Project 365- Day 131

Less than a week after I ordered my vanilla beans they arrived! I got my cheap bottle of vodka and my glass jar and began cutting open the beans.
I am not sure how I drank quite as much vodka as I did in my twenties because just the smell of this alcohol made me a little nauseous. And believe me it was not because this bottle was so cheap. I was not drinking the good stuff back then either. I guess it's a good thing that I rarely drink.

Anyway, I did not chop the beans. I just made a slit down the length of each one, leaving about 1/2 inch at the bottom. I placed 40 of them into my big jar, poured in all the vodka (while plugging my nose), put the lid on, and then gave it a good shake.

I put the jar in the back of a dark closet where I store all my baking junk and that was that.
From all the different versions I read, the minimum amount of time before using the extract should be no less than two months, but some people say up to 6 months for really nice flavor.
I don't think I go through that much extract in a year, (although I did make cookies, cupcakes, and pancakes this week and the bottle I bought less than 2 weeks ago is almost empty)the good news is that extract does not go bad! Ever!
I can continue to use this and as the liquid goes down I can throw in some more vodka.
This can be done with any liquor and from what I understand it does not matter whether it is top of the line or the cheap stuff. It is all good.
And I still have a ton, and I mean a ton of beans left over. I plan on putting some in sugar to make vanilla sugar and I guess I should make some vanilla bean cupcakes too!
I bought my vanilla from Vanilla Products on Ebay and I followed the extract making directions from one of my favorite blogs, Heavenly Homemakers. If you love making things, cooking and baking from scratch, then you need to check out her blog!