430 replies to this topic

[KatieLoeb]

Katie, remember when this topic came up a year ago or so and you had this divine list for summer practical applications of the stuff? My fave was over ice cream........

Over ice cream. Drizzled on buttery pound cake with fresh berries. In iced tea. In a cocktail glass with vermouth or Lillet blonde. Ice cold in small sippable shots. Ice cold in large poundable shots.

Really the possibilities are endless. Think of all the ways you'd love to incorporate an intense lemony flavor into anything and there you are.

[cjsadler]

Really the possibilities are endless.  Think of all the ways you'd love to incorporate an intense lemony flavor into anything and there you are.

I recently had some tiramisu made with limoncello, which really worked. I'm definitely going to give your recipe a shot, Katie. Thanks for posting it.

[jess mebane]

Katiekatiekatie! I started my jar o' zest and vodka blue label, and now am anxiously awaiting the results. So then I took the denuded lemons and made strawberry lemonade, which makes a great drink chilled with vodka....go figure.

[KatieLoeb]

Katiekatiekatie! I started my jar o' zest and vodka blue label, and now am anxiously awaiting the results. So then I took the denuded lemons and made strawberry lemonade, which makes a great drink chilled with vodka....go figure.

Yum! I LOVE Strawberry Lemonade! In fact, a caterer I used to work for always served that as a non-alcoholic beverage option in the summertime. It was delicious. And yeah - what couldn't be improved with a wee bit of vodka?

[hathor]

I've used a recipe very similar to Katie's for the past couple of years..the only thing I might add, is to try and use organic lemons. And if you use 80 proof vodka, which has the advantage of less chance for headaches.... don't put in the freezer as it will freeze. Unless you want it that way! Cin-cin!

[alacarte]

Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least (10) ten days and up to (40) days in a cool dark place

Is it really OK to leave the bottle at room temp for a month or so? Won't it start to grow fungus or something?

[KatieLoeb]

Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least (10) ten days and up to (40) days in a cool dark place

Is it really OK to leave the bottle at room temp for a month or so? Won't it start to grow fungus or something?

I'd be delighted to save mankind and invent the next great vaccine created from mold that can grow in 80-100 proof vodka. That could cure anything!

[cjsadler]

My friend and I did the final blending of our batch of limoncello and it is absolutely fantastic! Better than any I've ever bought, including some stuff I brought back from Italy. We're thinking of having a special dinner to 'tap' it. Orangecello is next. Thanks, Katie!

[KatieLoeb]

My friend and I did the final blending of our batch of limoncello and it is absolutely fantastic!    Better than any I've ever bought, including some stuff I brought back from Italy.  We're thinking of having a special dinner to 'tap' it.    Orangecello is next.  Thanks, Katie!

Excellent!!! I'm so pleased it came out well. I feel like I have a stake in all these batches of limoncello everyone is making. I feel responsible because I think I tipped over the first domino in the chain of Limoncello Madness on eGullet!

Might I suggest the following approach for your Limoncello's Coming Out party:

[beans]

Katie,

I've actually held off on purchasing limoncello from the liquor store (I've seen mostly Caravella Limoncello) because of all of the raves, oohs and ahhs of your recipe and efforts.

I will complete one batch this summer.

[Behemoth]

Yeah, add another rave. My freezer runneth over...but not for long.

[divina]

here is my recipe for Limoncello using whole grain ...
I use organic lemons, ( remember that the alcohol will leach out everything!!! so if they aren't organic... soak them in water for at least 20 minutes.

On the same page is the recipe for Nocino, a wlanut liquore traditionally made on June 24th.. so you have time to get ready!

My favorite recipe using limoncello is my version of Sgroppino..
I make a vanilla ice cream milk shake, thinned with milk... and a very large splash of limoncello.. served in wine goblets at the end of a meal!

In Venice, Sgroppino is a lemon ice cream ( not sorbet) thinned with prosecco and "corrected" as they say with vodka!

But try it with lemon sorbet, prosecco and vodka.. fabulous.. slushy!!

[KatieLoeb]

Katie,

I've actually held off on purchasing limoncello from the liquor store (I've seen mostly Caravella Limoncello) because of all of the raves, oohs and ahhs of your recipe and efforts. 

I will complete one batch this summer. 

Aw shucks! I can feel the love...

Divina that Prosecco, Vodka and Sorbet concoction sounds sublime! YUMMY!

I often "correct" myself with a wee bit of vodka.

[JennyJupiter]

I am making limocello as a suprise for a friend who had it several years ago in Italy and hasn't stopped talking about it yet! The only problem is I do not know how the final product is supposed to taste. Should it be very sweet, very lemony, or have a strong alochol taste with a hint of lemon?

[KatieLoeb]

I am making limocello as a suprise for a friend who had it several years ago in Italy and hasn't stopped talking about it yet! The only problem is I do not know how the final product is supposed to taste. Should it be very sweet, very lemony, or have a strong alochol taste with a hint of lemon?

Very sweet, very lemony and pretty strong is the usual balance.

[JennyJupiter]

It turned out perfectly! Very strong and very yummy, she loved it!

[KatieLoeb]

It turned out perfectly! Very strong and very yummy, she loved it!

Welcome JennyJupiter! I just noticed you're a relatively new poster. Forgive my manners for not welcoming you before.

Glad it all worked for you. It really is pretty simple, it just requires some patience. Other than that is about as easy as any recipe I could think of.

Try a shot in your iced tea. Quite refreshing on a hot summer day.

[smokestack]

Has anyone else noticed the appearance of a fine, whitish matter in the bottle of limoncello while the peels are steeping? It tends to float to the top of the bottle. Reminds me a little of the white cloudy stuff that appears when you're pickling lemons, which is bits of dissolved white pith. This has made me suspect that I was using my Microplane grater too enthusiastically, so that tiny fragments of pith made it into the mix.

As for the variety of lemon used for limoncello in Sicily, Lance Walheim of Citrus Specialties in Exeter, Calif. says he expects to pick between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds of Femminello St. Teresa lemons in February and March. The variety is quite new in California and most of the crop is already bespoken by San Francisco area restaurateurs.

I have drawn Walheims' attention to bballinger's note -- backed up by a site in Spanish, http://www.pasqualin..._limoncello.htm -- that Femminello is picked underripe for limoncello purposes. Lemons are typically picked underripe in California anyway, but Walheim had been planning to pick Femminello fully ripe because its flavor is better. However, he concedes that the oils of the peel might be better when the fruit is underripe, and he will look into this when he goes to Sicily this fall.

[Rien]

Assuming one doesn't make their own, are any available brands worth purchasing?

I see Toschi, Luxardo and Caravello most often.

Thanks,

rien

[Mrs. P]

I just started a limoncello with some fabulous summer lemons. I just noticed the tip to add the zest of one lime - I think I'll pull out the jar and add that in. Thanks for the idea to make lemonade - what a great idea!

I tried the Caravello limoncello, and thought that there was too strong a taste of grain alcohol. I have had better, but homemade. Have not tried other brands - I decided it is cheaper (though slower) to make your own!

[KatieLoeb]

Assuming one doesn't make their own, are any available brands worth purchasing?

I see Toschi, Luxardo and Caravello most often.

Thanks,

rien

Villa Masa is pretty good commercially available limoncello, albeit a tad too sweet for my personal taste, but I'm still fonder of the homemade because I can tweak it just the way I like it.

I've had the Caravello Orangecello and that's quite tasty.

[jess mebane]

I am ashamed to admit that after making a lovely batch of L'cello at the front of the summer, I then zested and socked away another starter batch in the bottom of a winter coat closet, and promptly forgot it. Upon discovering the lost jar last night while socking away birthday presents, I am further ashamed to admit I made a killer cosmo: 2 pts. Lemony zested vodka, 1 pt cointreau, cranberry juice then shaky-shaky with the ice, baby, and voila! I'm thinking of calling it, "ADHD with a twist".

So, always make your own limoncello, as Katie suggests, but tie a string around something so's you don't forget it.

Edited by jess mebane, 30 July 2004 - 10:59 AM.

[mongo_jones]

apologies if this has already been asked and answered:

how long does limoncello keep?

i ask because i just discovered that a bottle brought back from positano 5 years ago has been travelling unopened from home to home and state to state, hiding in the back of boxes and the bar. it smells good but then so did my last crockpot disaster.

[KatieLoeb]

apologies if this has already been asked and answered:

how long does limoncello keep?

i ask because i just discovered that a bottle brought back from positano 5 years ago has been travelling unopened from home to home and state to state, hiding in the back of boxes and the bar. it smells good but then so did my last crockpot disaster.

Mongo:

If it's unopened it should keep almost indefinitely, unless it's been exposed to some pretty horrible treatment (i.e. been in the trunk of the car through two summers).

