How to make 3 easy Homemade Extracts, (vanilla extract, lemon extract, and orange extract)
Homemade extracts are easy to make, add more flavor to your baked goods and cost less. Good quality extracts are hard to find when you want to make your favorite holiday cookies, such as our Bonbon Amidon (Tapioca Cookies) or our best Cranberry Upside Down Cake.
Is it not too late to get ready for the holidays? Extracts are essentials to cooking and baking. As extracts can be very expensive, many types can be prepared right at home. There should not be any reason to use imitation extract when you can make your own. Pure extracts should have flavors, contain no corn syrup and no water.
This article will help you make 3 of the most used extracts in baking and cooking. You will only need to free up some time from your busy schedule to make them. And trust me, they do not take long and are very cost-effective. If you are frugal like me, this will help you make the best Orange Cake or Grapefruit Cake and impress your family and friends throughout the year.
In the Caribbean and more so in Haiti, vanilla and almond extracts are widely used in baking. Below are the recipes, tips, and secrets for three homemade extracts. They are vanilla extract, orange extract, and lemon extract.
Let’s review the most common extract, vanilla.
Making Vanilla Extract
Vanilla Extract is the most widely used extract in the kitchen. Homemade Vanilla Extract is quite similar to a store-bought vanilla extract but without any extras add-ons. When making a cost comparison, it is cheaper and reasonably efficient. In my opinion, a good vodka brand is required if you want satisfactory results.
Understanding the grading for vanilla beans
There are two grades of vanilla beans commonly used in cooking and baking. Grade A Prime Gourmet and Grade B Extract.
Grade A Prime Gourmet Vanilla Bean has about 30% moisture, is a high-quality bean, is more expensive, and is versatile to use. This type of vanilla bean is best for making vanilla bean paste, vanilla sugar, or any other way you want to use the caviar of the bean. The tiny grains inside the pods are called caviar. The bean is softer and very dark in color.
Grade B Extract Vanilla Bean has about 20% moisture and is better when making vanilla extract. Because they contain less water, so it is difficult to scrape the caviar from the beans. The beans are dark in color but not as dark as Grade A Prime Gourmet.
Whether you use Grade A or Grade B is a matter of preference. I have used either and prefer using Grade A. The color of the extract is darker, and the flavor is more intense.
The origination of the beans also matter, but it is also a preference. I prefer vanilla beans from Madagasgar as I find them more fragrant, creamy, and flavorful than the ones from Tahiti, which have a floral and fruity taste. But again it is a question of choice and how much money you are willing to spend. The best thing to do is shopping around for the best beans at a reasonable price.
Homemade vanilla extract
Making your vanilla extract is easy. You will need the following ingredients:
- Vanilla Beans (Grade A Prime Gourmet or Grade A Extract) (whole, sliced in half)
- Unflavored vodka – an inexpensive brand of Vodka (usually 35 to 40% alcohol) Remember that the proof is double that number)
- 1 – 8 ounce bottle with a secure cap.
Tips and Notes for making vanilla extract
- Depending on the size of the bottle the number of beans will be less or more and the same as the alcohol quantity.
- It is recommend to shake to bottle once a day for about a month.
- It is necessary to store the bottle in a dark place while the beans need time to release their flavor.
- The extraction process usually takes between 6 – 8 weeks. After that period, the vanilla extract is ready for use. Removing the beans is a choice. I leave the beans and make sure they are always submerged in alcohol by adding more vodka.
- There are several online stores that sell vanilla beans much cheaper than regular stores. Always do your homework.
- If you are an avid baker, having homemade recipes are a plus in the kitchen. Pure flavor is key.
- A huge bottle of vanilla extract will last you several months, which is money well spent. So make enought to last you the entire year.
- Vanilla extract will last longer when stored away from light. So always keep it in a dark corner in your pantry. Or use a wine storage box to store the bottle.
- If making extract as gifts, make sure you buy bottles with caps. The bottles must be sterilized and thoroughly dried before adding the ingredients. This is a good gift idea during the holiday or a perfect hostess gift.
- Before making your homemade extract, do your research, don’t buy the most expensive or cheapest alcohol or vanilla beans or the cheapest, buy what you can afford.
Here’s the recipe for making homemade vanilla extract.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
Equipment
- Bottle for Vanilla Extract
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unflavored Vodka
- 4-6 piece Vanilla Beans/Pods about 4 – 6 beans more if preferred
Instructions
- Sterilize the bottle and well dry before use
- Add the beans to the bottle and fill up with the vodka
- Store in a dark place for 6 – 8 weeks. Shake once a day for a month if possible.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
Making Orange Extract
Homemade Orange Extract is another homemade extract recipe that I find very beneficial and again cost-effective. The recipe is named Homemade Orange Extract, but it is not made with “navel or Florida oranges” but preferably a family of the orange called Minneola.
