OT; What are you eating or cooking, part 216960

Originally Posted by DrWatson
For my grandparents, it was always breakfast, dinner, and supper.

I'm not sure when it became breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Originally Posted by CatmanAmerica
Not quite cooking, but it falls into that general territory. Learned all of this in no time at all and turned out my first stored batch less than 24 hours after discovering it.

I'd been gifted bottles of vodka in "alien" decanters, but being a die-hard ale drinker these remained unopened in my beverage cabinet since 1947 (yes, that's a joke). By pure accident I came across a recipe for making vanilla extract which is VERY expensive when purchased by brand from a store. To my surprise, the homemade recipe called for vodka and the addition of vanilla beans readily available on-line from Amazon, etc.

About the only culinary skill required for making vanilla extract is splitting each vanilla bean lengthways with a sharp knife before adding to a bottle of vodka (approximately 15 to 20 split beans per 750ml by volume). Then sealing and storing the container in a cabinet or pantry for a period of months (two minimum, six to twelve being optimum) while the vanilla bean caviar infuses the vodka, ...and voila!

The one deliberation involved is deciding which vanilla beans to purchase (Madagascar & Tahitian most frequently offered) and whether to buy Grade A or Grade B beans at the price and quantity desired. Either grade is suitable for extract, Grade A beans usually being a bit more expensive. Those contain slightly more moisture and preferred for gourmet cooking purposes like the preparation of exotic deserts such as crème brûlée.

As you'd expect, there are YouTube videos demonstrating the precise science involved in extracting vanilla, flavor nuances ascribed to different varieties, etc., but it ain't brain surgery!