Hey everybody, I have decide to start this blog to keep track of things that I am interested in and as a record of things that I create. Cocktails have recently become a small obsession of mine to expect to see many posts dedicated to recipes and different booze based creations. Well on to the first real post!
Limoncello
For those of you unfamiliar with limoncello here is an excerpt from Wikipedia.
Limoncello (Italian pronunciation: [limonˈtʃɛllo]) is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy, especially in the region around the Gulf of Naples, the Sorrentine Peninsula and the coast of Amalfi and islands of Procida, Ischia and Capri. It is also produced in Sicily, Sardinia, Menton in France, and the Maltese island of Gozo. Though there is debate about the exact origin of the drink, it is at least one hundred years old.
Traditionally, it is made from the zest of Femminello St. Teresa lemons, that are also known as Sorrento lemons.Lemon zest, or peels without the pith, are steeped in grain alcohol until the oil is released. The resulting yellow liquid is then mixed with simple syrup. Clarity and viscosity are affected by factors like the relative temperatures of the two liquids. Most lemons, including the more-common Eureka lemon will produce satisfactory limoncello.
So the first batch I made a few weeks ago was a combination of a few recipes. In a jist it was 1 bottle of Russian Standard vodka, the zest of seven large lemons and roughly 2 cups of 1:1 simple syrup. It was good for a first attempt. Here is a more detailed explanation of this most recent batch.
Limoncello
750ml of Batch 206 Vodka
(aka a "fifth". Use any vodka here, or a grain alcohol like everclear. Just remember garbage in garbage out)
9 Large Organic Lemons
375ml 1:1 Simple Syrup
(Dissolve one part sugar in one part warm water in a saucepot don't boil the water)
I apologize for the lack of pictures for each step. This blog post was an after thought.
Thoroughly clean each lemon with soap and warm water. You don't want any of the waxes in the skin in your finished product! Pat the lemons dry and set them aside.
I pour the vodka in a larger container with a large mouth, but in theory you could do this right in the vodka bottle(it might get a bit tight in there).
There are many methods that you can use to zest the lemons. You could use a normal zester, or a channel knife
http://www.amazon.com/Rosle-12716-Vertical-Canelle/dp/B00008WV3P/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1340324693&sr=8-8&keywords=Channel+knife or my favorite a very sharp paring knife. The added bonus of the latter two methods is you can candy the zest afterward.(Future post!)
Whatever method you use carefully slice only the zest off leaving the bitter white pith behind. Too much pith will leave you with bitter limoncello. Try to get the oils from the zesting process into the vodka. Drop the zest right into the vodka.
As you can see above there are some zested lemons and some zest in the vodka. Notice how clear the vodka is.
Now it is as simple as letting The zests steep in the vodka at room temperature for at least five days. I have seen some recipes calling for up to 40 days so I will experiment with timing more later. I have noticed a big difference between regular and organic lemons. There was much more oil in the zest of the organic lemons and they were extremely fragrant. So I would recommend the extra 30 cents apiece for the good stuff!
This is what it looks like three days in. You can see how much color has leeched into the vodka.
After this I will strain the llimoncello through two layers of coffee filters. Then I will add 375ml of simple syrup. This should result in limoncello that is 30% ABV(Alcohol by Volume). You will end up with 1 1/2 fifths of limoncello!
Chill, serve, and enjoy!
I will post some pictures of the final product next week!
