Homemade vanilla in GR

The sweet smell of vanilla, there is nothing like it.

To most it means baking has either taken place or is about to start; and the thought of that is enough to make anyone salivate.

Most have no clue how it is made, only that it gives those baked goods that extra special taste.

For Green River resident Michele Lyon, vanilla making is quickly becoming her way of life.

Like many business ventures, Lyon's started out as a hobby.

"I started making vanilla probably about 15 years ago," Lyon said. "I just made it for myself because it was hard to get good vanilla."

She said the stuff people can buy in the store is just not that good because it is watered down.

That's when Lyon decided to give her vanilla away as gifts. Lyon would make a bigger batch and put some of the big batch into baby-food jars. She would give them to her family and friends as part of their Christmas presents or teacher's gifts.

It didn't take long for her friends and family to start asking for more. Lyon said a couple of friends even suggested she start selling it.

The idea was born; and so was Crazy Ladies Vanilla.

Lyon worked with her friends on what type of design she wanted for the bottles and how to market it.

"The first couple of years I sold about 200 bottles a year," Lyon said. "This past year, it was about 600."

As Lyon tested the selling field, she realized she would need more sizes. At first, she just sold 3-ounce bottles, but now she sells 3, 6, 12 and 24-ounce bottles. Lyon said she has even sold as much as 48 ounces at one time to a baker.

"It's kind of progressed into something big," she said.

Even though the vanilla making process is simple, it takes three months for the contents to steep together. Lyon said anyone can make it themselves all they would need to do is search the internet on how to make it. Basically, there are three main ingredients, sugar, vanilla beans and vodka.

"I do this all by hand," Lyon said. "It's pretty simple."

Lyon said she is extremely picky about the type of bean she uses, which is the Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean. One time these beans were not available and she had to use a different one.

"The color was different," Lyon said.

She said people buy a product because they want it to look and taste the same every time, which is why she is very particular about how long she steeps her vanilla.

Some only steep theirs a week, but Lyon said hers tastes the best if it has been steeping for at least three months.

"Otherwise you just get a bottle of alcohol," Lyon said. "The darker the color, the better it is."

For the vodka, Lyon purchases it locally, but the bottles she has shipped in from a distribution company. The lids are designed to go on once and not have the seal broken until the client purchases the vanilla and opens it to use it, like milk jugs have.

When selecting the bottle shape, Lyon wanted something that had a western feel to it. She settled on a flask-shaped bottle for the medium sized amounts. A small plastic bottle is for the sample or 3-ounce vanilla bottles and a large wine bottle looking bottle for the 24-ounce orders.

As for the labels, which have a western feel to them as well -- they have two guns on them. Lyon said she came up with the design herself.

"The guns and everything have been a part of what my family is," she said.

These labels are also made for her; and is the last thing she puts on the bottles. She said this is just her way of making sure the vanilla is ready to sell. If there is no label, that means it is not ready.

The best part about Lyon's vanilla is it has an indefinite shelf life.

Lyon said once people taste the difference between quality ingredients and extract, there is no going back.

This past summer, Lyon decided to publicly introduce her product at the Green River Farmers' Market. She didn't know what the expect. She didn't know if people would buy it, or if it would fail.

"I sold my entire supply in July," Lyon said.

With supplies running low, Lyon was busy making more vanilla so she would have some on hand for her next big public event, the Green River Trunk or Treat, where she will be a vendor. On average, Lyon can put together 12 bottles an hour, which includes stripping the caviar out of the beans.

Lyon even uses the left over vanilla beans to make vanilla-flavored sugar. She said all she does is takes the beans and sugar and lets them steep together. She uses this sugar to bake with, which also gives her baked goods a hint of vanilla flavoring.

As for the name, it is sort of a joke between Lyon and her husband.

"My husband has called me that (Crazy Lady) since the first day he met me," Lyon said.

Lyon is still surprised with how well her vanilla sales are going.

"I had no clue," she said. "It's kind of going crazy."

 

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