Quick answer: a homemade vanilla extract is made by splitting 4 to 6 beans per litre of white spirit at 40 degrees minimum, vodka or neutral white rum, in a sealed glass bottle, kept dry and away from light for at least two months, with eight to twelve weeks giving a noticeably rounder result. Shake the bottle once a week, never strain out the beans before use: they keep infusing as long as they stay in the bottle, and you can top up with fresh spirit as you draw off extract.
For a successful homemade extract, use whole beans from our Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar, grade S is the most economical.
Why make your own extract rather than buy it
A shop-bought vanilla extract is a ready-to-use concentrate, handy when you need a precise, quick dose in baking. Making your own has a different appeal: you choose your own beans, you know exactly what it contains, and above all you can reuse beans already infused once in a custard, rather than throwing them away. It is also an economical way to make the most of S or M grade beans, cheaper than XL and perfectly suited to a long maceration where the length of the bean matters less than the number of beans used.
Which spirit to choose
The principle of an extract rests on alcohol as a solvent: it gradually dissolves the aromatic compounds of the bean. A neutral-tasting spirit, such as standard vodka, lets the vanilla's aroma express itself without interference. A white rum brings a slight extra note that pairs well with vanilla, without dominating it if the rum itself stays discreet. Aim for a strength of at least 35 to 40 degrees: below that, long-term keeping is no longer guaranteed and extraction of the aromas is less effective.
Avoid strongly flavoured spirits, peaty whisky, very aromatic gin, which would mask the vanilla rather than carry it.
The method, step by step
Split each bean lengthwise with a knife, without necessarily scraping out all the caviar: the split bean is enough to release its aromas into the alcohol over several weeks. Place the split beans in a clean, dry glass bottle, with a wide opening to make filling easier. Cover them entirely with spirit, making sure no part of a bean sticks out above the liquid, which would encourage mould to develop on the part exposed to air.
Seal tightly, label with the preparation date, and store the bottle in a dry cupboard, away from direct light, which can degrade certain aromatic compounds over time. Gently shake the bottle once a week to even out the extraction. After eight weeks, taste it: if the aroma suits you, the extract is ready to use. Many households in fact leave it to keep infusing for several months, its strength continuing to build slowly.
How many beans, for what result
A ratio of 4 to 6 beans per litre gives an everyday extract, comparable in strength to a good shop-bought one. For a more concentrated extract, meant for occasional use where a few drops should be enough, you can go up to 8 to 10 beans per litre, with a longer maceration time to let the alcohol extract everything. Our S or M grade beans, between 10 and 15 cm, suit this use very well: their price per bean is lower than an L or an XL, without this hurting the quality of the extraction, which depends above all on the number of beans and the maceration time. Find all our grades on our Bourbon vanilla beans page.
Keeping your bottle going over time
One of the advantages of a well-run homemade extract is that it never really runs out: as you draw off extract for a recipe, you can add fresh spirit to the bottle, which will keep infusing on the same beans. After several months, once the beans start giving noticeably less aroma, remove them and replace them with new ones, keeping the already flavoured spirit, if you wish, as a base for the next maceration.
Where and how to store the result
A finished extract keeps very well at room temperature, in a closed bottle, away from light, for several years: this is one of the great advantages of alcohol as a natural preservative. Unlike a whole bean or caviar, it needs no particular care against moisture. For use in baking, count on the equivalent of a teaspoon of extract to replace one bean in a classic recipe, to be adjusted according to the concentration obtained.
The difference with a shop-bought flavouring
A homemade extract, made by this method, is a natural extract in the fullest sense of the term: it contains nothing but vanilla and alcohol. This is an important distinction from industrial products, where the phrase "natural vanilla flavouring" covers very different realities. We detail this difference on our page natural flavouring and synthetic flavouring, useful for understanding what you are really buying in shops.
What to do with the beans removed from the extract
A bean that has spent several months in alcohol has given most of its aroma, but not all of it. Air-dried then blended with sugar, it still makes an excellent homemade vanilla sugar, described on our page making your own vanilla sugar. It is a way to get a third use out of the same bean, after the extract and before it goes to the compost.
Frequently asked questions
Can you use beans already infused in a custard to make an extract?
Yes, rinsed and dried, they keep enough aroma for an extract, even if the result will be a little less intense than with fresh beans. In that case, allow for a longer maceration time, or a slightly higher number of beans to compensate.
Should you scrape the caviar before putting the bean in the alcohol?
It is not necessary, the split bean is enough to release its aromas gradually. If you want a cloudier extract, visually richer, with small grains suspended in it, you can scrape part of the caviar directly into the bottle.
Does homemade extract have an expiry date?
No, properly made with a spirit of sufficient strength and stored away from light, it has no strict shelf life. Its aroma can simply evolve very slightly over the years, without ever becoming unsafe to consume.
