Tincturing Vanilla Beans

At the moment, I'm in a wheelchair, having ruptured my left calf muscle on Sunday. I cannot stand or walk and it may be several weeks until I'm up and about. So, I'm doing everything I can -sitting down. : ,) Fortunately, writing and teaching comprises a lot of what I do during a day. I've also started this blog and that is a form of teaching.

Vanilla Beans

It 's been a neat day today. I received the shipment of Vanilla beans and set about to tincture them into Everclear. I bought 3 oz of each of Planifolia and Tahitian vanilla beans.

I finely cut ten of the Planifolia and placed it into 6 oz of Everclear and did the same for the Tahitian. I'll leave them sit for several weeks and see what I have then.

soaked in Everclear

A few hours later, though, the alcohol was a lovely clear deep brown. Mmm. The smell around here was divine. Even though I did this at 8 o'clock this morning, the house stills smells like vanilla and it is 2:43 pm. I've washed my hands multiple times and they still smell yummy, smells wonderful already.

My great-nephew was visiting today and we went for a ride in my wheelchair. He loved sniffing my fingertips today.

I'll keep you posted as to how it all turns out.

1August07

The final product

The Vanilla Bean tincture has turned out fabulous, smelling delicious, just good enough to eat.

COMMENT

I received a comment on this post almost immediately. It was in Spanish, as follows:
Andrés Gustavo Fernández has left a new comment on your post "Vanilla Bean tincture": Me parece maravilloso y fresco tu Blog!! Gracias por darle tanta frescura a estos espacios.Te invito a visitar mi página personal en la que publico mis poemas y mis links (estos pueden interesarte mucho!!).Te envío un abrazo y te dejo mi dirección: Http://pachakamakinartimago.blogspot.comHasta pronto!!Andrés G. Fernández

So, I sent it to work for Norm's friend to translate and here is what it says in English:

I think your Blog is fresh and marvelous!! Thank for giving that freshness to these spaces. I invite you to visit my personal page where I publish my poems and links (they could be of great interest for you) I send you a hug and I leave you my address: http://pachakamakinartimago.blogspot.com/

I wasn't able to contact this person via email so, will take the opportunity to say Thank You - Gracias for your kind words.

Lyn Ayre

off to figure out how to get the comments to come in properly : ,)

Creating Ambergris Tincture

Where does Ambergris come from?Ambergris is ethically beach-harvested, being found washed up on the beach or floating on the ocean. It is sometimes called flotsam (natural debris that floats on the ocean) and it is lighter than water. The colour is gray (gris), black, and tan, and it is very lightweight, a fact that surprized me. It is a substance that is created by a sperm whale likely due to an irritation within. It is released and floats upon the ocean for eons being washed and cured by sea, salt, time, and wind. It is commercially quite expensive and just a couple of grams will cost about a hundred dollars.

Weights and MeasuresI weighed out 5 grams of the Ambergris stone and set it aside. I used a blue bottle and filled it with 95 grams of perfumers’ alcohol. This gave me an end-product at a 5% dilution rate. This product is not edible.




ProcessI used a clean (and dedicated for this use) coffee-bean grinder and ground the stone to a powder. The aroma was divine and very unexpected. I thought it may smell rank and over-animalic but it was sweet and delicate, though very tenacious. This powder was carefully over-turned onto a wax paper and then gently sent through a funnel and into the bottle of alcohol. All the items used in the process were swirled and washed with 5 ml of alcohol and that was saved in a dropper bottle.

MaturationThe aging process required is 6-12 months. My precious bottle of Ambergris Tincture was labeled and place in the top cupboard to mature. I look forward to using it in late fall.

What does it do for perfumes?Ambergris acts as a fixative adding brilliance and lift to a perfume formulation. I have just been generously gifted some Ambergris Tincture by a new friend and I am so very grateful that I can begin to use it now while mine is maturing. It has been suggested to me to use a couple of drops in an ounce to get the desired effect. I will experiment, as usual.

11November2010

This beautiful tincture has been aging since May 2007 and I am now selling it from my website at http://www.scentofnature.net/hyraceum_ambergris_honey_beeswax.htm

10 ml bottle at a high and lovely 5% strength for $85.00 plus shipping to your location. Please supply your full address when inquiring, so I can get a shipping rate for you.