When you read how simple this is, you’re going to wish you had know about it years ago. Goodness! I’ve spent a lot of unnecessary money on the store-bought version before I learned about this.
The recipe: (if you could call it that)
You break up about 10 vanilla beans either dried or not, into small pieces and put them in an amber bottle of 1 pint of the finest alcohol you’re willing to buy. I’ll be honest, I splurge when it comes to my vanilla extract and I buy Courvoisier brandy. It’s delicious French brandy but I’ve also had decent result with plain old 180 proof vodka.
Let it sit in a cool dark place for at least a month or so.
Then it’s vanilla extract! I often present it as a housewarming gift after decanting to a lovely bottle.
As the volume goes down, I add more alcohol and I’m often able to eek out another rendering.
Here are my sources of vanilla beans that are usually less costly than buying from the local grocery store.
1) http://myworld.ebay.com/vanillaproducts
2) Bulkfoods.com
3) Penzey’s
Enjoy!