DIY Vanilla Extract.

Today I put some of my homemade vanilla extract in my yogurt. Why am I telling you this? Because it was a divine experience, that's why. And I'm not one to keep the divinity to myself.
I've been working on a vanilla extract for some time now. Most commercial extracts contain glycerin or some other sweetener that i don't want in my food. So I began to experiment with making my own extract. My first attempt, which I don't have a pix of, was vanilla beans in Brandy. This was nice enough but tasted more like Brandy than Vanilla. It was just not what I was after. So I decided to try Everclear, since it has no real taste of it's own. In the following picture, look to the right bottom to see the Vanilla bean in Everclear project going on.

What I got was a clearish 95% ABV( alcohol by volume) that when diluted to 80 proof(40% abv) was milky and insipid tasting. See the jar on the bottom right with the vanilla beans in it and the diluted jar of vanilla everclear. In a word, it was gross.
 Then I thought about what I was dealing with. My vanilla beans were dried and needed reconstituting. So I tried a 50% ABV solution of Everclear and Water as seen below.

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' bout!!!!

 This batch was dark and rich and flavorful. The beans needed the added water content to soften up so they could release their voluptousness and yield an extract to delight and satisfy in the strongest sense of the word.

Now you may ask how much vanilla did I use for this magical batch? Well I am not known for exacting measurements but I counted 7 whole vanilla beans in this quart of 50% alc. I broke the beans in half to fit them in the jar and let them steep. I put this up in November of 2013 and it is now May of 2014 and I have not removed the beans. They take up so little space in the jar that it is not worth it to take them out.

 This vanilla tincture, which is what it really is, is fantastic for baking and any use that calls for vanilla extract. In fact, you could probably use 50% less vanilla using this brew than a recipe called for.

 Here is a link to my source for vanilla beans:Grade B Bourbon Vanilla bean, .5#

 I can get Everclear at my local liquor store. 

Have fun with this.

Here are a couple of my most recent creations. I have a beautiful rose bush growing feral on the side of my house. She has always provided me with lush blossoms and vivid color in the Spring. Over the years I have lived here she has grown large and full and never failed to herald springtime in Texas except for the year my husband hacked her back to a stump thinking she was just some sort of weed. Just when I thought she was gone, she poked out suckers and grew back even larger than before with these HUGE thorns that seem to say " Hey buddy, try that again. I dare you." So now she gets free reign to put on her show in April and May and get's a hair cut in June.

What I have here in jars are two lovely concoctions using the blossoms of my rose. I've put up Rose in Apple Cider Vinegar and Rose in store bought Witch Hazel. Why would I do such a thing? Well, in addition to keeping her ruby hue with me all year long, Rose is an astringent, cooling plant. All members of the Rose family have that property. They are also rich in bioflavinoids and other elements of Vitamin C. This cooling, astringent quality is what I'm after in these preparations. The Rose vinegar is going to be used to help cool off the lighter skinned members of my family if they happen to get sunburned( I'm dark skinned and have only had one mild sunburn in my life so far). Diluted with water in a spray bottle, Rose vinegar spritzed on the skin provides soothing relief from the sting of a mild to moderate sunburn. And it smells pretty nice too.

The Rose Witch Hazel blend is going to be a facial toner for me now that I have reached a certain age. I could use the astringent, skin tightening effects of the rose as well as her cooling effects when I get those hot flashes that seem to be creeping up on me these days. This preparation I'll use straight up rather than diluted as a toner and diluted with Sandalwood Hydrosol as a hot flash spray.

For information on Rose check out this link :Botanical.com

And Kiva Rose had a great blog and information about the lovely Rose. Check out her info here:Wild Rose

 Well until I get to harvest more from my sweet backyard rose, Auf Wiedersehen!

 Welcome! 

here is a sample of some of the weird stuff i have had floating in jars over the years.