• Baking Tip: For recipes, measure the same amount of homemade as a store-bought brand.
• Holiday Gifting: It is nice to remove the beans so the lucky person you gift it to isn’t responsible for refilling with more alcohol and the beans don’t go to waste. However, if it’s been less than 6 months, I recommend gifting with the beans in the bottle, with a little note explaining to keep them covered with vodka and remove beans at one year mark.
• Sterilize Your Bottle Or Jar: Sterilizing the bottles is always a good idea! Use a container that can be run through the dishwasher or drop them in boiling water to sterilize them before using.
• Shelf Life: Unused aged extracts (with the beans fully submerged) will last several years. Aged extract without beans has an endless shelf life. The beans will become a little slimy if they aren’t almost fully submerged.
• Black Specks: Bean pods have tiny black seeds inside and those are where the flavor is held. You will see lots of little black seeds in the bottle and in your baked goods too.

Why Make DIY Extracts?

• very cost-effective to make at home
• no artificial ingredients or imitation artificial vanilla flavor
• tastes much better
• two ingredients
• makes a great gift for cooks and bakers
• you can adjust the strength of the flavor
• create some unique flavor extracts

Fun Fact: The FDA guidelines in the United States say that to be labeled pure vanilla extract, it needs to have 1 ounce in weight of beans (that is approximately 12 beans but it will vary) to 8 ounces of alcohol. That means this recipe is the real thing!

Also, according to the United States FDA (Federal Drug Administration), Vanilla extract may contain one or more of the following optional ingredients: vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, added sugar (including invert sugar), dextrose, corn syrup including dried corn syrup. I don't know about you, but I don't really know what that stuff is, and I sure don't want it in my recipes! : )

Vanilla Bean FAQ

Holiday Baking Recipes

Bake the world a better place during the holiday and all year round.

The day after Thanksgiving baking season is on! Along with shopping, decorating!! Tis' the season to relax and slow down a bit. Take a day and bake sweet treats on those cool, rainy, snowy afternoons...and use your real extract!

Santa's Christmas Cookies can be decorated with kids' wish lists. Place on a glass of cold milk, and Santa will Ho Ho Ho for these sugar cookies.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies with flavors of the holidays, these have candy cane peppermint crunch, milk chocolate chips, and Andes creme de menthe chips. Shortbread Christmas Cookies have peppermint white chocolate and macadamia nuts, these say Mele Kalikimaka and Aloha with their tropical vibe.

Holiday Food Gifts

Give some homemade extract to the home baker in your family, in pretty glass bottles with a cute bow or with a mini Santa hat, and you can even tie a recipe card for your favorite cake, chocolate chip cookie, or baking recipe!

I had just made these bottles last Christmas for home use and gifts. The extract is still very light as they hadn't had time to age, plus I didn't add enough beans to make it super dark and full flavor.

Try yours in your holiday baking, here are some of my most popular recipes to bake up during the Christmas season.

More Vanilla Extract Baking Recipes

So many baking recipes use vanilla extract and some of my favorites are here for you! Birthday cakes, vanilla ice cream, vanilla syrup, vanilla sugar, savory dishes, pastry creams, fluffy buttercream frosting, crème brûlée, or a classic chocolate cake or white cake.

Bake an Apple Crisp with a sweet crust, caramelized apples, and a streusel topping. Serve this apple dessert with ice cream and caramel sauce. A rich delicious Pumpkin Bread scratch recipe with warm Fall spices, fresh orange juice, and loaded with milk chocolate chips.  Bake a patriotic American Flag Cake with red, white, and blue marbled cake inside and bakery-style frosting. An adorable Bunny Cake that is an EASY dessert for Easter dinner.

Learn step-by-step to make this "cut-up" Easter cake plus all the decorating tips. Bake a Christmas Cake loaded with your favorite holiday flavors of peppermint. This Christmassy bake is gorgeous for a fancy holiday dinner party and easy enough to make with kids for a merry, joyful, perfect dessert. Bake a patriotic American Flag Cake with red, white, and blue marbled cake inside and bakery-style frosting. Bake a spooky Halloween Cake with orange and chocolate marbled cake inside, and a cemetery all made in chocolate!