On Thursday morning I didn’t get up until after 6AM. I got the dying (it was after 6AM you see, so, yeah, dying of starvation) cat fed and spent the morning working on the last 2 days' posts. Then I got the kitchen partially cleaned up and got a shower.
My helper friend was here at 11:30AM and the first thing he did was a couple errands. Then we started on making vanilla extract.
I had tried to do some in 2017 and it never got much color. It had little smell or taste. I had used just vodka, Mr Boston 100 proof. But last year when my brother brought back the beans from Madagascar, I did some research and this is what I found out.
I found this post that someone had done an experiment with Everclear alcohol.
Basically she used the 190 proof, and then diluted it with distilled water. I had not used water in 2017 and the straight 100 proof vodka was much the same color as her 190 proof.
She says: “Let me begin by saying, that Vanilla Bean Pods have over 250 complex flavorings that are extracted at different times during the process of 12-18 months. Some of these flavors are extracted by the alcohol and some of the flavorings are extracted by the water.
That being said, if you use a high proof alcohol with minimal water you are not getting all the flavorings out of the beans before they start hardening. Yes, they do harden in high proof alcohol. Maybe not to a crisp, but the outer casing will. In this experiment I used Everclear 190, full strength and diluted with distilled water.”
So while I didn’t use a high proof alcohol, neither did I use a high quality one because I couldn’t afford it. This time, with these high quality beans, I sprung for the Everclear.
My helper friend took chemistry in school, which I had not. So having him there helped with the measuring and figuring out things. I used a wide mouth quart jar. We put 400ml of the Everclear in first, then 400 ml of distilled water. The jar wasn’t quite full so we added 40 ml of Everclear and 40 more ml of distilled water.
The beans were slit down the middle, leaving about 1” uncut on the end. We folded the beans in half and pushed them down in the jar so they would stay under the surface. Then I used a canning lid under a white cap to seal the jar. They will sit in the dark cabinet in the pantry for the next few months.
There is nothing like homemade vallia extract, and any recipe prepare with it I don't forgive, it's my favorite.
I never seen vanilla home made like that
That is good to know, Pam. I have been wanting to make my own since everyone says there is nothing like homemade extract. I would never have known to add the distilled water, but it does make sense.
Very interesting information on vanilla extraction. I actually love vanillas.
You have made vallia extract, it requires alcohol to make it. It has many beneficial properties.
#hive #posh