Homemade Vanilla

Like I always say, mostly everything that you buy, you can make yourself. When I ran out of vanilla for baking, I decided to investigate how I could make it myself. I was surprised to discover that vanilla consists of two simple ingredients: vanilla beans and alcohol. The majority of the vanilla beans sold today are from Madagascar/Ile de Reunion (so called Bourbon vanilla) and Tahiti, although the origin of vanilla is from Mexico – Central America. Much like wine, where the vanilla bean is grown and harvested affects its taste. Vanilla beans are quite expensive and this can be explained by the lengthy and complex process used to produce them. The beans come from the pods of flowering orchids (Vanilla Planifolia) and must be hand pollinated once they flower.

Then the green pods are put in a sweat boxes or hot water to develop the enzyme that will develop vanillin and cause the color to change from green to the black that we all know. This is then followed by drying in the sun to allow the vanillin flavor to further develop. Finding vanilla was relatively easy. It was available at Bulk Barn and my local bulk store, Papillon. The vanilla is in a glass container and two pods cost $10 Canadian. Not cheap but once you know how difficult it is to harvest, it makes more sense. The recipes I found indicated between 4-6 beans in a jar with 1 cup of alcohol. I decided to put in 4 beans and make three quarters of a cup. For the alcohol, anything strong will do. I decided to use vodka because it offered a more neutral base but apparently you can use bourbon, brandy or rum.

I sliced the vanilla beans in half and then added them to a clean glass jar that I had.

Voila! Now that was easy. The only issue is that you have to wait for the vanilla to infuse the alcohol with flavor. Depending on which recipe you follow, the wait time can be between 2 and 6 months, with some people even suggesting waiting 12 months (!). Don’t forget to shake the mixture once per week as this helps the vanilla infuse. Looks like I will be going to the store to buy some vanilla after all….

Post script: After 1 month, the vanilla solution has the nice brown color that I expected and it smells amazing. I will keep for another few months to let the flavor develop and I will let you know how it works out.

Challenge for the Week: Would you make your own vanilla? While you won’t have it ready for this year, homemade vanilla makes a great Christmas gift for bakers.