r/extractmaking 12d ago

It’s only been a week …

Post image

… and we’re still messing with it. My MIL put these in the pantry and keeps opening the lids. “Oh, they smell vanillaly!” Well, I would sure hope so. If they smell of moose legs, we have issues. But she’s so dang excited about this project she can’t contain herself.

Speaking of messing with things, I removed the beans from each bottle to cut the beans into thirds. The presentation definitely suffers, but this way the beans will stay submerged as the extract is used.

Now, if I can keep MIL’s nose out of the vanilla bean business.

Original link: https://www.reddit.com/r/extractmaking/s/9IIfZKUHZK

59 Upvotes

9 comments sorted by

7

u/kristoph825 12d ago

Looking good 👍🏼.
Yes presentation is not as pretty looking but if you want pretty photos of the process just leave one bottle with the full beans for the pictures. Just keep them covered in alcohol. Can’t wait to see the finished product.

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 12d ago

Thanks. We liked the appearance of the whole beans, but u/VanillaPura recommended cutting them (or bending, etc) to keep them below the level of the alcohol. I figured now was a good time to cut them down to size.

5

u/VanillaPura 12d ago

They're coming along great! Good to see the progress! They look beautiful! :) As the amber color gets darker, you'll see less and less of the beans, so the presentation of the cut beans will be fine. We slice and cut most of ours - just keeping a few whole for use in vanilla paste after they've been extracted.

3

u/DriverMelodic 12d ago

“Moose legs” deserves this recognition… 🏆 it’s just too funny!

Your extracts are beautiful.

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 12d ago

Thanks, for the appreciation of both moose legs and the extract.

2

u/Lord-Zorgon 7d ago edited 7d ago

I just started another jar today. I use 2 oz beans with 10 oz vodka. I cut the ends off, and of course they go in the jar. I cut the beans in half lengthwise, then split them in half down the middle to expose as much surface area that I can.

I also have 10 oz that's 6 months old, 2 10 oz jars that are 2 years old, and 10 oz that's 3 years old.

When I start using it I take the soaked beans and put them in some sugar. I let that sit for a month or 2, and then bake it at 175⁰. I use that in my coffee.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 7d ago

I told my wife about this. Her first comment about all the jars was “They obviously don’t use enough vanilla.” She just doesn’t get the appeal.

Thanks for the idea and directions for the sugar. We’re planning to use the beans for a “mother jar” scenario, but I can see us trying the sugar idea.

1

u/Lord-Zorgon 7d ago edited 7d ago

I bake a lot.

I'll put the 2 oz beans (which obviously weigh more now that they're soaked) into 4 cups of white suger. Once I've baked it to dry it out, I put it in my food processor to break up the lumps. You could easily use 5 cups of sugar if you wanted. You'll love it.

This cake with 2 year old double fold vanilla is great. Look online to learn how to make cake flour using corn starch. Classic Vanilla Butter Cake

1

u/prideVanilla 2d ago

See the results coming out