One of my goals for this year is to learn how to make homemade extracts. I’ve joined a few facebook groups and pinned a TON of things to my board in Pinterest.
With my new found knowledge and a little courage I set out on the adventure of making my own homemade extrats.
The flavors I plan on making are:
Vanilla
Orange
Coconut
Lemon
Lime
Peppermint
And maybe if some other flavors strike my fancy this year I’ll make those as well.
After doing quite a bit of research and ordering some fresh vanilla beans this is what I’ve learned:
Vanilla Extract
2 oz of beans per 8oz of alcohol
Plan on 12-18 months before the extract is ready
Split beans may make the extract faster, but you may not get as many uses out of them
Beans can be used multiple times. Twice in extract, then put into a “mother jar” and continue to make extracts with others or freeze dried and powdered for vanilla sugar or other uses.
Other Extracts
Oranges- 4 oranges worth of peels per 16 oz of vodka
Take citrus peels out of the vodka after 3-4 months so they don’t turn the extract bitter
I used a medium grade vodka, but you can use any kind. If you have a favorite brand or type of alcohol use that.
Watch this video for some live tips and see the ones I’ve done so far:
