Homemade Vanilla

A few days ago, in my homemade marshmallow post, I wrote that I usually use homemade vanilla in my recipes. I realized that many people may know how to (or even that you can) make vanilla extract at home.

This is something that my mother has done for years. All you need is liquor and vanilla beans. My mom uses vodka, but I prefer the taste of a silver rum. You can't go wrong either way.

Here's what you do:

Buy yourself a bottle of your liquor of choice. Buy whatever size you like. I started with a small bottle (I think it's a pint).


Buy a few vanilla beans. The more you buy, the stronger it will be. I think I started with three.

Take each vanilla bean and split it down the middle, then scrape out the vanilla caviar (the little seeds inside).


Open the bottle of liquor and put in the pods and caviar. Swirl the liquor around, and put the bottle in a dark place. Swirl the vanilla every few days, and after about 3 months, you will have your very own vanilla extract.

Whenever I pour some out, I add enough rum to fill it up again. If you do this, you have never-ending vanilla extract!