Phew, the cost of vanilla beans is still outrageous. BUT. Today I got an email from my favorite vanilla bean supplier at Olive Nation (I love that he and I have worked together for so long that he feels comfortable emailing me when he's offering a big sale!).
Use the code VAN25 for the discount. This takes the price down from slightly scary to beautifully
reasonable! Also, he assures me that the price of beans will go back down again eventually. There was a crop failure which caused a shortage, but when supply is back, cost will go down.
In the meantime, if you're getting low on vanilla, I did the math on the beans with the 25% discount and found it VERY cost effective to make a batch. Here's what I'd recommend:
- Get 50 vanilla beans to make one gallon of homemade vanilla extract. (Easy directions here!)
- Cost break-down for me with beans and vodka ended up being about $2.80 per 8 ounces of homemade, high quality, double strength vanilla!
How's that for a great price!?
The beauty of making homemade vanilla, following these instructions, is that you'll end up with vanilla so strong you can use half the amount typically called for in
recipes. So you get twice the bang for your buck, plus your vanilla will taste AMAZING!
As an added bonus for all of you (and a thank you for being one of my email friends!), I'm sending all of you my What to do with the Vanilla in Your Kitchen ebook. For free! Enjoy!
Some of the links I shared are my affiliate links.