Homemade extracts/flavorings

[Lazza]

Hi all,

I'm very interested in making my own juices from the bottom up. The experimentation seems like it'll be a fun experience and hopefully I'll have something to show for it at the end.

I have been messing around with ready made extracts/flavorings, coming up with some weird and wonderful juices... But now I would like to make them unique to me. I'm not too sure how to start making the extracts/flavorings..... If I look online, everyone seems to be making extracts/flavorings with alcohol. Now I don't mind using alcohol but with my job, I have random drugs and alcohol tests... So unless someone can be certain the alcohol can be evaporated by leaving the lid off or, any over method, I would rather use PG / VG as a replacement for alcohol.

My question now is where do I get started? I've tried searching but I can't really find any information on making homemade extracts/flavorings for e juices... Maybe I'm not searching with the right words? If I've missed a thread going through this, I would be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction.

If such threads don't exist, I will carry on...

What is best to extract flavours? PG with part water, VG with part water, Pure PG, Pure VG or a mix of both PG and VG? Also, what are the advantages of using PG and VG to extract flavours. The other issues are sugars and oils. How do I find out what flavours give oils and sugars when you extract them? I want all my extracts to be as natural as possible. If the flavour will be bitter it sour, then I will just use a natural sweetener when I get round to making the e juice.

Thanks in advance and I do apologise if this has already been asked.

 

[Hoosier]

If you're not using the Advanced Search on ECF, you'll find nothing.

If your source doesn't have sugars, you will be extracting oils.

If your source has sugars, you'll be extracting sugars.

Because that's what the flavorants are bonded to.

Separating sugars from flavorants is beyond most DIY'ers capabilities.

The oils from mints, coffees, teas, and tobaccos are fairly commonly extracted and used by DIY'ers. Don't do wintergreen, as that's not a great oil for inhalation. The rest don't have any known issues.

 

[Hoosier]

Also I don't know how much you vape an hour or how high your flavoring levels are, but I have a tough time believing a test for alcohol would be sensitive enough to detect that little PGA in your system, but miss the other alcohol in your system. PG and VG are alcohols too.

 

[FormulaBass]

I was looking into this earlier I was guessing Steam Distillation would be a good place to start...

 

[Dave_in_OK]

I think this thread will get you started http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/liquid-extraction-tobacco/ a lot answers to your questions can be found there.

 

[Lazza]

Hi Hoosier, thanks for the reply and info. When i search for info about extracting flavours, most people are using alcohol and when searching in these forums, maybe I'm using the wrong key words?

As for extracting, I will use a couple common spices / foods as an example...

2 vanilla pods, sliced open and jarred with the jar full of 3 parts VG and 1 part water. I leave in the cupboard for a month but shake the jar every other day. After the month, this will give me a VG based vanilla extract? Same process for other foods like strawberries, coconut, lemon/lime/orange zest, coffee and more.

 

[Alien Traveler]

Hi Hoosier, thanks for the reply and info. When i search for info about extracting flavours, most people are using alcohol and when searching in these forums, maybe I'm using the wrong key words?

As for extracting, I will use a couple common spices / foods as an example...

2 vanilla pods, sliced open and jarred with the jar full of 3 parts VG and 1 part water. I leave in the cupboard for a month but shake the jar every other day. After the month, this will give me a VG based vanilla extract? Same process for other foods like strawberries, coconut, lemon/lime/orange zest, coffee and more.

From what you mention direct extraction (no distillation, etc.) is interesting only for vanilla and coffee. All others contain a lot of sugars and/or oils. Vaping of oils is (possibly) not good for health, sugars are deadly for coils - they will gunk them in no time.

 

[FormulaBass]

Hi Hoosier, thanks for the reply and info. When i search for info about extracting flavours, most people are using alcohol and when searching in these forums, maybe I'm using the wrong key words?

As for extracting, I will use a couple common spices / foods as an example...

2 vanilla pods, sliced open and jarred with the jar full of 3 parts VG and 1 part water. I leave in the cupboard for a month but shake the jar every other day. After the month, this will give me a VG based vanilla extract? Same process for other foods like strawberries, coconut, lemon/lime/orange zest, coffee and more.

I don't know very much about extraction, but I have spoken to some professional chefs and extraction from fruits with high sugar content is VERY difficult to do, in particular strawberry. Foods with low sugar content should be a lot easier to extract like tobacco or coffee. I would be careful, I'm pretty sure vaping sugar is not a good thing.
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[Lazza]

Thanks again for the replies. I forgot to mention that I won't be using nicotine in my juices. I thought flavour extracting would be a simple process, just the right balance would take time to perfect.

 

[Lazza]

Thanks again for the info. I don't have a chemistry lab so maybe I'll leave the flavour extracting to the pros and just stick with safe, ready to use flavours lol