Vanilla-Vanilla

I had a problem with vanilla flavor a long time ago, I didn’t like the imitation vanilla, and most of the bakery in Thailand use imitation than the real thing, and it is common for other people but not for me. So after I started baking, I want to have the pure vanilla extract to use in my cake, but it’s hard to find in Thailand, and I didn’t want to wait for any people to go aboard and buy it for me. I search for making the extract at home (I really want to grow it at home, so I get the bean and making the extract but it’s not easy, vanilla bean need a lot of work, you can read about it here).

Finally I come across this article: How to make the vanilla extract from ...................
Joachim. I started from that time and it’s great. I know that if you’re live in the country that you can easily find the good one you may turn away from this but I find the home made extract’s fragrance is very sweet, and you can use more vanilla pod to get better extract.

The key is your vanilla pod, a fresh and sweet fragrance one will make the extract come out great (if you live in Thailand, you can buy the vanilla pods from Central food hall, it come in a tin can in the spice section). The extract that you start today can be useable in 3 month (if you don’t use any commercial extract). After you get your extract, it’s keep indefinitely.

Home Made Vanilla Extract

750 ml	Inexpensive vodka
6	Split vanilla bean
½ cup	commercial extract (optional)

Put the vanilla bean in a glass bottle and pour the vodka in. Put the cap on and keep the bottle in a cool dark place, shake it from time to time (or when you remember). The extract that you start today can be useable in 3 month or 6 weeks if using the commercial extract.

My vanilla bean from the bottle

From:Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks: 5,000 Ingenious Kitchen Hints, Secrets, Shortcuts, and Solutions by David Joachim