Making Vanilla

How did all this start?  I ask myself that question often. I start what I think is a great project, and then a couple months later I am questioning myself.

It all started because I was using vanilla in my morning smoothie.  Every day.  Each and every day.  Do you know how expensive vanilla is?  Let me tell you. I shopped for vanilla at every store I could find.  I compared prices and read about artificial vs natural.  I was shocked to find out that even some of the artificial stuff was expensive. I was like WTH?  And the good stuff was well, lets just say I would need to take out a second on my house if I continued down that road. It's one thing to use a good quality vanilla every so often when you bake but to use it everyday?  No going to happen. With that in mind another idea is born. Make my own vanilla.

I knew it was easy so off I went to buy vanilla beans.  The price of these fluctuates also. I finally found the cheapest ones I could find and then proceeded to buy 12 of them. Yickes!  I split them down the center and put them into the jar then filled the jar with vodka. 

Oh yeah that reminds me, the question of what vodka to use came up.  I didn't really want to use the expensive stuff, but if I decided to buy one that was a little cheaper I had to spend money on that, and then I would have lots left over which we would have to drink.  Oh darn! Just kidding. We usually buy premium vodka so I really did not want to have some cheap stuff laying around, so in the end I used the good stuff.

I put the jar in the corner of my kitchen where it is dark and cool.  I can't remember how long it was supposed to take before it was vanilla, something like a month.  Whatever it was it was too short!  I checked the bottle every few weeks and there was no way it was vanilla. It smelled like vodka with vanilla beans.  So I finally figured that either this project was a bust or I had just wasted a whole bunch of money only to throw it out. I left it in the corner of my kitchen and completely forgot about it, and went on my merry way without homemade vanilla.

Here we are many months later and it finally looks and smells like vanilla. The moral of this story is if you are in, you gotta go in for the long haul.  This is not a quick recipe you can whip up and use right away. But if you are curious, and have the patience, make a bottle, but be prepared to put it up for several months.  In the end you will have a big jar of homemade vanilla to use any way you want. Even in your morning smoothie.