Topic: Lemoncello

[Biscombe]

Heres my latest alco experiment!

3 Bottles of cheap vodka
5 pints water
1 and a half bags sugar
24 lemons (you only need the peel, I made lemonade with the juice)

With potato peeler, remove rind off the lemons but get rid of the white pith
Add the peel to the vodka in a covered container and stir every day for 4-8 days, or until you think most of the colour has gone from the lemon peel.
Make a syrup from the sugar and water, cool, then add the strained vodka.
Put in the freezer for a few weeks, thats it!

[Fork]

Limoncello...........one of my favourite drinks

Served from the freezer with some lemonade...gorgeous

Got a bottle from Sorento Im saving for a special occasion......goodness only knows what occasion though  ;D

[debster]

nope never tried it lol when you cracking open a bottle ill be there

[Biscombe]

You having a Spainsh holiday Debs?

[Fork]

Quite sweet and very expensive to buy.

The Crema Limoncello is not too my liking though

[debster]

sadly no off to the good old u s of a never been to spain but who knows think hubby wants to take his kids there next year

[Fork]

Off to spain myself in September for 2 weeks.....cant wait!

[Biscombe]

Have a good holiday Debs! Where abouts fork?
A question about the limoncello, is it risky putting it in the freezer given the above ingredients?

[skintnbitter]

Hi

Because vodka does not freeze solid due to the high alchol content it is safe.

[Biscombe]

But theres water in the recipe............................

[Baccy Man]

Limoncello would not normally freeze solid because of the alcohol content.
In standard 25%ABV limoncello some of the water in it freezes and forms ice crystals on the walls of the bottle in 30%ABV limoncello  or above no noticable signs of freezing occur.
Most limoncello recipes call for 50%ABV vodka but as you don't specify the strength of the vodka used or the size of the bottles I will have to guess at what you used if i am guessing wrong then let me know what you used & I can recalculate it.

If you used 3x 70cl bottles of 40%ABV vodka adding 5 pints (2.84L) of water will reduce the alcohol content to 16.99%ABV. At that strength more of the water will freeze & as you have used glass bottles there will be a higher risk of them shattering in the freezer when the the ice expands.
The only reason it is kept in the freezer is so it is ready to serve at a moments notice not to preserve it so at that strength it would be better to store it somewhere else & put a bottle in the freezer a few hours before serving.

[Biscombe]

Limoncello would not normally freeze solid because of the alcohol content.
In standard 25%ABV limoncello some of the water in it freezes and forms ice crystals on the walls of the bottle in 30%ABV limoncello  or above no noticable signs of freezing occur.
Most limoncello recipes call for 50%ABV vodka but as you don't specify the strength of the vodka used or the size of the bottles I will have to guess at what you used if i am guessing wrong then let me know what you used & I can recalculate it.

If you used 3x 70cl bottles of 40%ABV vodka adding 5 pints (2.84L) of water will reduce the alcohol content to 16.99%ABV. At that strength more of the water will freeze & as you have used glass bottles there will be a higher risk of them shattering in the freezer when the the ice expands.
The only reason it is kept in the freezer is so it is ready to serve at a moments notice not to preserve it so at that strength it would be better to store it somewhere else & put a bottle in the freezer a few hours before serving.

Baccy Man you star! thanks so much! my maths couldn't cope with that!  ::)
So, at 17-20%ABV can I store this in the larder? how long will it keep?

[Baccy Man]

Theoretically there is enough alcohol in it for it to keep for years but in practice the bottles seem to empty themselves fairly rapidly so it is difficult to be precise. The oldest liqueur I have got around is some 11 year old walnut schnapps (20% ABV) which is still perfectly good (it actually took 5 years to make that) although I don't suppose your limoncello will be around that long it will certainly keep as long.

[asbean]

Why use vodka?  What's wrong with alcol?  That's what they use in Italy, it's readily available in supermarkets there and should be in Spain as well.  It is fantastic for making all kinds of liquors (chocolate, for instance).

I don't think you can buy it in this nanny state  :( :( :(

[asbean]

I just happen to have a bottle in my cupboard [attachment=1]

[Baccy Man]

Alcool is almost impossible to get in the UK polish spirit is the nearest equivalent but the prices are not very nice.
What strength alcohol you use depends on what you are making.
The volatile, aromatic constituents are best extracted in spirits with an alcohol content between 35% and 50%, though in some cases you can use spirits with higher or lower percentages.
If you use spirits with greater alcohol content than 50% you will still extract the volatile, aromatic constituents - but at the same time you will also extract a number of bad-tasting bitter constituents.

[asbean]

I've checked all my Italian recipes and all the alcol content is 90% - I guess they know what they are doing, since it originated in Sorrento.

Incidentally, I've drunk a lot of limoncello in my time, homemade, shop bought and the best I've ever had was made with organic Sicilian lemons (which are the best in the world, as are their oranges, but of course, you can't get them in this country - rant rant)

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

[quote author=Baccy Man link=topic=43977.msg440610#msg440610 date=1216313299

If you used 3x 70cl bottles of 40%ABV vodka adding 5 pints (2.84L) of water will reduce the alcohol content to 16.99%ABV. At that strength more of the water will freeze & as you have used glass bottles there will be a higher risk of them shattering in the freezer when the the ice expands.
[/quote]

this ABV "probably" isn't right. If you mix 50 ml of alcohol and 50 ml of water, the ABV of what you get is greater than 50%, because the total volume is now less than 100 ml. Course the error gets less if you start off with less concentrated alcohol solutions

[Fork]

Have a good holiday Debs! Where abouts fork?
A question about the limoncello, is it risky putting it in the freezer given the above ingredients?

Im off to Son Bou,Menorca.This will be our second trip there.Usually its Ibiza,but the quiet side!

Only had my hols on the mainland once and that was many moons ago..1986.We went to Nerja on the Costa Del Sol.

[Biscombe]

Wow! I used to live there! Nerja I mean! Have a good trip  :)