Homemade Extracts
If you bake then you probably have come across a recipe saying that you need to add some sort of extract. Now the coolest thing about extracts is that they pretty much last forever and will not go bad. Just keep your jars away from heat and sunlight.
Homemade extracts taste so much better than the store-bought. They also cost much less. All you need is Vodka and whatever flavor you want. We made ten different extracts: lime, rose, lemon, orange, almond, vanilla, lavender, mint, coffee, and cinnamon. You won’t taste the Vodka and remember you will be using very little of it in each of your recipes so it will last a long time.
It takes only a few minutes to make extracts. But it takes about five weeks until they are ready to be used. Keep in a cool place and shake daily.
You can order vanilla beans off of Amazon. Cut them opened and reuse multiple times to make vanilla extract.
For the almond extract, you want to take the skins off.
Rose and lavender were both dry. Mint was fresh but you could use dry as well. You want to peel the rind of the lime, lemon, and orange.
You want your coffee to be in bean form and not ground.
We put half of everything in the jars and covered it with Vodka. For the lime, orange, and lemon we use one entire lime, orange, and lemon rind.
Below are the ways you can use the different extracts…
Lime: fudge, salsa, dip, drinks, cakes, pies cheesecakes, and cookies.
Rose: pastries, desserts, ice-cream, and frosting.
Lemon: can replace lemon juice in baking recipes.
Orange: desserts, sauces, flavor marinades, compound butter, and flavor vegetables such as sweet potatoes.
Almond: baked goods, desserts, and cooking recipes.
Vanilla: puddings, custards, desserts, cookies, cakes, and ice-cream.
Lavender: baking, beverages, and ice-cream.
Mint: baked goods, ice-cream, and a milkshake.
Coffee: frozen desserts, baked goods, cocoa, soups, tomato sauces, gravies, salsas, and steak marinade.
Cinnamon: use in whipped cream, ice cream, yogurt, oatmeal, cookies, and more.
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