I really love homemade vanilla extract. It makes great gifts and is something that every cook should try at least once in their lifetime.

I have made homemade vanilla extract in the traditional manner for many years, but Oh my WOW making it with a sues vide circulator just changed my world!

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I could not believe how amazing this recipe would turn out, it literally has saved me months of preparing for the holidays!

I am super excited to share it with you because I really did not think it was going to work out so well.

What You Need To Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Beans

Let’s talk a bit about vanilla beans. They can be super expensive!! So how many beans do you need? Per the FDA guidelines you need 6 beans per cup of vanilla extract (Source).

Tahitian Vanilla Beans

Tahitian vanilla beans are produced in Tahiti. They have a more floral taste profile that may be more to your liking.

Mexican Vanilla Beans

Mexican Vanilla Beans are the same plant species as the Madagascar vanilla beans and there really is no difference between the two.

Madagascar Vanilla Beans

Madagascar Vanilla Beans are the ones that you see chefs slicing open and scraping the paste into all kinds of off plan desserts and things. They are typically longer and plumper than the Tahitian vanilla beans and are grown in you guessed it Madagascar. These beans are the best beans with the most intense flavor.

Vodka or Rum

I prefer to use vodka but you can use Rum or even Brandy to make homemade vanilla extract.

Your alcohol should be a minimum of 40%.

A Jar or a Bottle

Personally, I like to use swing top bottles for my vanilla extract when giving it as gifts.

The ones in the photo are clear but normally I use the amber bottles to protect the precious homemade vanilla extract inside.

Why I Use Sues Vide To Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

One of the main reasons that I purchased my sues vide circulator was to be able to try making homemade vanilla extract in a safe way. It also caught my eye a while back because let’s face it none of us like a hot kitchen in the summer. I haven’t really had a chance to experiment with it a whole lot so you will be seeing more posts with this way of cooking in the future.

What Is Sues Vide?

Sues Vide is a cooking method that uses circulating hot water to cook your foods to an exact temperature and hold them there. It is used in many restaurants and by many chefs when they are cooking ahead. You may also be familiar with the egg bites from Starbucks that are so popular.

It means cooking under vacuum. Most foods are vacuum sealed and then placed into the water to cook for an extended period of time.

Why I Used Sues Vide to Make Vanilla Extract

I decided to try this because it seemed much safer to me than trying to make homemade vanilla extract in my Instant Pot (please see my notes below the recipe!!).

Using this method I was able to produce a jar of homemade vanilla extract in 4 -6 hours instead of 4-6 months! That is HUGE!!! Also when allowing the jar to cool to room temperature it sealed as in the home canning process, making it travel ready if need be.

You can also allow the vanilla extract to age in your pantry as long as you want, it will just keep getting richer in flavor and darker as it ages.

Personally, I used one of my Instant Pot liners to make this homemade vanilla extract and it worked great on my kitchen counter with a trivet underneath it.

 

Homemade Vanilla Extract

This website is a wonderful resource to learn about the different types of vanilla beans and how they are processed.

Why I Will Not Make Homemade Vanilla Extract In An Instant Pot

Last year I saw many posts of mama’s making vanilla extract in their Instant Pots and that made me SUPER sad!

It is so very dangerous to cook alcohol under pressure and I just do not want to see any of our precious mamas experience an accident!

PLEASE do your research! This article from Hip Pressure Cooking outlines the various dangers involved when heating alcohol under pressure. I really encourage you to read it before trying to make vanilla extract in your Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker.