Making lemoncello

[Odin]

Hi there,

A friend of mine wanted me to make her lemoncello. She'd been in Italy and learned to love it. Since I have no experience in making this drink, I read around on the world wide web. This is the recipe I came up with. If any of you could comment on it, please do. I'd love to learn from the experiences others had in making this drink.

Ingriedents: 5 lemons (biological quality), 0.5 litre of 95% pure alcohol, 0.5 liter of water, 400 grams of sucar.

Wash and then peel the lemons. Cut the skin in small bits, add these lemon skin bits to the 0.5 litre of alcohol. Let it sit there at room temperature for a week. Then make a syrup from the water and sugar. Heat the water, disolve the sugar, then boil this mixture for 5 minutes. Let it cool and then add this syrup to the alcohol with lemon skin. Put it in a cold, dark place (no sunlight!) for another week, filter out the lemon skins through a coffee filter and put the result (lemoncello) in the fridge before drinking.

The problem I have with this recipe, though, is the alcoholpercentage. Like this I will get a 37% strong lemoncello. Shouldn't it be rather something like 30%?

Advise is welcome! And I hope I am correct in using this group for asking this. Anyhow, the results will get back to you.

Regards, Odin.

[blind drunk]

I just made some and I found that much sugar to be a little sweet for my liking. So, what I did I macerated some more peel for about 1 week and back blended to the main jug, and it's much better now - more lemony. I also replaced some of the water with cleared lemon juice. Seemed wrong not to. I started with 80% and have no idea what the final percentage is - keep it in the freezer and it won't matter much It's like a boozy lemon granita, almost We love it here.

One thing I wish I did was weigh the peel instead of going by the number of lemon. I used about 25 lemons for 2.5 liters of white dog. Next time.

Odin, do you find it to sweet?

[Odin]

I do not know yet. In general I do not liked sweetened liqueurs, but it is for somebody else and somebody famous. I think, I will try by error. If it's to sweet, put in some of that lemon juice!

Thanx!

[blind drunk]

... but it is for somebody else and somebody famous.

Ok, I'll bite, who?

notexpectingananswerbutthoughtIwouldtry

[Odin]

Sorry, I meant "someone familiar to me". Not famous, actually! Drink is maserating right now and turning into a nice yellow colour.

Bye,
Odin

[Odin]

I had the first batch of lemonchello made a little over a week ago. Put it in the fridge for the last fase of maturation (2 weeks of cold & darkness). Tried it yesterday (with one week of cold&darkness to go) and it already tastes pretty nice! I am not a fan of "likeur", but this is ... not just a sweet drinks for the ladies at all. 37%, sweet and lemonlike sour (is that the word?) in one. Yep, pretty okay!

Buy, Odin.

[blind drunk]

Good to hear, Odin. It's become a favorite around here. I agree, the lemon sour does make it a different sorta liqueur. Went to an outdoor dinner party last week and it turned into a limoncello scream. Planning a second one. Good summer drink, with friends.

[Odin]

Blinddrunk, the same happened here right this afternoon. Birthday party and I took out the Limoncello, eventhough it should (so the recipe says) rest for another week or so in cold & darnkness. I lett the guys I originally made it for taste it, and they loved it. It's a bit stronger in alcohol than normal. Around 36% instead of 30%. But within the hour allmost everybody was trying and liking it. I started the afternoon with 3 litres. Slightly over a litre is left now ...
Regards, Odin.

[myerfire]

I'v made lemoncello twice and followed this recipe. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/Limoncello.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
The first time I used Everclear and the second time I used my own 100 proof vodka. I really couldn't tell the difference. I also compared my lemoncello to a friend's Italian lemoncello and couldn't really tell the difference either. One more note, only the zest of the lemon is used, the rind will give off a bitter taste.
myerfire

[Odin]

By zest you mean the oudside of the skin, right? Not the inner part that is more white than yellow? Just trying to understand me some English here!

Odin.

[blind drunk]

Glad this thread reappeared. I gave a sample of my limoncello to my real Italian friend and he said it was just OK! The funny thing is that I used his father's recipe. He said it tasted too much of lemon oil (one dimensional) and that his father's was lemony sweet. We figured the lemons that his father uses must be different (code word for better) and the Italian sunshine has a part to play in the final outcome (it always does). He also said that his father uses some of the pith (the white part just underneath the zest). Now I'm really confused.

@ Odin -

Zest - outside skin

Pith - the white part just underneath the outside skin

[Odin]

BD,

Just so that I understand: did you use the recipe I discribed an did your friend like it? Or dit you use a different recipe? From what I learned its the lemons from Sorento that are the real thing. If I compare them with the lemons we normally have in the Netherlands, I would say these Sorento's are bigger & a bit more yellowy/brighter somehow. "Oily" ... might that mean that maybe you did not use biologically made lemons and got some pesticides over? Just guessing here ...

About the "white": I was told to minimize it as much as possible, because it would have a negative (bitter) influence on taste. Anyhow, however good I try to peal, there is always some white comming along.

Just had some Hungarian friends & family tasting my stuff. The where more than pleasently surprised and now want to start making it themselves. Since they cannot get 95% pure alcohol (nor do they manufacture it themselves, like we do), I tried to work out a recipe on 50% store bought vodka. I will be a little less strong (29.5% instead of 37%) and a little less sweet due to the use of less sugar. And somehow I don't think that is bad at all. Somehow the girls like the sweet stuff. Most of the men I know are more into a less sweet drink ...

Happy distillings to you!

Odin.

PS: And thank you on explaining the right English words to me. That is a big help in having a fruitfull (?) discussion, right?

[blind drunk]

I used a recipe that his father gave me a year or two back. It's on the forum, somewhere. They were organic lemons from California. I too was surprised about using some pith. You're right about the Sorento lemons; that's what his dad uses. My problem is that I'm good a peeling so if someone says no pith, then no pith it is. I'm pretty sure that what his dad said at the time - just the yellow zest. Oh well, I think it's delicious and so do my real friends LOL. But I am curious about these other lemons ...

PS: And thank you on explaining the right English words to me. That is a big help in having a fruitfull (?) discussion, right?

You're welcome. Discussions can also be zesty.

[Torp]

When i made mine I used a potato peeler and it was much easier to just get the zest.

[palinkagus]

Here's my recipe.

1 gallon everclear
zest from 30 lemons
1/2 gallon distilled water + enough sugar to bring volume to 1 gallon

Added zest to everclear in 3 gallon carboy and macerated for 5 days.
Racked to secondary container and squeezed out all liquid from zest.
Discarded zest.
Cleaned carboy, ran zested everclear through wine filter and returned to carboy. (came out crystal clear)
Heated distilled water to 180 degrees F. and added sugar. Stirred until completely dissolved.
Let water cool then added to carboy. (mixture became cloudy after adding sugar water)

Finished product-2 gallons of lemon heaven!

Bottled and distributed to friends and family. All gone in about a month.

I'm picking up 3 gallons of everclear this week for the next batch. Gonna try orange and lime this time!

[Odin]

Yeah, I also use a potatoe knife to skinn the lemons ...

Palinkagus, great recipe, and again just the zest, I read! Palinka ... that sounds like good old Hungarian fruit schnapps, right? Any experience with that?

Bye, odin.

[palinkagus]

Palinka ... that sounds like good old Hungarian fruit schnapps, right? Any experience with that?

That's all I have been making since I started this wonderful hobby a year ago. I've done pear, apple, plum, peach and brandy from white wine. The peach, by far, came out the best of the lot. I used Wyeast Eau De Vie yeast #4347. Not a drop of foreshots or heads to speak of on the second distillation. Came over very clean and extremely fruity.

Gonna do another batch of pear in the next week or two. Pear was my first attempt and I made all kinds of mistakes on that run. I used a turbo yeast which really "screwed the pooch". This time I will use #4347. I'm told by several Hungarians that pear is the best fruit to make Palinka from. I will use only Bartlett pears.

[Odin]

Now I know we are getting off topic, but I tried some palinka's and failed them utterly. Could you explain to me how you make your pear palinka? Maybe by opening another thread in the recipe development department, or by just PM-ing me? My wife is Hungarian, and they love my vodka, gin and (since shortly) the whiskey I make. But palinka is the real thing over there!

