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Recipe Detail Page
Vanilla Extract
Holiday 2006
Since the quality of the extract will depend on the quality of the beans, use premium beans that are flexible not brittle, have a rich vanilla aroma and are oily to the touch. The best bourbon beans have a white 'frost' of pure vanillin on the outside. (To distinguish the frost from mildew, look at the beans under bright light, preferably sunlight-mildew is dull and flat, while the crystalline vanillin will sparkle).
1. Split four to six vanilla beans in half lengthwise with a sharp knife and add to a half bottle (375 mL) of vodka or grain alcohol.
2. Store at room temperature (never refrigerate vanilla) in a dark place, and wait-two months is a bare minimum, six months is better.
3. Vanilla extract, like good wine, only improves with age. You can leave the beans in the bottle and top it up with fresh spirits as you use it.
