6 years of work in one small bottle. My first home grown vanilla extract

2026-05-03 03:23 UTC

Finally… Today I finally got to try the vanilla that I planted in the ground almost 6 years ago. Even though the bottle date says otherwise, this vanilla was actually pollinated almost 3 years ago. It takes almost 9 months after pollinating for a vanilla bean (technically a pod) to be mature enough to harvest. After harvesting, it takes almost another 6-9 months to ferment and then fully cure (depending on how traditional you want to be with the cure). After that, it takes an additional 9 months to a year of soaking in vodka to get a concentration high enough to be considered vanilla. This being my first attempt at curing (or at least 2 years ago it was), I know I could have cured them longer and gotten more potency. We have a mother that this was decanted off off where we put 20 beans into 2 liters of vodka. My partner and I did a testing today and I have to say it was magical. We compared it with the Costco brand Madagascar vanilla and it completely blew it away in terms of flavor… if the Costco vanilla was more concentrated (probably I didn’t cure my beans fully). It was much… brighter and much more floral than the Costco vanilla. Also, and it wasn’t until we went back and forth between the Costco and our vanilla to compare a few times, but because we now had this much higher quality vanilla to compare to, we actually started tasting off notes in the Costco vanilla. Which was interesting because we have noticed that before,but thought it was something else. After tasting ours, and comparing it, we could clearly taste a ‘moldy’ or forest floor flavor in the Costco that ours didn’t have any hint of. So just posting because this is an accomplishment almost 6+ years in the making. The number of beans harvested has gone up every year and this year we probably had 20x the number of flowers of previous years because our vines are finally becoming fully mature. We’re hoping to have enough to actually sell some (just cured beans) starting maybe holiday season this year. Thank you for engaging with this post. Td (! necessary gratuitous vanilla flower and vine shots)

Replies (25)

@Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca 2026-05-04 21:02

Congrats. Sounds deliceous.

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@Noodle07@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 08:34

That's a hell of an expensive bottle ! Great work ! You deserve all the vanilla treats !

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@brem@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-04 01:35

Today I Learned: A vanilla bean is called a pod & takes the same amount of time as a not late baby to be born. Apparently, you can leave these pod babies hangin' around for a bit, eventually (3 years, but probably longer for Xtra taste) you get a bit o' flavour that is very vivacious. This is how human babies are made.

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@Mpatch@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 00:30

I have so much respect for your dedication and efforts to make this vanilla.

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@yakko@feddit.uk 2026-05-03 03:29

What an accomplishment! Very very cool. Are they hard to grow?

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@pigup@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 14:03

You do good work dingdong

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@Guenther_Amanita@slrpnk.net 2026-05-03 08:50

Hey, chemistry nerd here. Regarding extraction. Many people here talk about ethanol (vodka, everclear), but with that, you either need to evaporate it to concentrate it, which kills a lot of flavor, or you need a high ratio of beans to solvent. Another great option might be di**methyl**ether (DME). It is sometimes used for making cannabis concentrates for example, so you can get it specifically for extraction purposes on Amazon for example. It's delivered in pressured cans, you fill a metal pipe with your beans, and blast it through. It will be freezing cold (-30°C), and the solvent evaporates very quickly and without residues. It pulls out everything, but mostly flavor compounds and lipids. That way, you can get a highly concentrated extract without alcohol. Maybe that's a tip worth considering?

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@Jax@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-03 16:47

You know what, I have to say I'm sorry for the back and forth we had about The Watchmen. I know it's an odd callback but I've seen your comments around and with this post I've come to realize I was simply wrong in how I conducted myself. Great job dude, I hope this is one of many steps in a long line of horticultural success :).

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@RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 00:39

I assume you live someplace warmer?

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@Akasazh@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 13:10

I may need some tralala with that

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@Wrufieotnak@feddit.org 2026-05-03 04:44

I envy you to have your own supply of vanilla. But after reading your comment about the difficulties: you earned that! Enjoy! And I didn't know it takes that long to extract it. Is heating it up gently not a possibility to quicken the extraction?

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@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 23:51

~~what did you cure it in~~? edit i can read closer duh we have some in some local vodka (which you can get in the brewery canned as a lemon drop and fuck yes) and i had to remind my wife (okay it was my me guilty as charged) that it was cooking vodka, not drinking vodka. fuck now i want more of that vanilla. maybe it's just the vodka the lemon drops are really good too. unfortunately they just got bought out by a not local place so i'm not 100% sure if they are still a good place anymore, but i've been checking in and if they are still a good place to work i kind of want to sent you a few liters edit: i turned soil (added some master start and a bag of $10 planter mix to some raised beds) and planted basils and dill yesterday. the basils will likely be dead by week's end, either by overeating or mint takeover. i'm a really bad gardener but i have a textbook written by a friend in the... 90s probably? maybe 70s. i don't know. if i follow the textbook i get to blame my friend when my garden catches fire for no reason.

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@Flaco_waton@feddit.cl 2026-05-04 02:11

This is awesome, good work. What climate zone are you in?

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@Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 04:18

Awesome work! I know vanilla is notoriously difficult to cultivate so bravo! Thanks for the detailed write-up. I'd never have known.

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@Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 07:02

10/10 name

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@tuxiqae@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-03 13:55

Crazy! Care to share the resources you follwed throughout the journey or a guide that details everything you've accomplished?

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@flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-04 00:09

Wow, this is amazing!!

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@Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 2026-05-03 14:36

Impressive! I'd love to grow my own - just not today. And it really doesn't take 9 months to make extract. 3 months at most - I make my own every year (use a LOT of it). It's faster with a higher concentration of alcohol, but I've found even standard strength works fine.

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@hanrahan@slrpnk.net 2026-05-03 07:34

that's literally the name of my penis dude.. like wtf?

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@enshu@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 15:00

Well done!

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@Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 2026-05-03 05:34

This is incredible, I dream of fresh vanilla (I've made it from cured beans and it's delicious! Can only imagine curing from scratch!) Can you elaborate on your growing environment? Is it indoors or outdoors? Do you live somewhere tropical or are you able to simulate with a greenhouse?

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@ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 09:21

So cool. Well done. I'm realizing how little I know about vanilla. Have I ever even truly tasted the real flavor!?

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@RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 06:00

There's a number of plants I'm surprised we manage to cultivate and have exist, and vanilla is one of them! Looks lovely!

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@SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 03:43

Would everclear work better than vodka for extraction?

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@Afaithfulnihilist@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-03 05:59

You need a balance of water and alcohol. I use 50/50 everclear and distilled water. You can buy the beans in bulk on Amazon, it's not even in the same league as getting fresh beans that haven't been shipped but it's light years beyond anything you're going to buy that comes in a bottle. You can buy a pound of beans for like $100 and with that You can spoil yourself rotten for the rest of your days or start churning out amazing gifts in 9 months.

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