Extracts and a Homemade Christmas!

Hello Blog World! Hope everyone is keeping their sweaters and flip flops near! Much like the weather in Texas should be we are switching between warm and cold weather. None the less the holiday season is vastly approaching starting with Halloween today. This is the perfect time to start thinking about some home made gift ideas for Christmas. One of the things that has started to interest me are home made extracts.

Here is a list below of somethings you can try!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

20 Vanilla Bean Pods

1.75 Liters of Vanilla or Rum

Good Sharp Knife

Split Vanilla Beans in half with knife stuff into liqour bottle. Let stand for 2 months shaking once a week. 

 

Here is a picture of the start of mine, only 3 days later it has a beautiful caramel color and a wonderfull smell of vanilla! I cant wait to see what it will look like in 2 months! All of this cost me around $20, if you think about it a 8 oz bottle of McCormick is $9.00. Package into nice glass jars with a homemade label! 

Here are some other extracts that I am going to be trying in the coming days! 

Mint Extract

1/4 - 1/2 Cup fresh Peppermint leaves

1- 2 Cups decent Vodka

1 glass jar with tight lid

Bruise mint leaves add vodka store in container for 30 days shaking every couple of days. When done strain out leaves. 

Almond Extract

1 cup Vodka

3 T. finely chopped Almond

Using a food processor or chopper, process the almonds until they are ground, but not so much that it becomes butter. Add the almond to a 1/2 pint jar and then add the vodka. Clean the rim and add the lids and rings. Store the jars in a dark cool place and shake the jar every day for six weeks.

After six weeks, strain the almonds through a fine mesh strainer or coffee filter and put the liquid back in the jar. The extract will last indefinitely.

Lemon Extract

1/2 cup vodka (see above)

1 large lemon cleaned and peeled with a vegetable peeler making sure you avoid the pith (white part)

Add the lemon peel to the vodka in a sterile glass jar with a lid

Place in a cool dark place (pantry) for 1-2 weeks and shake once daily.

It will be ready for use at this time, but unlike the vanilla extract you must remove the peel.

There are probably a load more out there, anyone have recipes or ideas for other things? Let me know! 

Happy Halloween!

-Goldie