About every four months I need more vanilla. I decided years ago that there had to be a better way to get a truer vanilla - one that wasn't laden with caramel color and partially coated with a plastic-y aroma of imitation anything. In other words, I decided to make my own. As usual, it turned out to be more intricate than I thought when I started. It's a good thing projects don't begin like this. I'd never start anything if I knew exactly how much work was involved from the get go. But as thoughts, they're much easier to minimze and manage.
Making vanilla is painfully simple. You take alcohol and add vanilla beans. Done!
The part that takes time is determining which alcohol and how many beans. What I discovered is that these two variables depend entirely on what you're going to do with the vanilla once it's ready to be used. Some combinations yield a heavy vanilla that's a deep, rich caramel brown and intensely fragrant. Others yield a much lighter, sweeter version.
I usually keep at least two versions; a vodka-vanilla and a bourbon-vanilla. At this point all other trials are simply experiments.
It's easy. Buy a pint of bourbon. Nothing fancy, but nothing too cheap and astringent either. Ask for something that doesn't have a highly distinct characteristic - I use Early Times bourbon. Then I add five or six vanilla beans right into the bottle and cap it back up. The vanilla will be ready to use in four to six weeks. Regardless which type of liquor you choose, it will take on a lovely, deep amber color and the definative aroma of pure vanilla. Leave the beans in the bottle for as long as you use it. When the vanilla liquid is gone, use the beans for ice creams, custards or cheesecakes.
I find that once the vanilla is ready, the vodka vanilla works really well in baked goods that consist of subtler flavors like almonds, fruits, or cream. The bourbon vanilla works great in foods that can stand up to a stronger vanilla like chocolates and caramels. The fun part is experimenting to find the balance you prefer.
June 6th: Ouchita Blackberries
You have to be quick here in Texas. Before you know it, the sun is too hot for anything to survive. Just when people get used to the warmer weather, it's time. The sun beats down and the bugs will eat anything with water content in it - which typically means - my flowers. Picking starts early and goes quickly.
Blackberries are in season as of last week and Peaches will be ready in another week.
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| Ouichita Blackberry, Sanger, Texas |
Over the next two weekends, I'll be posting these processes along with the Blackberry Jelly Episode.
The preserves are finished.
I started with 12 cups of mashed blackberries (kids love this job), then added 12 cups of sugar because I didn't have the culinary nerve to add the required 21 cups. I used the juice of two fresh lemons a dash of salt and two tablespoons of unsalted butter.
Once the mash was boiling, I skimmed and skimmed. Added three packs of liquid pectin and boiled some more. Then, I spooned it into jars and processes them for 10 minutes. I know have 17 half pint jars and four one-pint jars. That's a lot of Blackberry preserves!
I wish you could taste it. The flavor is clean, bright and straightforward instead of acidic or complex like raspberry can be, but thick and gentle.
Now I have to figure out what to do with it all.
