There's Nothing Plain About Vanilla

So why am i making my own vanilla extract?

 

Because it’s dead easy. 

It;s so dead easy you’d need to be really dead to think it’s not. There are tons of tutorials online, and here's one I use.  

There's only one place in entire Jakarta sells a pure vanilla extract that is bigger than an essence bottle 

What’s the difference you ask? Vanilla essence is an artificial substitute to vanilla extract, which makes it relatively cheaper. THOUGH in same places, vanilla essence, in contrare, means a more expensive, more pure substance THAN what called as vanilla extract. Guh. Syntaxes kills.  

Anyhoots, For cakes, vanillas are usually used as a ‘background’ taste, so most of the times you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. But in a more delicate desserts or cooking, someone actually could. Oh wow. (that someone could also possibly have mutant taste-buds for what its worth. Or he/she could be a food critic that nor you and I want to like)

My Thrift.
In that one place that sells that one bottle of vanilla extract, 200ml of pure vanilla extract costs about Rp.130.000 (ca. 14 usd). For some of you people that doesn’t live in a third world – ish country ( this is debatable, sometimes we’re in, sometimes we’re out. Nyah..) that price might mean nothing but around here that’s 10 fulling and nutritious lunches. (or even more, depending on your area of dwelling).
So go choke in vanilla extract if you think i’d spend that on this vanilla nonsense.

My sister collects Absolut bottles 

      That means she only consumes the bottle and what’s inside is considered trivialty for her. For me too, until now. I cook more than I drink, so, when i see a bottle of spirit my mind goes to what could i cook/bake this with.. For example, Wine is the best, red, white, It cranks up the level of how your food taste, people thinks you’re kind of good, and it definitely makes your food  sounds REALLY posh. fool proof fancy cooking.

The best bolognaise sauce ive made used half bottle of cheap red wine, and i’m batshit proud of that pot of red lustrious goodness. So you must know my frustration to the fact that my sister doesn’t find wine bottle is as chic as those swedish water. Also perhaps due to my lack of recipe surfing, I haven’t really find any exciting vodka-involving recipes, (other than vodka-soaked gummy bears. Which everyone else except me seems to have tried. And Because I’m edgy and cool like that, I just won’t do what other people do..ptooey...)

Indonesia produce one of the best vanilla pods in the world 

      And buying imported artificial vanilla products should make me choke. I know it’s a bit much, but to quote (or rather, paraphrase)  my dear friend famousfeline, Batik (also) looks horrendous on me so this is my fair share one of those lil thing you do for your country. 

       Call it plain call it bland, i call it perfection. 

   I’ve always chosen vanilla over anything since as long as I could remember.

 You see, I never liked chocolate. at one point in my childhood i even hated chocolate. I just thought it  looked  ugly.   

 But behold, minions, dear friends that eat chocolate cakes I make, thou shalt not worry, as now i’ve come to terms with that and have gone to the stage of an OK relationship with the thing. So no, I wouldn’t poison chocolate lover  Dont get me wrong, I TRIED to like chocolate. But now, the way i see our lukewarm relationship is : I don’t like chocolate, I just like the idea of it.