Limoncello, Part 1

17 June 2014

Welcome friends. Today I want to talk about limoncello. This is something that I have been making for many years. It is an after dinner drink that is lemon flavored and easily found in Italy, along the Amalfi coast. There are several recipes that you can find to make limoncello in 30 days. This is not one of them. My first attempts at limoncello started with a recipe from Giada's Family Dinners, by Giada de Laurentis. That recipe takes about 30 days to make, but the lemon flavor starts to diminish after a couple of weeks.

My recipe takes several months. I wanted a limoncello that would last longer, and the secret ingredient is time. I have a large container that I place the vodka and grain alcohol into. I peel three or four lemons each week and add the peels to the container. Peeling the lemons is the most tedious part of the process. I like to use a paring knife to peel the lemons, but some people prefer to use a vegetable peeler. You need to make sure that you are only getting the yellow lemon peel and that the peels do not have any of the white pith on them. I have a friend who peels all of her lemons in one day, but I find that my attention starts wander after about 3 lemons. I had to find ways to use the lemon juice after I peeled the lemons, and my current favorite is to make lemon sorbet.

The vodka that you choose does not have to be expensive, but it should be one that doesn't leave an after-taste. Last year I purchased an organic vodka from a local company to add to my mixture. When I made a test-batch of limoncello, it had a funny after-taste to it. The only difference from what I had made the year before was the organic vodka, so I knew that was the reason for the after-taste. When I looked more closely at the vodka label, I saw that it was made from rye. Somehow combining it with the lemons and grain alcohol brought out that rye flavor. I didn't like the rye flavor with the lemon, so I threw out the entire mixture and started over. Lesson learned.

I like to use Everclear for the grain alcohol. Most recipes use equal parts grain alcohol and vodka, but I've cut back on the grain alcohol and added more vodka. I tried making it without the grain alcohol, but it is needed to extract the lemon flavor from the lemon peels.

It takes me about 6 weeks to collect enough lemon peels. I stir the mixture every two weeks, once all the peels have been added. After about a month, I make a test batch. About twelve weeks after the last addition of lemon peels I move on to part 2, which is making the final limoncello. I will post part 2 some time in August.

Limoncello, Part 1

Ingredients

6 1/2 cups vodka
1 1/2 cups grain alcohol
20 lemons, peeled with no white pith

Directions

select lemons with yellow skins. Look for lemons that have few or no blemishes on the skin. I peel 3 or 4 lemons each week. You are trying to get the oil out of the skin and will not use the parts with blemishes. Rinse the lemons before peeling them and allow them to dry or dry them using a paper towel.

place the vodka and grain alcohol in a large container and set aside. You do not need to use an expensive vodka, but be sure to use one that does not have an after-taste. I like to use Everclear for the grain alcohol. Use a paring knife or vegetable peeler to peel each lemon and make sure that the peel does not have any white pith or blemishes. Drop the peels in the container with the alcohol. It takes me about 6 weeks to collect enough lemon peels.

stir the mixture every time that you add peels and every couple of weeks after all of the peels have been added. The mixture will turn a golden color over time and the lemon peels will turn a sandy color sort of like potato chips.