[andiesenji]

I want to make a couple of comments. I do not drink alcohol but I have many friends that do and I make many of my own flavorings.

If you are in a state where Everclear is legal, try using it. It is straight grain alcohol and extracts much more flavor from whatever you put in it than 100 proof vodka. It is available online but they do not ship to certain states, including California.

The other thing is, even with the microplaners, it takes a fair amount of time to grate a lot of zest. I make a lot of citrus syrup with zest and keep it in the fridge with the zest still in for up to 6 weeks, then strain the zest out and the syrup can then be heated and canned in jars and stored at room temperature.

during that 6 weeks, the zest can be dipped out of the syrup and used in pastry, (scones especially) in dressings, chutneys, and so on.

I need cups full of the stuff and there is no way I am going to spend all that time with a microplane. I do 4 or 5 pounds of lemons or oranges at a time, scrub them well with a nail brush which I keep just for this use. Then dry them with a towel.
Using a vegetable peeler (and the serrated one is perfect for taking off just enough) I peel off the colored part of the rind, let them sit for half an hour or so, so it drys just a bit, then I put several pieces into one of my spice grinders and turn it on, shaking to make sure it is all finely shredded, then dump that out and do another batch. I use one of the brushes especially made for cleaning the grinders, available at most coffee specialty stores, to sweep out the zest.

If you have only one grinder and need to use it for various things this is the best way to clean it between batches of strongly flavored things.

Put two heaping tablespoons of baking soda and 4 saltines, broken, into the grinder and turn it on and run it for 15 seconds, shaking and turning it upside down while it is running (hold the top on).

This will remove oils, caked on coffee, cinnamon, cloves, and etc. Occasionally you might have to reapeat it a second time if it is really gunky but usually one pass is all you need. Wipe it out with a paper towel and it is ready to use on something else. It also polishes the bowl and the blade.
I have a Krups that is 10 years old and still looks new and it has been used on everything.
Whenever I see them on sale for some ridiculous low price (like the KitchenAid I got for $8.00) I buy it and stick it away because eventually I know I will find a use for it, drop one and break the body, or leave one at a place where I have gone to cook, etc.

[Mulcahy]

mongo_jones Posted: Jul 30 2004, 01:52 PM 

i just discovered that a bottle brought back from positano 5 years ago has been travelling unopened from home to home and state to state, hiding in the back of boxes and the bar. it smells good but then so did my last crockpot disaster.[

Can I come be one of the guinea pigs?

[mongo_jones]

as long as you promise not to poop all over your cage and then eat your young

[beans]

I tried the Caravello limoncello, and thought that there was too strong a taste of grain alcohol. I have had better, but homemade. Have not tried other brands - I decided it is cheaper (though slower) to make your own!

I agree. That seems to be one of the few limoncellos for sale in ultra conservative oHIo.

[JAZ]

I do 4 or 5 pounds of lemons or oranges at a time, scrub them well with a nail brush which I keep just for this use. Then dry them with a towel.
Using a vegetable peeler (and the serrated one is perfect for taking off just enough) I peel off the colored part of the rind, let them sit for half an hour or so, so it drys just a bit, then I put several pieces into one of my spice grinders and turn it on, shaking to make sure it is all finely shredded, then dump that out and do another batch

For infusing citrus into alcohol, though, there's no need to grate the peel. I just use the serrated peeler and add the strips of zest to the vodka. It's easier to strain that way, too. The only time I use a Microplane is for limes, which tend to be too tough for even the serrated peeler.

[KatieLoeb]

If you are in a state where Everclear is legal, try using it. It is straight grain alcohol and extracts much more flavor from whatever you put in it than 100 proof vodka. It is available online but they do not ship to certain states, including California.

I've experimented with this approach as well, and although it does get more flavor out, the end result is much harsher to my taste. One batch I made in the past I started with just enough Everclear to cover the peels and then used regular (80 proof) vodka for the rest. That was pretty good, but I've found the 100 proof vodka to be the best compromise that yields the best tasting end product all around when diluted with the simple syrup, water and more 80 proof vodka to taste.

For infusing citrus into alcohol, though, there's no need to grate the peel. I just use the serrated peeler and add the strips of zest to the vodka.

This is true, and I've certainly made very good limoncello using the vegetable peeler. What the microplaner does is speed up the process because there's more surface area of peel exposed to the alcohol. When I've done the limoncello with strips of peel I had to soak them between four to six weeks. With the microplaner it only takes 10-14 days.