Have you ever bought vanilla extract at the supermarket? Chances are it tasted quite chemical or synthetic, because often these types of extracts don't contain any real vanilla pods at all. It's an aroma, manufactured in a factory. Fortunately, it's super easy to make your own vanilla extract. It's also no-waste, because you can simply use the scraped-out vanilla bean left over after you've made a recipe with vanilla (pulp). Provided you use good quality vanilla, of course.

Place a vanilla bean (which can be a scraped-out vanilla bean) in approximately 100 ml of vodka. You can, of course, make more by adding more vanilla beans. Seal tightly and let it sit in a dark place for at least a month. It doesn't need to be refrigerated. Shake it every few days and watch it slowly turn brown. Your vanilla extract will eventually get a beautiful dark brown color.