Allergen-free vanilla extract

One of the many problems faced by baked-good lovers with food allergies is that seemingly innocuous common baking ingredients contain hidden allergens.

Vanilla extract, for example, is usually made with either grain or corn alcohol.

Today’s task was to start a batch of allergen-free vanilla extract using two ingredients: vanilla beans and potato vodka.

The recipe itself is simple – just split or cut the vanilla beans, put them into a container with the vodka, cover and place in a cupboard for about a month, and voila, you have vanilla extract.

Online recipes suggest using grade B vanilla beans, which are drier than the grade A ones used for other purposes. Several different varieties of beans can be purchased easily online – I chose the ones most commonly used for vanilla extract: Bourbon.

The sites I looked at differed regarding the number of vanilla beans to use per ounce of alcohol, and the instructions on the vanilla bean packaging varied from those I found online, so I averaged the different quantities I saw, ultimately using 10 vanilla beans to flavor 12 ounces (1½ cups) of vodka. I split the beans and cut them in half to keep them submerged in the alcohol, put a lid on the jar, and popped it into the spice cabinet. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

If you’re in a hurry and can’t wait for homemade vanilla extract to develop flavor, there are online sources of allergen-free products: one that I found is wellamy.com.