Has anyone ever made their own vanilla?

May I suggest "Everclear" it's available in the South, a mere 190 proof!

Yup, I DID say "190 proof" which means 95% alcohol. Comes with a warning that if left near heat it may explode and a reminder that drinking it uncut could make you go blind. How can you not love THAT!? Tastes kind of like . . . well, rubbing alcohol . . . but gewd.

 
One that has a fairly clean taste. Which probably means not the cheapest on the shelf. Any name

brand should do it -- unflavored Grey Goose or Absolut, for instance. This or the pure grain alcohol Steve2 suggests will give you a more versatile extract than mine with cognac.

 
Unfortunately, I live in a shopping vacumn. smileys/frown.gif

I'll check online and see what I can find. What do folks think is a good price for vanilla beans?

 
Question: if cooking/baking cooks off the liquor, does it matter that much if it's a good brand?

 
Alcohol itself is flavorless. But it bonds well with aromatic molecules when hops, grapes, barley,

and so on are added to it. So even if you cook off the alcohol, you're still left with those flavors.

I guess it's the same question as what kind of wine do you cook with? Supermarket "cooking wine," cheap plonk, or wine you'd serve with your meal? You can certainly taste the difference in a sauce, even after most of the alcohol has been evaporated.

 
Thanks, Cheezz--I appreciate that. (Here in my shopping WASTELAND!!!)

I think our Wegman's has a bottle of three for $16.00. But my spousal unit will freak out if I request that just to make vanilla. smileys/smile.gif

 
Amanda, you must be around the same age as my son. He used

to call me the parental unit. Makes me laugh!

 
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