RECIPE: REC: Limoncello, if you like anything Italian, lemons, vodka or all of them...

RECIPE:
R

randi

Well-known member
finally getting my old recipes out of the other place and found this post. enjoy!

My friends in Italy used to talk about limoncello. It's basicallya liquor served, well chilled, in the summer months and often home made.

15 lemons, well scrubbed

2 750ml 100 proof vodka or eau de vie

4 cups sugar

5 cups water

you will need two rather large glass jars or simply split the recipe as I did.

carefully zest the lemons so there is no white pith on the peel. place one bottle of vodka in a jar and add the peel as it is zested.

Let sit for at least ten days and up to 40 days in a cool dark place. the longer rest is recommended.

combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil

and cook for about 5 minutes until thickened and allow to cool.

add to the limoncello mixture along with the other bottle of vodka and allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.

Strain and bottle, keeping one in the freezer for use.

my notes: after 10 days of just peel and vodka, we decided to taste it and laddled some over ice. It was simply amazing. The taste is rich and refreshing and that batch never made it to stage two! nor have any since. If you are looking for a "better than any commercial lemon vodka" I highly recommend this but don't use the 100 proof, it will get you! Cheap vodka works just fine and is ellevated to levels you never would think cheap stuff could go. This is now a freezer staple in our house in the summer months. It's wonderful as a palate cleanser or after dinner. it's also a treat on hot summer nights, before or after dinner.

If you go the whole nine yards you don't have to add all the syrup if you prefer something less sweet. I've never added the sugar syrup.

whatever you choose, it is certainly worth the effort. You can use the lemon juice for cooking or sorbet's.

enjoy.

viva Italia cucina!

 
Oh, add the sugar syrup. It's an entirely different drink. I have done it both ways--

using the peel in long peels and using the powdered zest. I didn't find it much different.
I would think without sugar that this would make a good G&T but not a sipping drink or a topping for ice cream--'way too sharp and strong. But as you say, lemon vodka but NOT limoncello.
I have made it the 10 day way and the 40 day way.
Just about the same I think.
Also have a recipe for limoncello cheesecake.

 
Luckily it is among the recipes that hasn't "corrupted" for some reason.

Limoncello cheesecake

For the Crust:

12 ladyfinger cookies or 12 madeleines, finely ground
1 cup whole almonds, crushed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tspn salt
1 stick butter, melted


For the cheesecake:
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
5 eggs
1/2 cup limoncello
2 tblspns lemon extract
1 tblspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 cups mixed fresh fruit (berries, I should think)
fresh mint leaves for garnish

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the cookies and almonds in a food processor. Add the sugar, salt, and melted butter and blend well.

Line a 9" springform pan with parchment paper and press the cookie-almond mix into the bottom and sides. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.

Put the cream cheese in a mixer and beat until soft. Add the sugar and heavy cream and mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time - wait until each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the limoncello and lemon and vanilla extracts and mix to combine.

Pour the mixture into the prebaked crust.

Place the preserves in a squeeze bottle with a narrow tip and pipe swirls on the top of the filling.

Using a toothpick or skewer, drag the preserves in a zigzag design. Place the cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven and bake until set, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. It's set when a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean and dry. Allow the cake to cool at room temperature for about 2 hours. Serve with fresh fruit and garnish with mint leaves.

 
hi Gretchen, I've never heard of powdered zest, is it a local product?....

I wouldn't use the lemon vodka for a dessert topping, just for sipping. I've only had it come out "sharp" once. you really have to be carefull not to leave any white pith on the peel. the oils in the zest make it rich and smooth tasting. I often add orange peel too.

the amount of sugar syrup for the limoncello is a matter of taste. some prefer it less sweet and others like it with all the syrup. I found it just way too sweet with all of it but then, that's me.

 
"Powdered" zest is what I refer to when you use a microplane.It is very fine

light and "powdery". Zest is what you get when using a zester or a knife to get "chunks" of peel, all this in my vernacular.
Yes, you have to be very careful to get no pith.
Yes, you can make lime, tangerine or orange cellos.
Yes, you can adjust the sugar to your taste. I have a ZERO sweet tooth--eat virtually no desserts--but I like the recipe as written. It gets a bit slushy in the freezer.

 
Word of warning...make ABSOLUTELY sure the lemon peels do not have ...

even a hint of mold on them. I bought a bulk amount from an orchard here and scrubbed them well before peeling to make 2 gallons worth of limoncello.

Everything was fine until the 40 day mark when I added the simple syrup. Directly after that, the color started changing to a dark golden color and then to a brownish golden. I opened the jar and got a whoof of mold smell. You know it immediately when you smell it.

Personally, I couldn't believe mold could live in pure grain alcohol, but then there were some old millworkers up home who are 150% alcohol and they work around smelting furnaces!

I also couldn't believe I screwed up a recipe that involved nothing more than a jar sitting on a shelf.

I waited the additional 40 days hoping it would cure itself, but no...I ended up pouring $100 worth of alcohol down the drain.

My batch worked out fine the next year, but I did look a little weird sniffing every single lemon before peeling.

So please be scrupulous when peeling your lemons and discard ANY that might turn the mix.

 
good grief Marilyn, that musta been devestating! $100 down the drain, eeek....

use the cheap vodka, I promise, you won't be able to tell. the oils just elevate to new levels.

 
Info on Italian purchased versus the homemade version

Yes, they taste different. Or at least the bottle we brought back from Naples a couple years back does versus the version I made from the above recipe. I actually prefer the homemade version because for me, it has a clearer lemon taste (if that makes any sense). Both are yummy and when the lemons go on sale, it's time to make limoncello!

 
Thanks Richard, I have two bottles, one brought from Italy and one bought locally, both are good. If

I did make it, I think I would cut the sugar content a little, but my sweet tooth has soured over the years, lol.

 
Thank you Gretchen. Going to make Limoncello next week, then (m)

will try the cheesecake after mix is done. This sounds rather interesting.

 
Homemde vs. bought limoncello

Mine is always very clear while much of the limoncello in Italy is cloudy. The lady in charge of a restaurant in Sicily where they made their own told me that the reason was that they used pure grain alcohol and I used vodka. Don't know if this is true or not but there it is. Both taste great however. I also use a bit less sugar and, yes, each of my batches tastes and looks a little different.

 
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