Protective Diet Class #282 Notes:

Becoming Vanilla Rich with Bean Saving Bonus Batches

This class shares pro tips for gourmet quality vanilla extract production at home. Julie’s savvy, expedited method will instantly advance the flavor in your “Workplace For Wellness” and make you a vanilla-rich, enthusiastic giver of this precious commodity.

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Vocabulary

Extractives

Food Additives

Microbiome

Antioxidants

Plant Fiber

Action Steps for Home-Batched Pure Vanilla Extract

• Cut-Costs & Improve Food Quality Instantly
• Commercial vanilla extract is costly and compromised with flavorings & food additives called “extractives”.
• Alcohol is an excellent extractant–toxic chemicals from plastic bottle packaging are extracted along with the vanilla.
• Traditional home extracting methods use more beans, have less flavor, and require months to develop.
• PD test kitchen trials conclude that extracting fewer vanilla beans under pressure instantly results in a richer infusion.
• Set Up Your Money-Saving System
• Set up vanilla to extract & cool overnight or while you are gone during the day, similar to your PD yogurt-making system.
• Recommendation: make two batches rather than storing opened vanilla beans. The best place to store them is in extract.

Vanilla Beans	1 package 10 beans =2 batches	Use “B Grade” commercially vacuum-sealed Madagascar Vanilla Beans. – Tahitian vanilla beans are more floral in flavor—different from what we are used to. – “A Grade” beans are expensive, soft & used for fancy desserts, such as crème brulee.
Vodka	1.75L bottle =2 batches plus a “bonus batch”	Source the cheapest vodka in a glass bottle to avoid extracting plastic toxins. – Vodka has the lowest sugar content compared to other alcohols. – Vodka is usually additive-free. (1.75L is approximately 60oz.)
Jars	3, 8oz jelly jars =1 batch	Designate a new set of sturdy jelly jars with lids as your vanilla extract jars. – Used jars are more likely to break under pressure.
Storage Jars	20oz. tamari bottle =1 batch	For 2 batches, you will need two repurposed 20oz. tamari bottles. – Use 1 additional bottle for your continuous bean saving “bonus batch”.

• Make Vanilla Extract One Batch at a Time
• Make 2 batches of vanilla extract over 2 days to use all your beans once opened.
• Follow guidance in the Instant Vanilla Extract recipe and these additional tips:

– Cutting beans into shorter lengths keeps them easily submerged below the surface of the alcohol for preservation.

– Enjoy the aromatherapy of vanilla beans. Rub vanilla essence into your hands or knead into a batch of cookie dough.

– Slice a banana on the cutting board to pick up every speck of this special ingredient and add to a bowl of oats.

– Measure vodka into the first jar. Line the jars up and pour vodka into the other two so they visually match.

– Thread and loosen metal lids until they just barely catch. Loose lids allow jars to vent, preventing broken jars.

– Arrange jars on the instant pot rack with plenty of room around each jar. Jars should not touch each other.

Storage & Gifting

• Avoid storing vanilla extract in pressure-cooked jelly jars. A compromised jar may break, even after it is completely cooled.
• Repurpose a 20oz. tamari bottle for a perfect-fit, single-batch storage container. Repurposed vinegar bottles also work.
• Soak the bottle in a bowl of soapy water for easy label removal, without any glue residue.
• Run bottles through the dishwasher. Store clean bottles and lids separately to prevent moisture buildup.
• Save and clean slow-pour bottle toppers–holds the vanilla bean pieces back when vanilla is poured. Store loose with lids.
• Using a funnel, pour cooled extract into repurposed bottle. Add bean pieces by hand or push through funnel w/a chopstick.
• Include residual vanilla seeds by gently swishing with a small amount of extract, or use a silicone spatula. DO NOT SHAKE.
• Craft a simple label using a post-it note adhered with some clear packing tape. No need to date it.
• Vanilla extract and submerged vanilla beans will store indefinitely and flavor extraction will continue.

•  

Bonus Batches

• When extract is low, coax bean pieces into the neck of the capped bottle, hold it horizontally and slightly tip the liquid back. In this position, carefully remove the lid and topper to sneak the beans out with a toothpick or your finger.
• Transfer vanilla bean pieces into a clean, repurposed 20oz. tamari bottle–the bonus batch bottle–and fill it with vodka.
• Continuously collect bean pieces from all spent batches of vanilla extract and add to the bonus batch bottle.
• Let the bonus batch bottle sit on a shelf in the cabinet. The vodka will slowly infuse with vanilla over weeks to months.
• Pour the liquid off the beans into your current vanilla extract bottle when it attains the color and smell of vanilla extract.
• Cover the beans in the bonus batch bottle with vodka again. Continue adding beans and repeat the slow extraction process.
• Alternatively, add beans from spent bottles to a new batch of Instant Vanilla Extract. Never throw your beans away.