Odin.

[Odin]

Yesterday I met with a webshop owner, who sells Italian wines in The Netherlands. He tasted my lemoncello and thought it was good. Actually, he wants me to go pro with this, so he can start selling it for me through the internet. He also invited me for the try out & taste sessions he is organizing every two months or so for his biggest clients. Great way to introduce my product to Dutch top shelve restaurants ... Will I turn this hobby into my work? I know that deep down in my heart, that is what I want. Maybe with small steps at a time?

Odin.

[jake_leg]

Great feedback.

I don't know about your local laws but in UK if you are making something like limoncello from bought-in neutral spirits you don't need a distiller's licence, only a compounder's licence, which is less of a regulatory burden.

If you run a restaurant or bar you can serve limoncello that you made on the premises without even needing a compounder's licence.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... _CL_000246" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Odin]

Thanx Jake, for the input. Yeah, on Limonchello, it might be not so difficult, but you still need a permission to become an "alcohol trade place". You buy alcohol, can get the tax back, make something out of it (Limonchello) and sell it. You pay the tax on what you "out". A zero sum, but still you need to do your book keeping!

The problem starts with making of alcohol. Than you need much more permits and there is a very strict controll system. And actually, that is what I really want: making my own alcohol. Not just for being able to do a really "handmade" Limonchello, but also because I would like to make some gins & vodka's as well.

Bye, Odin.

[oakie]

Hi all it's been a while since I have been on here. I just recently got back on and started reading threw different topics to see what all I had missed and I saw this topic and thought I might share my experience with it. I have never heard of anyone intentionally leaving some of the pith in any of the Cellos it usually has a negative effect. I don't know maybe there is a trick to be able to use some of the pith but different regions have different ways of doing thing and then different towns and even different families can all do it differently from the norm. I learned how to make it from my cousins Sicily. All I know is how they made it.

Here are some tips I have found while making it:

1. Use as pure a spirit as possible either homemade or store bought neutral spirits that have been carbon filtered. This allows more of the lighter floral scents from the zest to come through.

2. Make sure you wash the fruits very well try and remove as much of the wax, dirt, pesticides, .etc. from the skin of the fruit as you can before peeling.

3. I suggest using a sharp microplane to peel the fruits it's easier to avoid the pith and I think you get a little bit more flavor out of the same amount of fine zest as you do from bigger peels of zest.

4. I taste the cello's every day as it's steeping. This isn't as important when just using lemons but some of the other citrus fruits can begin to impart a bitter flavor after a while.

5. The water you use will make some difference in taste but if you are a least using a good tasting water free from chlorine and other things along those lines. The biggest difference in my opinion will be in appearance. If you use water with a lot of minerals in it the cello will cloud up more when chilled. It isn't necessarily a bad thing some people actually prefer the cloudy look and I am one of them. If you use distilled water though it will give it a little purer taste if that makes any sense.

6. Feel free to play around with the zest, water, sugar ratio. My cuisines all ways just made it by taste rather than a recipe. One caution though is that if you are like me and like a strong lemon flavor in your lemoncello then start keeping a record of the amounts you use. If you use too much zest some of the oils from the fruit can come out of solution when you chill it. It doesn't really hurt anything other than your first sip is a little stronger than normal it just doesn't look as good. Most people probably won't care but I am a Chef and can't help but think of how it looks and how i want people to perceive it.

You can also use any of the other citrus or citron fruits to make similar drinks using the same method as you would lemoncello. They pretty much have all been made before and named I just don't know the names of all the different variations. The two i can remember off of the top of my head are Limettacello (using limes in place of lemons) and Arancello (using oranges in place of lemons). I have made or tried many of these different varieties and I haven't found one yet that I can say that I really didn't like.
I haven't tried grape fruit or some of the citrons yet but I have tried some odd ball ones such as a lemon orange hybrid. (which was made from a fruit that was a cross breed half Sicilian blood orange and half lemon)

I have also made it from a very strange fruit I found in Sicily called a chedro. (Not sure on the spelling?) It apears to be part lemon and part citron. It looks like a giant lemon same coloration just very gnarled and about the size and shape of an American football. But when you cut into it at the very center is the normal flesh of a lemon and about the same size, the rest of it is all edible pith which makes up the majority of the fruit. The edible pith part has a light lemon taste and the texture of a melon like cantaloupe just much more fibrous. This is the only one I tried were it didn't matter if you got pith in with the zest which was good because it would have been near impossible to keep from getting some pith as gnarled as the fruit is.

