Friday, August 24, 2012

Homemade Vanilla

(Drum roll please ........)

This is it!  The official opening of the homemade vanilla.  Here's it's progress from it's beginning in November of 2011 to today, Friday August 24, 2012.

......good ..................... gooder .................... better still ......

BEST!





And I did a taste comparison.  I used the vanilla I had in my cupboard, a bottle of vanilla made with Madagascar vanilla beans and distilled in bourbon.

Color - Homemade = Good dark color
            Store bought = a little darker

Taste - Both were comparable in taste

Texture - The store bought was slightly "thicker" than my homemade. (I think that's because I should have put 3 vanilla beans in each bottle but I was too cheap to buy another.)

Cost = Again, they're comparable.  The homemade was bottled in 150 ml size jars at a cost of roughly $12-$15 each.  The store bought was in a 118.3 ml size bottle at a cost of $12.95.  

Yum-ability - I used my homemade vanilla when I baked muffins and you couldn't tell the difference.  Comparable!


Would I make it again?  YES, especially as I just found vanilla beans for a dollar cheaper than what I spent last November.  And there's just something nice about making your own or passing it on as a gift.  But I'll have to find some nice cheap jars as well.  

Great!  A valid purpose to go to Frenchies!  ('cause even this Thrifting Queen needs to justify her obsession sometimes!)




11 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, it looks amazing! Love me some vanilla--in anything and everything! Ha!

How Sam Sees It said...

You know, it never occurred to me that you could do that. Now I want to try it!

Sam

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

A bottle of vanilla lasts me a very long time. Not sure if it has an expiration date or not. Glad yours turned out for you anyway. I imagine it would be the same with yours. It is a nice idea for gift giving. Very unique.

Unknown said...

Impressive! Good luck on finding the jars.. I save just about all jars and tin cans around here.

Sweet Tea said...

A friend gave me a beautiful bottle of homemade vanilla. It looks so pretty that I have not even opened it, but instead keep it as a "pretty" on a display shelf. I enjoyed your comparison.

Kay G. said...

I have been distilling myself in bourbon for years!
Ha! Just kidding!
I'll just bet you could make some for a great giveaway!! HINT HINT
I am a vanilla girl all the way, LOVE it, especially homemade, it's the best.
And visit my blog, I have a giveaway from a few days ago, it is still in the running. Go on. I double DOG dare you!

Ricki Treleaven said...

LOL I just read what Kay posted, LOL! *giggles* I have never tried this. I must say that you are patient! It would be fun to make up some in pretty bottles and make cute homemade labels! :D

Dawn said...

Wow, I had no idea it took that long to brew, to get a good color and flavor. I love vanilla for baking and homemade sounds like a great idea:)

Marguerite said...

Those look fantastic, had no idea bourbon was used to make vanilla. Where did you ever find the beans? I remember seeing them years back when I was visiting Indonesia but I've never seen them in Canada.

TARYTERRE said...

A WORK OF ART too. Lovely. Bet it smells divine. ENJOY.

Diana said...

It looks really good, I'd like to try it. What did you use for the base, Bourbon?
And by all means go thrifting!!
Love Di ♥

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