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I’ve always had a hard time finding vanilla extract in Florence – apparently they don’t really use it for baking in that form. You can find the beans, and you can find vanilla flavored sugar and such, but extract is as rare as gold, and about as expensive. I used to buy it at Bizzarri, that amazing old apothecary in the middle of town, but last time I went they wanted to charge me 40 euro for a tiny bottle! Last year I had my parents slip a little 3 oz bottle into their carry-on. But this year I finally realized I’ve been an idiot and vanilla extract is one of the easiest things you can make at home.

Here’s what I did: split open two vanilla beans and slipped them into a bottle of Stoly vodka that was not quite full. Then I put it in a dark place and have been shaking it every couple of days. You are supposed to wait about two months before using it, but I’ve started sooner and it’s fine – in fact it’s great. I’ve never really been one for canning and things like that because the sterilizing part makes me nervous, but with something like this you don’t have to worry because the alcohol will kill any bugs that crawl along.