hi bold bakers! did you know that you canmake your own extracts at home? you can make vanilla, lemon, mint, any flavor that youlike. in this episode of bold baking basics, i’m going to show you how and it could notbe simpler. i’m going to start by showing you how tomake vanilla extract. it can be quite expensive in store but it’s much cheaper if you makeit yourself. the first thing you need is a fresh vanilla pod. now all you want to dois take this, run a knife down the middle of it. you want to expose all of those lovelyseeds on the inside. then we’re going to cut it in half so it’ll fit in our jar.now i have a lovely little jar here that has a sealable lid. now i’ve posted a link ofthese of where you can them on my website.
into our jar, we are going to pour in purevodka. i know that sounds kind of crazy but it is actually the basis of every extract,pure alcohol. and just fill up your jar all the way to the neck. now if you’re worriedabout consuming this alcohol, don’t be. it is eaten in such small amounts that itwon’t make a difference. once it’s filled up, take your lid, screw it on nice and tight,give it a little bit of a shake, and that is it. that is vanilla extract. could notbe easier. now you want to store these in a cupboard, out of direct sunlight, in a dryarea for a minimum of five weeks before you start to use it. then it will last, in yourcupboard, indefinitely. forever. the next extract we are going to make is mint.all you want to do is get some lovely, fresh,
clean mint leaves and then just put them straightdown into your jar. once all of your leaves are in there, just top it off with your vodka.and then on with your lid. give it a little bit of a shake. and there is your mint extract.look how beautiful that looks. we’re going to set this aside and get started on our nextextract which is lemon. for the lemon extract, all you want to dois peel the zest of one lemon. you want to do nice thin strips so you can get it intothe jar easily. a little tip is when taking off the zest of any citrus fruit, make sureyou just get the zest, and not the white because that can actually turn your extract quitebitter. pile your zest straight into your jar. once all of your lemon is in there, thenfill it up with your vodka. when buying vodka
for this, do not buy the cheapest, but alsodon’t buy the most expensive. find a middle of the road vodka. then, on with your lid.look how pretty that is. give it a little shake. and all those flavors mixing together.now we are going to set this aside and get started on our last flavor which is orangeextract. the orange extract is the same as the lemon.you just want to take off the zest. nice thin strips. and then carefully place them intothe jar. once all of your orange is in there, fill it up with your vodka. then seal it niceand tight. give it a bit of a shake. and there you have it. so now this is the test. let me show you whatyour extracts will look like after a few weeks
of being in the cupboard. check that out.do you see the vanilla? it’s gone kind of a murky color, but that’s okay. all of theseeds have come out, releasing all of their lovely flavor. this is ready to use in anyor all of your baking. and remember, like i said, it lasts indefinitely. so just keepit in your cupboard. there’s the orange one. changed a beautiful orange color. andthen your mint. it goes a lovely green color. and then same with the lemon. the flavorshave come out. they’re really vibrant and fresh. they’re absolutely lovely. who wouldnot want to make their own homemade extracts after seeing these? i have hundreds of bakingrecipes that you can use the extracts in on my website. also, for lots more bold bakingbasics just like these ones, don’t forget
to check out my other videos.