The Instant Pot(AKA Instapot) is pretty amazing! This lovely little kitchen appliance is always blowing my mind. I’ve thought about making vanilla extract a handful of times. The normal process for making vanilla extract is incredibly simple. You fill a jar with vodka, throw in some vanilla beans, and screw on the lid. Then let it sit for forever while you forget you even made it! Luckily, when you make vanilla in the Instant Pot you have ready to use vanilla extract in under an hour! Plus, your house smells amazing! That makes it a pretty perfect recipe in my book! If you have an Instant Pot, youhave to try this recipe for Homemade Vanilla Extract Made in the Instant Pot!
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When you’re finished making your homemade vanilla extract, you’ll want to find some ways to put it to use! You could always bake with it, like in this yummy cherry vanilla bread. Or you could use it in homemade beauty products, like my homemade vanilla whipped body butter!
3. Put the trivet on the bottom of the Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Next, position the canning jar on the trivet.
4. Lock the Instant Pot’s lid into place and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook the vanilla extract using the manual button on high pressure for 40 minutes. To release the pressure, use a long utensil to turn the pressure valve to the open position. Be careful, steam will shoot out.
5. Use oven mitts to remove the jar of vanilla from the Instant Pot. Let the extract cool completely before screwing the lid on the jar. Putting the lid on the jar while it is still warm will cause it to vacuum seal. Your homemade vanilla extract is now ready to use right away! Leave the beans in the jar to allow the flavor to strengthen over time.
Store in a cool dry place. The alcohol smell will lessen over the next week.
As mentioned in the recipe, I left the vanilla beans in the jar so that the flavor can continue to strengthen as it sits. When the vanilla is gone, I’ll use the beans to make something else. I see some homemade vanilla bean paste in my future!
I didn’t test this vanilla for shelf life, alcohol level, or anything else. Normally vanilla extract has a shelf life of a couple years. This homemade vanilla extract may or may not keep that long. From what I have read it seems it will last at least a year, but I won’t have it long enough to find out! This recipe made 1 quart of vanilla extract, but I do so much baking that it will only last me about 2 months.
Have you ever made homemade vanilla extract using the traditional method?
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Homemade Vanilla Extract Made in the Instant Pot
Author:A Cultivated Nest
Print Recipe
Description
Easily (and quickly!) make your own delicious homemade vanilla extract in your Instant Pot!
Ingredients
Scale
Vodka – 40% alcohol
4 Madagascar vanilla beans
1 cup water
Quart canning jar
Scissors
Instructions
Toughly wash and dry your canning jar and scissors. Cut the vanilla beans in half and place them in the jar.
Fill the jar with vodka to the thread lines. Leave the lid off.
Put the trivet on the bottom of the Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Next, position the canning jar on the trivet.
Lock the Instant Pot’s lid into place and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook the vanilla extract using the manual button on high pressure for 40 minutes. To release the pressure, use a long utensil to turn the pressure valve to the open position. Be careful, steam will shoot out.
Use oven mitts to remove the jar of vanilla from the Instant Pot. Let the extract cool completely before screwing the lid on the jar. Putting the lid on the jar while it is still warm will cause it to vacuum seal. Your homemade vanilla extract is now ready to use right away! Leave the beans in the jar to allow the flavor to strengthen over time. Store in a cool dry place. The alcohol smell will lessen over the next week.
This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.
About Rachel:Rachel is a big believer in living life as your best self. She likes her coffee black and loves to curl up with a good book. At HyperHypoMama.com she writes about creating a healthy life with Thyroid Disease through food, yoga, and love.
You might also be interested in: 10 Yummy Instant Pot Recipes You Have To Try!
Use either. 80 proof Alcohol: Vanilla extract is most commonly made from vodka, but you can use bourbon, brandy, or rum instead. I usually use vodka, but the one bottle of bourbon vanilla I made 7 months ago is DIVINE. No need to splurge on expensive alcohol.