Well I hope that helps you cut down on some of your trial and error to get to something you really like. Now this isn't exactly scientific fact just my opinions and some things I have noticed from making it over the years. Best of luck Oakie

[LWTCS]

Now this isn't exactly scientific fact just my opinions and some things I have noticed from making it over the years.

No matter Oakie,,,

Some really good pro tips........

Where the heck have you been?

[blind drunk]

I have never heard of anyone intentionally leaving some of the pith in any of the Cellos it usually has a negative effect.

Yeah, me neither. I was really surprised that the guy told me to use it. Wonder if he was pulling my leg Luckily he told me this after I made it ... I would recommend using organic lemons. The thought of pesticides macerating in my likker gives me the creeps.

If you use too much zest some of the oils from the fruit can come out of solution when you chill it.

That's what happens to mine. I just shake it up before I take a swig

[oakie]

Who knows why he said too. I know of some old timers around here that used to intensionally ground up some of the seeds when they made aplee cider. When I asked them why they said they liked the bitter almond flavor it gave the cider. And they couldn't understand why I refused to try anything they made after that

The first time I had the oil seperate I was making limettacello and I thought I had little bits of lime zest on top and I spent about ten minutes trying to scoop the little bits of zest off the top before I realized what they were Well it seems like I learn more often through trial and error then not.

As for where I have been I did move but mostly just work and school. I went back to school and was working two jobs. So that’s about all I had time for. Things have finally calmed down some so I now have some time for my hobbies again.

[The Baker]

I have read that the lemons are better if they are not too ripe.
And I would not put any pith in it.

I made some limoncello a while back.
I took some to a winemaker friend, really proud, you know?
And he said, 'the spirit is not really good' (I couldn't even taste it above the lemon!)
(my spirits are a lot better now though there is still room to get them really good; the cuts are a lot better).

And 'you should not have put any lime in it' (I could not taste that either but yes, I had put some lemon JUICE in it, and some lime juice because there was not enough lemon...).
I had added juice and natural lemon essence and water (and more alcohol to preserve the percentage...) with the syrup because I had left the zest much too long in the alcohol and it had a strong flavour, not very pleasant, from the zest; so I watered it down and added the juice etc. to weaken the unwanted flavour and then increase the 'lemoniness'.

I think it is now quite nice but I am aware of the faults and totally in awe of my friend's palate!

[blind drunk]

I used some juice too And my spirits were less than ideal ... and, and, and ...

[Odin]

The Baker,

The same happened to me. Thought I made a good Lemonchello based on a neutral vodka I self-fabricated. Went on and did not give much thought about the Lemo anymore. Dived into gin making and UJSSM style whiskey. Tasting, making cuts, blending, ageing, the works. By the time I got back to tasting some of that Lemo I made, somehow my taste buds got more training experience then before. Not proud to say I could smell/taste the fores still there thru the Lemons. Now I make better (larger) vodka cuts. Not only my vodka greatly improved, also my Lemonchello.

Odin.

[Saltbush Bill]

The best method Ive found for removing the zest from lemons so far is to use one of these. Its a bit unorthodox but works like a charm.

Its a thing called a corn plane, used for removing dead skin, callouses, and corns from peoples feet. Available in most chemist shops for around $12.00.....they usually come with a box of very sharp spare blades , if not you can buy the blades separately. Using one of these you will get no white pith at all. The variety and quality of lemon used in lemoncello makes a huge difference to the final product. To date the best Ive made was using Eureka Lemons.

[Odin]

To be called Lemoncello, Sorento lemons should be used by law. Now, if you look a bit closer, the most important is: use biologically made lemons (no aggressive substances on the skins) and use lemons with thick skins (no transfer of bitterness causing inside white).

Odin.