Because I loved and completely used up the homemade vanilla from Bethany, I decided to follow her instructions for how to make my own. What an awesome little gift for people!
I ordered 25 Tahitian vanilla beans from a supplier on ebay. The 4 oz. bottles came from here. The vodka was a 1.75L bottle from ABC. I’m pretty sure the brand doesn’t make much of a difference. In fact, you can make vanilla extract with other liquors like rum but vodka is the preferred alcohol because of its neutral flavor.
I used two beans per jar. I cut them lengthwise then crosswise and stuffed the eight pieces into the Boston round bottles.
Cutie Pie lent a hand pouring 1/2 cup of vodka into each bottle.
We capped the bottles right away and put them in a dark place to steep. Ideally, they should steep for at least 2 months so I put that on the labels that I placed on the jars- “Best when used after 2/3/2012”.
You can use amber bottles to protect your vanilla extract from degradation from UV light. I figured this stuff is going to be stored in a cabinet so UV exposure is not really a big deal.
Adventures of Four 