If your jar is larger than 8 ounces, use more beans and alcohol so that the alcohol will cover the beans. Just remember this ratio: 6 vanilla beans per 8 ounces of alcohol. So if your jar is 12 ounces, use 9 vanilla beans. If it's 16 ounces, use 12 beans.
When stored properly, vanilla extract will keep indefinitely, but using it within five years will allow for best flavor and aroma. Do not refrigerate or freeze, even after opening. What is the shelf life of my vanilla beans? When stored properly, two years.
Re-fillable: Once you run out of vanilla, refill the bottle with Vodka and use the beans for another batch (they will last for up to two batches). Also, the vanilla extract wont expire as long as it's stored in a cool, dry place.
A bit of simple math reveals that homemade vanilla extract is the more economical choice. Say you buy two 4-ounce bottles of the good vanilla extract from the grocery store every year. If each jar costs $18, that's $180 over a five-year span.
With Vodka, you get the taste of the pure vanilla bean, as the alcohol is completely tasteless.With Rum, you get a very sweet taste and the maximum vanilla taste. With Bourbon, while you do get a wonderfully enhanced vanilla taste, there are specific smoky notes that emanate through the extract.
Seal the jar tightly with a lid and store in a dark, cool place. Wait. Next, you must wait at least 8 weeks before using the vanilla extract. I actually prefer to wait for 3-4 months before I open and use mine, because the vanilla flavor continues to intensify the longer the beans sit.
For classic vanilla flavor, stick strictly with Madagascar vanilla or Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans. If you have the choice between “Grade A” or “Grade B”, stick to the Grade B because they're cheaper (if not as pretty) and they work just as well for making extract.
FDA standards call for at least 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon of liquid. This equates to approximately . 9 oz of beans per 8 ounces of alcohol! Many people really like to use rum, bourbon, or brandy.
If your recipe calls for paste but you only have extract on hand (or vice versa), you can substitute an equal amount of extract for the paste. For example, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract can be substituted for 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste.
Some people suggest sterilising the jar first but bacteria cannot grow in 40% alcohol so I didn't bother with this step. And because of the alcohol it will last for years. Give it a quick shake, then store in a dark place like the pantry for about 2 months. Keeping it out of the light helps keep the nutritional value.
Does Real Vanilla Extract Expire? Pure vanilla extract—the kind made with real vanilla beans and at least 35 percent alcohol—has an indefinite shelf life. While safe, the flavor may deteriorate after a few years, especially if it's been stored improperly.
The amount of alcohol in pure vanilla extract varies by brand. Some contain as much as 35% alcohol by volume (ABV), which is equivalent to 70-proof vodka. However, a teaspoon of that vanilla extract has very little alcohol, somewhere closer to 1%.
Most companies use a consistent blend of beans, sometimes from several regions, sometimes just from one place such as Mexico or Madagascar. The extraction process takes about 48 hours. The extract is then filtered and stored in a holding tank where the amber-colored liquid remains until being bottled.
For shorter-timed stuff including culinary use, such as dinner or desserts, Grade A beans will be much the better option. Many also use Grade A beans from vanilla extract making since they are so much easier to work with, have a stronger aroma, and don't cost much more!
Introduction: My name is Aron Pacocha, I am a happy, tasty, innocent, proud, talented, courageous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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2. Fill the jar with vodka to the thread lines. Leave the lid off.
3. Put the trivet on the bottom of the Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Next, position the canning jar on the trivet.
4. Lock the Instant Pot’s lid into place and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook the vanilla extract using the manual button on high pressure for 40 minutes. To release the pressure, use a long utensil to turn the pressure valve to the open position. Be careful, steam will shoot out.
5. Use oven mitts to remove the jar of vanilla from the Instant Pot. Let the extract cool completely before screwing the lid on the jar. Putting the lid on the jar while it is still warm will cause it to vacuum seal. Your homemade vanilla extract is now ready to use right away! Leave the beans in the jar to allow the flavor to strengthen over time.
