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All Things Madagascar
The Madagascar Vanilla Beans are: Wild harvested - Hand Pollinated and Hand Picked.
Your Madagascar Vanilla Extract Kit will include:
1 - 8.5 oz Glass Bottle
1 oz of Madagascar vanilla beans
Pair of disposable gloves
Instructions
You will need to purchase the alcohol: Clear alcohol e.g vodka 35% alcohol content - 70% proof.
To make an extract we are looking to expose the seeds, referred to as the caviar. All you need to do is follow "one" of the processes below that's, A or B or C:
Method A: Create a slit without cutting through the beans and chop off 2 inches from the tip and keep aside on your board. Or
Method B: Slit and chop up the beans in 2-inch pieces and keep asise on your board. Or
Method C: Slit all the the beans and scrape out the caviar, chop the vanilla down into 1 inch pieces and keep aside on your board.
Tip: the reason i sugest to keep the vanilla to the side, its going to be cleaner and less messy process to your bottle.
Any of the above steps will allow the beans to start permeating with the alcohol, subsequently the alcohol will start the pulling process of drawing the flavor compounds from the beans. To reach full maturity of extraction this process will take 12 months to complete from the day it is made.
Which ever method you use,
Carefully drop the caviar and beans into the mouth of the bottle.
Add 1 - Cup of your choice of clear alcohol to the beans in your bottle; clear alcohol such as Vodka, the list is endless and it's your custom made Vanilla Extract. The alcohol content needs to be a minimum of 35%, which is 70% proof. This is a minimum requirement to for your extract to be referred as an "Extract." Anything less than 35% alcohol content is neither considered or meets the extract grade or quality.
Once the alcohol is in the bottle position the cap on to the mouth of the bottle and pull down on the clasp to seal the cap please double check your bottle is sealed.
Shake your bottle vigorously for a good couple of moments and place in a dark cupboard or in storage where there is absolutely no light.
There you have it!!
Daily Routine and maintance required
From here on, every day you'll give it a quick shake just to help disturb your vanilla beans. You'll also notice the caviar, float to the top and then settle down to the bottom of the bottle and that's really what you want to see. Over time your beans should appear to have expanded, this action means that the alcohol is doing its job of extraction and your beans are absorbing the alcohol.
Essential tips:
Ensure that your beans are totally submerged in alcohol
Vanilla beans come in various sizes and forms basically no vanilla bean will be identical if you don't trim your beans down you'll notice some of your beans aren't totally submerged in the alcohol, because some are too long. If that happens, you'll need to to pick them back out of the bottle and simply trim down to size so that they are fully submerged in alcohol.
As tempting as it is, other than the 1 cup requirement I wouldn't recommend adding any additional alcohol to this bottle, you will compromise the quality of the completed extract.
The 1-cup alcohol and 1 oz bean ratio is set by the FDA for vanilla extract containing alcohol.
Should take take you all of 15-30 minutes to make the extract at the end you'll be bursting at the seams with happiness with your extract.
Taste test 12 months from the day of production:
You'll need give the bottle a good-strong shake and put 1/2 tsp in 3 tablespoons of cream then give it a good stir and taste it. If you feel your extract tastes like vanilla and you think it would be interested how its developed to bake with, feel free to give it a try.
How?
My way is to make a small batch of pancakes, again give the bottle a good-strong shake then swiftly add a couple of teaspoons in to the eggs and whisk to bind.
If you need assistance please call in and we can go through the process via zoom, WhatsApp or FaceTime. Hope that helps and I thank you for your support.