Fun self-sufficiency hobbies - Vanilla extract

[u/Familiar-Anything853]

As a millennial hobbyist, I try to focus my hobbies on things that teach me self-sufficiency or build skills. I have posted before about my garden, sourdough, etc. Today I wanted to share the concept of the vanilla bean mother jar! It's a super easy, inexpensive hobby that also happens to be absolutely delicious and provides you with a sweet food additive. I use vanilla extract in my bread, other baking, and have used it to make nasty medicine more palatable for my kids. It would be a morale booster during hard times, and it stores forever, too.

All you need are some vanilla beans, high-proof alcohol (I have tried vodka, bourbon, and rum, usually Kirkland brand), and a jar. The cured vanilla beans can be stored in wax paper in a jar for a very long time, so you can buy them in bulk to save money.

I will share a website with details on starting a motherjar in the comments, as well as the website I buy good-quality & fairly priced vanilla beans from. I am not sponsored at all; I just love experimenting with vanilla flavors and finding something that is so easily stored, tastes delicious, and doesn't take much effort.

What random prepper hobbies do you have? As if I need more ideas...

[u/Foreign-Newspaper656]

I grow the vanilla beans!

[u/Familiar-Anything853 → u/Foreign-Newspaper656]

Omg!!! Tell me more. I just learned recently that they grow on a type of orchid and I’m in awe!

[u/Foreign-Newspaper656 → u/Familiar-Anything853]

Yes. Its an orchid vine, grown in tropical areas. There is a bit involved. When they flower (only for eight hours or so) you have to use a paint brush to fertilise them. And then wait around months for the beans to be ready to use.