Usage

• Use Instant Vanilla Extract according to recipe recommendations. The small quantities of vanilla extract used in PD recipes are not enough to disrupt the liver with alcohol content. Do not pour it liberally into cups of Caraway Coffee.
• Enhance vanilla flavor in recipes, while using less, by coupling extract with a sweet ingredient and a pinch of salt.
• In recipes that are “vanilla forward” this homemade vanilla makes a huge flavor enhancing transformation.
• Add vanilla beans to recipes that are thoroughly blended. They are too chewy to dice and add. See recipe for suggestions.

Cooking Tips

• Always check your recipe. We are using unusual ingredients and unusual cooking methods. Don’t rely on your past experience.
• Layer a yogi bowl into jelly jars that have vanilla residue to enjoy every last bit of vanilla bean seed antioxidant protection.
• When making Vanilla Rice Pudding, make sure you use fresh cooked rice, not cold, dry leftover rice.
• Ferments—after 3-4 days of fermentation, fresh ferments will have populated probiotics. It will need more time to reach the texture and taste you prefer. Home temperature will affect ferment time. One week is perfect if your home is 65-77 degrees.
• Limes are very bitter and not recommended for making Citrus Jerky. Citrus peel is ultra-protective against skin cancer.
• Leave the peels on fruits and vegetables. Include the seeds from peppers. They are a plant fiber feast for your microbiome—now considered an organ—which produces protective, anti-inflammatory short-chained fatty acids.
• Yogurt accidentally left for a prolonged period in the instant pot is still safe to eat. The probiotics preserve it. Microbes will continue multiplying, eating the sugars in the soy and producing acid, making it tangier. Chill it down in the fridge and enjoy.
• Meal plan based on the fresh ingredients you have that need to be used.
• MEAL IDEA: Jerusalem Salad on Perfectly Cooked Brown Rice or Flatbread Pizza

Student Q&A

Q: Can you use plastic jar lids instead of metal? (19:48)

Q: Can you use other types of alcohol, such as bourbon or rum? (33:40)

Q: Have you ever tried repeating the instant pot extraction method with the used beans? (37:30)

Q: Is it necessary to store homemade vanilla extract in the refrigerator? (40:06)

Q: If my vanilla beans have been sticking out of the vodka for a couple of weeks, can I still use them to make extract? (57:08)

Encouragement

• If you have been stuck inside for an extended period, your microbes need to repopulate. Eat well and get your rest so your microbes can handle increased exposure to people, pets, nature, viruses and pathogens without a problem.
• Visualize the protection in every jar of yogurt, in every spoonful, in every bite, in everything you eat. You are going to start to see all the protection on your plate and our minds are very powerful in our wellness. Look at everything you eat. Ask yourself, “Is this beneficial to my future? Is this going to benefit my microbiome? Is it going to feed my good guys and build them up?”

“This is such a cost-cutting and food quality improving recipe. The taste is incredibly different than any vanilla extract you can purchase.”

Recommended Recipes

Steam Reheat Technique	Kids Spaghetti	Oil-Free Garlic Naan	Sugar-Free Stovetop Granola
Stovetop Red Lentil Chili	Yogi Bowl	Probiotic Pickled Onions	Jerry’s Organic Plant Based Yogurt
Not Yo Mamas Meatloaf	Ruby Raw Kraut	Chocolate Fondue	French Vanilla Nice Cream

Recommended Classes

#250 Instant Vanilla Extract	#229 Fermentation Techniques	Tweaking Tastes & Creating Cravings
#274 Road Trip Travel	#281 Making Yogurt	#082 Mastering Label Reading
#262 Rebuilding Our Immune System	#265 What’s Your Food Mood	#272 Allergies & the Microbiome

Class Description:

This class shares pro tips for gourmet quality vanilla extract production at home. Julie’s savvy, expedited method will instantly advance the flavor in your “Workplace For Wellness” and make you a vanilla-rich, enthusiastic giver of this precious commodity.

Class URL: https://protectivediet.com/courses/food-focus-pd-staples/lessons/class-282-become-vanilla-rich-with-bean-saving-bonus-batches/