What are Minneolas?
The knob-like formation quickly identifies minneolas at the stem end. This fruit tends to grow large and will display a deep red-orange exterior color. They have a delicious tart-sweet flavor.
Minneolas have a smooth to slightly pebbled texture, peel very quickly, and have few seeds. Minneola, in my opinion, is the perfect citrus for homemade orange extract. Because it is a cross between a mandarin and grapefruit, the taste is well balanced.
I find Minneolas to have a very pronounced and defined sweet citrus taste. Because of its taste, I also find it to be a better performing ingredient in the homemade extract than a regular orange.
When fully extracted, the extract has a beautiful bright orange color, and the taste is terrific and adds plenty of flavors to baked goods – my favorite being my recipe for Orange Cake.
How to make orange extract
The following ingredients are needed to make the orange extract.
- Regular Oranges 1 – 2 or Minneolas Orange 1 – 2 depending on the size.
- Unflavored vodka – an inexpensive brand of Vodka (usually 35 to 40% alcohol) Remember that the proof is double that number)
- 1 – 8 oz bottle with a secured cap
Tips and Notes to make orange extract:
- Depending on the size of your bottle you may use more regular oranges or minneolas oranges and more vodka.
- It is necessary to store the bottle in a dark place while the orange peels need time to release their flavor.
- The extraction process usually takes between 6 – 8 weeks. After that period, the orange extract is ready for use.
- Alway make sure that the peels are submerged in alcohol by adding more vodka.
- You don’t necessarily have to use minneolas oranges. Whatever type of oranges you can afford, go for it.
- Make sure you use a bottle with a secured cap.
- The bottles must be sterilized and thoroughly dried before adding the ingredients.
- This is a good gift idea during the holiday or a perfect hostess gift.
Homemade Orange Extract
Equipment
- Bottle for Orange Extract
Ingredients
- 1 cup unflavored Vodka
- 1 – 2 Minneolas peeled and cut into small pieces to fit in bottle
Instructions
- With a paring knife or vegetable peeler, carefully peel off the skin (and not the white part of the fruits – very bitter) of the Minneolas. Cut to fit inside the bottle. Insert Minneolas peels into the bottle add the vodka and store in a dark place for extraction process – 6 to 8 weeks.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
Making Lemon Extract
Homemade Lemon Extract adds tons of flavors to baked goods, especially lemon cake, a favorite of mine.
There are many types of lemons. The most common types are Meyer Lemons (always labeled) and Lisbon Lemon (not labeled ), commonly found in local markets. The Eureka Lemon is another type found in local markets and also not marked.
Both Lisbon and Eureka are typical and have similar profiles in taste and acidity. The difference is the skin. Eureka lemons have a rougher texture, thicker skin, and a better choice for zest, especially if you enjoy making a good cheesecake.
Meyer lemons are not actual lemons; they are hybrids. Compared to real lemons, they have a slightly sweet taste. They tend to be smaller in size and not a good substitution for real lemons.
How to make Lemon Extract
The following ingredients are needed.
- 1 – 2 lemons, skin remove and cut in smaller strips
- Unflavored vodka – an inexpensive brand of Vodka (usually 35 to 40% alcohol) Remember that the proof is double that number)
- 1 – 8 oz bottle with a secured cap
Tips and Notes for making lemon extract
- Depending on the size of your bottle you may use more lemons and more vodka.
- It is necessary to store the bottle in a dark place while the lemon peels need time to release their flavor.
- The extraction process usually takes between 6 – 8 weeks. After that period, the lemon extract is ready for use.
- Alway make sure that the peels are submerged in alcohol by adding more vodka.
- Make sure you use a bottle with a secured cap.
- The bottle must be sterilized and thoroughly dried before adding the indregients.
- This is a good gift idea during the holiday or a perfect hostess gift.
Homemade Lemon Extract
Equipment
- 1 – 8oz Bottle
Ingredients
- 1 – 2 Lemon peeled and skin cut small to fit into the bottle
- 1 cup unflavored vodka
Instructions
- With a paring knife or vegetable peeler, carefully peel off the skin (and not the white part of the lemons. Cut the skin to fit inside the bottle. Insert lemons peels into the bottle and add the vodka. Store in a dark place for extraction process – 6 to 8 weeks.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
Final Notes for making homemade extracts
Homemade extracts are more flavorful and less expensive to make. If you are planning on baking lots of goodies during the holidays, the best time to make the extracts is late September or early October. This way, the extracts will be ready to flavor your cakes, cookies, muffins, and cheesecake.
My preferred bottles are the swing-top bottles. For the recipes above, I used 8-ounce clean swing-top bottles purchased on Amazon. The box contained a couple of funnels, labels, and a marker.
Next time you are at the supermarket, smile and keep walking when you see the high-priced extracts.
Do you want to same more money? Try these homemade sauces and jams.
