Start by taking your vanilla beans and giving them a rough chop. You don’t need to go too small here—cutting them into thirds or fourths is enough. The goal is just to make it easier on your blender since we’re using the entire bean, pod and all.
Once that’s done, go ahead and add your chopped vanilla beans straight into a high-powered blender. This part matters—you need something strong enough to fully break down the beans.
Now add in your sugar. You can use raw sugar, white sugar, or even brown sugar. This isn’t just for sweetness—it plays a role in preservation, so don’t reduce it.
Pour in your distilled or filtered water. Since this mixture is going to sit at room temperature, you want to avoid introducing any bacteria from tap water.
Next, add your alcohol. You’re looking for something between 70 and 100 proof. Bourbon works really well here, but you can use what you have as long as it falls within that range. Anything lower won’t preserve properly, and anything higher can damage the beans.
Add in the corn syrup. This helps prevent crystallization and keeps everything smooth and stable over time.
Once everything is in the blender, blend it for about 5 minutes. Yes, a full 5 minutes. This step is doing a lot—it heats the mixture, dissolves the sugar, and breaks down the vanilla beans into a smooth consistency. You shouldn’t see thick pieces of bean left.
Now add your xanthan gum if you’re using it. This is optional, but it gives that thicker, paste-like texture. If you skip it, the paste will still work—you’ll just need to shake it before using.
Blend again for about 45 seconds to fully incorporate. And just like that, your vanilla bean paste is done.
