Are you required to use alcohol to make vanilla extract at home? What if you don't drink alcohol for diet and/or religious purposes, is there an alternative to still be able to make vanilla extract (or any extract) at home? The answer is yes, and its found in food-grade glycerin.
Starlette is one of our vanilla extract pros that posts regularly on our private Facebook group. She is conducting an at home experiment using glycerin in her extracts instead of traditional alcohols like vodka, rum or bourbon. This post will be updated regularly. Check back often to join us on our journey.
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Post #1 - November 17, 2020
The Vanilla Glycerin Test
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1 ounce of cut Vanilla Beans in 8 ounces of Glycerin. Sous Vide at 120 for 12 hours.
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The results: Warming the glycerin extract brings out not only the color but the fragrance as well.
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I'm am going to let it sit for a few days, do another Sous Vide for 12 more hours and let it sit for a month. I will start taste testing after that.
More results later
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First photo: Extract before warming. Clear and not very fragrant.
Second photo: Extract after 12 hours of warming on 120 degrees.
Third photo: Shows the difference in the 3 after the 1st two warmings.
Clearly a difference.
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Post #2 - January 16, 2021
Hi Everyone! This is an update on extracting with Glycerin. According to the FDA, Vanilla extracted without alcohol is referred to as flavorings. Out of curiosity, I wanted to try glycerin to see if the taste was as good as the extracts with alcohol and to see if the flavors would stay when baked.
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I used Vanilla and Orange Vanilla Flavorings. I started these jars the week of November 14th. I kicked the Vanilla Flavoring off by Sous Vide [warm bath] for 12 hours at 120 degrees, let rest for 12 hours then repeated for a total of 48 warming hours. The Orange Vanilla was not warmed. I tried them plain a few weeks ago and they were sweet and delicious! But would the flavors hold up in baking....
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I made a plain coffee cake using a tablespoon of each flavoring. Although the Vanilla and Orange flavor was there and the cake is very tasty, I think a few more months of extracting will do the vanilla flavoring a world of good. I'm going to re-test the flavor next month to see if it gets stronger. Yum, Yum
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