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VANILLA EXTRACT

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Rum, Vodka or Brandy (your choice)
6 Vanilla beans
1 Quart Mason jar with lid

Split 6 vanilla beans lengthwise within 1 inch from the end and add to a quart Mason jar.  Add 2 cups dark Rum, Vodka or Brandy and press vanilla beans down to submerge.  Store in a cool dark place for at least 2 months before using or transferring to smaller containers.  The longer the vanilla beans stays in the Rum, Vodka or Brandy, the better it will get.

I know some of my "rum head" friends think I have lost all my marbles by using up good select Rum in this manner but it was a necessity.  We recently purchased a case of 12 liters of Danncy brand pure vanilla extract made in Mexico but it was not as "potent" as the stuff we have used during the past 14 years that was hand walked across the border through customs in Tijuana.  I guess they figured out how to make it go further.

I added a couple split vanilla beans to each liter of the Danncy brand pure vanilla extract this morning and hope it will kick it up a notch to what we have been use to in the past.

You can purchase excellent quality Madagascar vanilla beans from www.topvanilla.com   My lovely sister Susan Pettigrew of Reidsville, NC sent me a gift package of 25 of the above select beans and she has already bottled up several quarts of the vanilla extract since we both do a lot of cooking/baking.

Bill aka Mickey Porter 11-22-09.