Rouge US / Grade B
A sensible starting conversation for home extraction. Discuss clean, food-grade whole or split beans and confirm the actual lot’s condition and specification.
Read the Rouge US guide ↗Home kitchen guide · A patient pantry project
Your own vanilla.
Two ingredients. Time.
Start with unused, food-grade vanilla beans and an unflavoured spirit. Weigh the beans, label the jar and let your own baking trial decide when the flavour is ready.
Home-use guidance for review. TSARA supplies raw vanilla inputs; this is not a finished-extract product offer.
Which TSARA input should I discuss?
Pay for the part your process needs.
Gourmet whole pods
Can also be used, particularly if you already have them. Their appearance and scraping qualities may matter more in a custard than in a filtered extract.
Use a gourmet pod in cooking ↗TK & cuts
Discuss for a controlled extraction trial, especially in production. Cut size, cleanliness, analysis and process performance need confirmation; the cheapest €/kg is not automatically the best result.
For extraction businesses ↗Start with beans rather than an unspecified caviar, powder or paste. Their composition and filtration behaviour differ; a home formula does not make them interchangeable.
Prepare · Label · Wait · Trial
The home method
- 01
Prepare the beans
Weigh 30 g of unused, sound beans. Split lengthways to expose the inside. Cut shorter if needed to fit the jar. Keep both seeds and pod.
- 02
Cover completely
Put the beans in the clean, dry jar and add 250 ml of the unflavoured 40% ABV vodka. The pieces should stay submerged; use a more suitable jar if necessary. Seal tightly.
- 03
Label the batch
Record the vanilla lot or pack reference, bean weight, spirit volume and labelled ABV, and start date. Store in a cool, dark cupboard; gently shake occasionally. Do not heat the alcohol or use non-food alcohol.
- 04
Give it time
Plan for months rather than days. Keep the jar closed and the pods submerged. Adding water or repeatedly topping up changes the batch; do not assume an ageing jar has become alcohol-free.
- 05
Judge it in baking
After maturation, compare a measured amount in a small cake or custard. Colour alone does not measure flavour strength. If needed, give the batch longer. Filter through a clean fine strainer when you prefer fewer particles.
What makes a better home result?
Keep the trial
consistent.
Use a weighed batch, one known vanilla lot, a neutral spirit and a clear label. Compare the same quantity in the same recipe. Extra pod length or darker colour is not proof of better flavour.
Do not use mouldy beans, dairy-used pods or questionable leftovers. If the batch shows suspicious growth or spoilage, do not use it.
Home use and professional manufacture
This is a home infusion method. It does not establish standardised strength, alcohol content after extraction, a tested shelf life or a specification for commercial sale.
If you need an alcohol-free recipe, use a pod infusion in the dairy or other recipe liquid and prepare it for that recipe. We have not validated a long-storage water-based extract.
Read the extract-maker’s guide ↗Further reading
Technique references.
The weighed home-trial ratio is rounded from the home guidance in Vanilla Bean Kings’ extract FAQ. For another home method and preparation overview, see King Arthur Baking and Cornell’s make-ahead guide. Their recipes and products are separate from TSARA’s offered lots.
Continue with vanilla