Homemade Extracts
I'm getting more ambitious every year -- last year I put together little baked goods packages for Christmas presents, and this year I'm thinking about doing sets of homemade extracts/liquors. I already have a coffee liquor brewing in my pantry, but what I really want to make is vanilla extract.
I've finally picked the recipe from The Traveler's Lunchbox for simple vanilla extract, but the one thing I've noticed in all homemade extract recipes is that they all seem to call for a glass container. I live in an urban college town, but I can't say that I've seen canning jars or anything of the sort anywhere around here. I suppose I could order some online, but I'd rather wait and spend the money on pretty glass containers for the gifts themselves.
Is there a specific reason why I can't use a plastic bottle or container? Or do I really have to start hunting down some mason jars?
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11 Comments:
there is something about the booze and the plastic. Glass is a must do. If your in a college town, there has got to be wine. Wash, wash, wash and give them a bleach sanitizer as well as a hot dishwasher steam dry...you should be good to go.
ChelleyD01 at 6:12PM on 11/02/08
Thrift stores often have mason jars of all shapes and sizes by the carload. You just have to find new lids for them. Another good place to find them are hardware stores such as ACE or Lowe's.
buffy at 6:31PM on 11/02/08
So does that mean that the coffee liquor that's slowly steeping in the plastic handle it came in is going to be undrinkable? Granted, it was just a test batch, but I thought my roommate and I might enjoy it .. =(
kfarrel3 at 6:36PM on 11/02/08
There are a lot of different grades of plastic, and the general idea is that you want food-safe plastic, and you want to make sure that the plastic doesn't react with the specific food you're putting in there. And you have to make sure that it's clean. With glass, you can use boiling water to make sure it's clean, but with plastic, there's a limit to how hot or how clean it will be after it's been used once. If your booze came in a plastic bottle, then it's safe for booze. But I wouldn't feel comfortable steeping the product in an old plastic mayo container, for example.
As far as making the vanilla, if you're making a lot, just put the vanilla beans into the votka bottle to steep. If you need to add a lot of beans and that's displacing too much vanilla, just pour off a little. No need to be transferring all that booze to other bottles when it already comes in a suitable container.
dbcurrie at 6:47PM on 11/02/08
@db -- Thanks for chiming in! I was actually just reading your thoughts on the definition of a foodie, and I have to say, I really appreciated your opinion that, "a foodie can just as easily be a broke college student who spends some of his/her spare time reading food magazines from the library while eating ramen." That's me to a T (except that I can't stand ramen, haha).
I could just use the plastic bottle that the rum came in, but I wasn't quite sure I want to make that much extract on the first try. It sounds like it's the best compromise though.
kfarrel3 at 7:06PM on 11/02/08
it's no problem kfarrel3, just drink half of it first... LOL
nightmoon at 7:56PM on 11/02/08
If you don't need that much vanilla extract, just add sugar to it and call it vanilla liquor. I actually have some vanilla steeping in rum and I haven't decided yet if it's going to be for baking or drinking. Or, maybe both. But probably not concurrently.
dbcurrie at 8:36PM on 11/02/08
Try your local supermarket for glass containers. They frequently have the basic Ball canning ones.
Husband at 8:41PM on 11/02/08
you could consider flavored salt/sugars. google it or just try things out. pulverise the flavoring ingredient (whole vanilla beans, citrus zest, fresh herbs etc.) with salt or sugar in a food processor or blender. if using a blender take this advice: start the blender running EMPTY then add your ingredients in through the hole in the lid. i saw the instruction manuel for a Vita-Mix (serious pro blender) once and this was the first step for every recipe. that tiny bit on knowledge has changed my blending life.
coolname at 11:06PM on 11/02/08
I second Husband. Try a lower-market supermarket; i.e. Whole Foods probably won't have jars.
Worst case? Have a ... pickle-tasting party?
Lilly at 11:47PM on 11/02/08
I always have tons of glass containers of different sizes. I just save the empty jars many products come in, i.e., pickles, salsa, jam, mayo, gefilte fish. And as for making home-made extract: I've tried infusing vodka with vanilla beans, but the finished product always tastes too alcoholly. So I just use a good vanilla brand, i.e. Neiman Massey.
SavtaShayna at 4:27PM on 11/03/08