Buy Mexican or Madagascar Vanilla Beans for Preparing Homemade Extract

Posted by fitnclean on January 22nd, 2021

It is a known fact that vanilla beans are expensive spices and are extensively used for preparing desserts like cupcakes, cakes, puddings, etc. This is the main reason that many people prefer buying vanilla beans for preparing extract at home instead of buying expensive extract. Preparing vanilla bean extract is affordable as well as easy also. The extract has complex yet rich flavour and it is dark brown in color. You have two options: either to buy extract from the marketplace which may contain certain preservatives or prepare it at home naturally. If you are buying it from the market, always look for the “pure” label. And if you have decided to prepare it at home, here is the simple recipe:

Ingredients Required: Glass bottle, few vanilla beans, 1 cup vodka with 35% alcohol. You can even use rum, brandy or bourbon in the place of vodka.

1. The first step is slicing. Slice each vanilla bean long-ways and place them into a glass bottle.
2. The second step is pouring one cup of rum, alcohol or vodka in the glass bottle so that vanilla beans get completely submerged.
3. The third step is shaking. Keep shaking it once or twice in a week for getting the best results.
4. The last step is waiting. For getting vanilla extract from beans, you need to wait for a minimum 8 weeks.

This waiting period will turn alcohol into delicious vanilla extract. Simply remove the vanilla beans from the bottle and use the remaining mixture for preparing various dishes. Store this mixture at room temperature and away from the reach of direct sunlight.

The extract is highly recommended for flavouring purposes. So, it is commonly added in dishes like chocolate chip cookies, puddings, cupcakes, etc. If you have been preparing these dishes by using vanilla bean paste, then it is prudent to replace the paste with the right quantity of Vanilla Beans for extract to get the exact flavour. Therefore, if you are using vanilla extract, replace 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Now, the question arises, different kinds of vanilla beans are available in the marketplace, so which beans to buy? The professional chefs recommend buying these beans if you are preparing vanilla extract at home:

1. Mexican Vanilla Beans: These beans have a darker and smoky flavour.
2. Madagascar Vanilla Beans: Also known as gourmet beans, these beans have a rich and creamy flavour.
3. Tahitian Vanilla Beans: These beans are easily available and have a rich floral flavour.

A simple fact important to disclose is that you cannot replace vanilla bean for extract with vanilla beans or vanilla paste in every dish. In only a handful of dishes, this replacement is possible. Therefore, gather necessary information before using vanilla extract at home. The second important consideration is to buy these beans from reputed online suppliers. Place them order in advance so that you will get your order in a week’s time that too at affordable rates. So, give your family members a wonderful treat by preparing vanilla dishes with homemade vanilla extract.