Vanilla Extract Making How-To Guides

Everything You Need to Know About Extract Making in One Place
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Make your first vanilla extract in less than 10 minutes by watching this video or learn more by reading the tutorials below.
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Order The Art of Extract Making. The first professionally published extract-making book of its kind. 
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Extract making is a fun and addictive hobby. Usually people begin by making vanilla extract. Then, the hobby quickly grows into fruit extracts, nut extracts, herbal extracts and more. If you join our private extract-making Facebook group, you will meet 100,000+ people that are well into "the rabbit hole", as they like to call it. (Click here to join the group). It's also a less expensive alternative to buying expensive commercial extracts. 
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Purchase your first vanilla-extract complete starter kit by clicking right here, for an 8oz glass bottle and 1oz of vanilla beans.
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It sounds easy and, indeed, it is very easy to begin. People will often say, "What is there to learn? Just put beans in booze and wait!" But as you begin you will quickly discover that there are many decisions to be made. What is the difference between Mexican, Indonesian, Madagascar or Tahitian vanilla beans? What kind of alcohol should I use? What size jar? How long does it take? How many beans do I need? Grade A beans or grade B? And down the rabbit hole you go... Fortunately, our extract-making pros have organized all of the most commonly asked questions and topics below. 

We recommend bookmarking this page (saving it to your "favorites") so you can easily reference these topics in the future. 
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Click on any link below to learn more about these extract making topics and check back to this page often as this list of topics continues to grow: .

Step 1: Selecting Your Vanilla Beans

  1. Should I purchase retail or group buy vanilla beans?
  2. Where can I find a vanilla extract recipe?
  3. How many vanilla beans do I need?
  4. How many vanilla beans are in 1oz?
  5. Do I use grade-A or grade-B vanilla beans?
  6. Should I make single fold or double fold vanilla extract?
  7. How do different vanilla beans taste?
  8. Where can I find fruit, nut, herb or other extract recipes?
  9. How do I join the Vanilla Bean Group Buy? 
  10. How do I join the clubVpura for free shipping for 1 year?
  11. What is "Pure" vanilla extract by definition?
  12. What is the best month to begin making extracts?

Step 2: Selecting Your Alcohol

  1. Top 10 Best Overall Alcohol for Vanilla Extract
  2. Top 10 Vodkas For Vanilla Extract
  3. Top 10 Rums for Vanilla Extract
  4. Top 10 Bourbons for Vanilla Extract
  5. Top 10 Whiskeys for Vanilla Extract
  6. Why do I need alcohol to make extract?
  7. What are the best spirit & vanilla bean pairings?
  8. How do different alcohols taste in vanilla extract?
  9. What is the difference between whiskey and bourbon? 
  10. Why use different alcohols in vanilla extract?
  11. Here is a detailed chart of spirits to print for alcohol shopping.

Step 3: Selecting Your Jars & Mother Jars

  1. What is a mother jar?
  2. What kind of jars or bottles should I use, plastic or glass?
  3. Should I use a cork for my extract bottle? 
  4. Where can I find extract jars?

Step 4: Vanilla Bean Arrival and Extract Preparation

  1. How do I care for my vanilla beans when they arrive? 
  2. What is the best month to begin making extract?
  3. What if my beans arrive frozen in the winter?
  4. Do I slice my beans or leave them whole? 
  5. What is a vanilla bean tattoo? 
  6. Is that mold on my vanilla beans?
  7. Why are some beans more oily than others? 
  8. How do I weigh my vanilla beans accurately?
  9. Download a FREE Extract Making Journal to keep track of your many extracts!

Step 5: The Long Wait

  1. Does it really take 1 full year to make vanilla extract? 
  2. Is condensation in my extract jar a bad sign? 
  3. What is the white "stuff" growing on my beans in the jar?
  4. How long does it take for the extract to turn dark? 
  5. How do I know when my extract is ready? How do I taste test?
  6. Should I shake my extracts for better & faster results?

Step 6: Time To Use My Extract!

  1. Troubleshooting - Can I fix my extract if it doesn't smell or taste right?
  2. Should I use oak blocks in my extracts? 
  3. Can I use my vanilla beans in a second extract?

Step 7: Further Down The Extract and Vanilla Rabbit Hole!

  1. Where can I find fruit, nut, herb or other extract recipes?
  2. Can I make fresh fruit extract?
  3. Use your used beans to start a mother jar. 
  4. Meet our extract-making experts on our Wall of Fame
  5. Vanilla Paste Recipe
  6. Vanilla Sugar Recipe
  7. Vanilla Powder Recipe
  8. Vanilla Salt Recipe

Step 8: Growing Vanilla Orchids & Beans at Home

  1. Join our Growing Vanilla Orchids Facebook group.
  2. How to grow vanilla orchids (and hopefully vanilla beans) at home
  3. How to transplant your vines from their starter pot to a larger pot.
  4. Orchid Troubleshooting - Why are my leaves turning yellow?
  5. How do I get vanilla orchids to bloom at home?
  6. When do I harvest and how do I cure my vanilla beans at home? 
  7. What Plant Hardiness Zone do I Live in For Orchid Growing?
  8. Where to buy vanilla orchids
  9. Learn about Edmond Albius - Father of Vanilla Cultivation
  10. How to hand-pollinate vanilla orchids
  11. How vanilla beans are harvested

Vanilla 101 & Further Education & Tools


  1. FREE Extract journal to keep track of your extracts.
  2. FREE Extract labels for printing. 
  3. Is DIY extract cheaper than buying finished extract? 
  4. The 2017 global vanilla crisis
  5. Vanilla bee extinction
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Within our first ever private Facebook group called "Making Vanilla Extract by VanillaPura", we have thousands of members that love talking about the ins and outs of extract making. We host regular, virtual extract making parties for our entire group that are fun to participate in. If you haven't joined yet, just click on this link to join now. Our group members will be happy to answer any of your questions.
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In addition to joining our group on Facebook, you can join us in other places to talk and learn about extract making with others:



For those of you that love visual learning, you may enjoy our vanilla extract making parties that we host regularly in our Facebook group, "Making Vanilla Extract by VanillaPura". They are all posted to our YouTube channel as well as our Facebook group. Here are a few samples:
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Our first-ever Extract-Making Party in January 2021:
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Our 2nd party in March 2021:
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Our 3rd party in April 2021:


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Our 4th party in May 2021:
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Our 5th party in July 2021:

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Our 6th party in August 2021:

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Our 7th party in October 2021
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Our 8th party in November, 2021:

More parties to come!!