Vanilla Extract

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Steve707

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I was wanting to add vanilla extract to my 5 gallon of peach and 6 gallon of strawberry, I was just wondering when to add and how much? Has anyone experimented with this? Thanks in advance.
 
You really need to do a taste trial to determine what volume of extract to use, as it will also vary from extract to extract. I use a great quality homemade extract and find 3-5 drops per 750ml bottle added prior to bottling is good...but again do a taste trial. Then once you know how many drops per bottle you can calculate per gallon. A standard dropper requires 20 drops to equal one mL.
 
I was wanting to add vanilla extract to my 5 gallon of peach and 6 gallon of strawberry, I was just wondering when to add and how much? Has anyone experimented with this? Thanks in advance.

You might get better results by using actual vanilla beans. That way you can remove them once the desired flavour profile has been reached. With the extract, if you accidentaly put to much in, you can't take it back out.
You'll need to spilt (lengthwise) & scrape the bean, placing it pulp & all into a hop sack & drop it into the must. You can add a couple of sanitized marbles to weigh it down if you want.
Just my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.
 
I make my own extract and it's very strong. I add about 2-3 teaspoons per 5 gallon batch. I get no distinct vanilla taste from it but I think it really adds to the overall flavor.
 
I would LOVE to know the recipe for that jungatheart.

Easy peasy. Buy some vanilla beans off Ebay, cut them lengthwise, scoop out the soft stuff, cut rest of bean in small pieces and put it all in a mason jar with cheap rum or vodka.

Shake once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year. You can start using it very soon after starting but I like to make enough ahead so I am using the aged stuff. It gets dark very quickly.

Amounts? Use more beans if you like it strong less if weak. I pretty much fill up the jar with chopped up beans and fill to top with alcohol. You can use much less.

I like the Tahitian beans but vanilla is like pizza and sex: it's all good just some better than others.

Be very careful. It's addictive stuff. I have it on my oatmeal every morning. French toast, almost anything with milk and on and on............


Make lots. I occasionally give some as gifts and always get the empty jar back if you know what I mean.
 
I would LOVE to know the recipe for that jungatheart.

Use vodka. I use empty 187mL mini wine bottles (about 6" tall). I put 8 scraped beans in there with cheapo vodka. That is much stronger than normal single-fold vanilla extract. That's it.

I made strawberry ice cream this morning and used some of my extract. I use in in all sorts of stuff.

Junga, above, got the process perfectly. I'd say they are ready in a few months.

I get Madagaskar beans in bulk from www.beanilla.com.
 
passedpawn said:
Use vodka. I use empty 187mL mini wine bottles (about 6" tall). I put 8 scraped beans in there with cheapo vodka. That is much stronger than normal single-fold vanilla extract. That's it.

I made strawberry ice cream this morning and used some of my extract. I use in in all sorts of stuff.

Junga, above, got the process perfectly. I'd say they are ready in a few months.

I get Mafdagaskar beans in bulk from www.beanilla.com.

Not to threadjack, but I'm wanting to do something similar with orange blossoms. Has anyone heard of an orange blossom extract using vodka? I know about orange blossom water, but I want to make my own, and I want to make sure that its sterile. Thoughts?
 
Use vodka. I use empty 187mL mini wine bottles (about 6" tall). I put 8 scraped beans in there with cheapo vodka. That is much stronger than normal single-fold vanilla extract. That's it.

I made strawberry ice cream this morning and used some of my extract. I use in in all sorts of stuff.

Junga, above, got the process perfectly. I'd say they are ready in a few months.

I get Mafdagaskar beans in bulk from www.beanilla.com.

I adore the Madagascar vanilla beans. I also made the best batch of vanilla to date using Evan Williams Honey Reserve KY Bourbon Whiskey--being a Kentucky gal I had to use a local product. I only have to use half the amount a typical recipe calls for. Use 6-8 8" beans per liter, age for a year but can honestly start using after a month if you need to. Awesome stuff!
 
I put a couple of split beans and everything inside the beans in a fifth of Bacardi light rum.

Is wonderful. We use it in baking where the recipe calls for vanilla. I added some to different wines too.

I too adore the Madagascar vanilla beans
 
Now I am going to start making my own vanilla extract! Love this! I always learn something when I come on this site.
 
bdharstad said:
Now I am going to start making my own vanilla extract! Love this! I always learn something when I come on this site.

I love my homemade vanilla extract. Easy; cheaper than grocery; and WAY better. Way!

I also make my own cinnamon extract. Great stuff!
 
Wait, cinnamon extract.... ?

Yup! Easy peasy -- put a couple or three sticks of cinammon in about 8 oz of light (or dark) rum; cap it; let it infuse for a couple of months (shake it every couple of days or so).

It's delicious, and about 4 times as strong as powdered cinnamon, so if a recipe calls for 1 tsp of cinnamon, use 1/4 tsp of extract.
 
Will definitely be making this. I'm guessing this stuff doesn't go bad?

Don't know. I'm using some I put up in 2009 and it's delicious.

Really, all of you that make your own, make some oatmeal with brown sugar, add condensed milk or cream and a healthy splash of your vanilla. It turns oatmeal into a chewy milkshake.
 
TedLarsen said:
Yup! Easy peasy -- put a couple or three sticks of cinammon in about 8 oz of light (or dark) rum; cap it; let it infuse for a couple of months (shake it every couple of days or so).

It's delicious, and about 4 times as strong as powdered cinnamon, so if a recipe calls for 1 tsp of cinnamon, use 1/4 tsp of extract.

Ok, I'm on it. Where did you get the sticks?
 
Ok, I'm on it. Where did you get the sticks?

If you're going to take the time to make it, get real cinnamon. Most cinnamon you'll find locally, both powder and stick, is not true cinnamon but the bark from a different plant, the Cassia. True cinnamon has more concentrated aromatic oils, and that's exactly what you're extracting with ethanol.

Penzey's is a trusted online spice site. Here: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyssoftstickcinnamon.html

Cassia_Cinnamon.jpg
 
passedpawn said:
If you're going to take the time to make it, get real cinnamon. Most cinnamon you'll find locally, both powder and stick, is not true cinnamon but the bark from a different plant, the Cassia. True cinnamon has more concentrated aromatic oils, and that's exactly what you're extracting with ethanol.

Penzey's is a trusted online spice site. Here: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyssoftstickcinnamon.html

Ok, again... On it. Thanks for the source.
 
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