In recent years, vanilla extract has become expensive. Lately, it’s also been increasingly difficult to find at the grocery store. You can use a replacement for vanilla extract in your baking, but it won’t taste quite the same. But if you want the real deal, another option is to make your own vanilla extract, which is easy — and relatively inexpensive — to do with a few simple ingredients. “The things I love about it is that it is superior to most of what you can find at the grocery store, far cheaper and you can upcycle a few things in the process,” said Stephanie Enjaian, culinary arts department chair at Kennebec Valley Community College. By making your own vanilla extract, you can control the strength of its flavor.