Any lemons will work for this recipe. It’s best to use organic lemons because you don’t want the waxy coating on them. I already have some published and more will come. Just be ready when the fruits are in season to start your collection: Jars 67 ounce - 2 liters: I use large canning jars to infuse herbs or fruits in the alcohol. They are easily sealed and don't take much room in the cupboard. I usually brew different types of liqueurs at the same time so I need several jars. If you are an occasional liqueur maker, you can just use the bottle below. The brand was trademarked less than 40 years ago in the late 1980’s by the Canale family. But prior to that trademark, you can discover stories of the liqueur’s manufacture by the hands of nuns, monks, innkeepers, and various other Italians over hundreds of years.

From lemon to limoncello, approximately eighty days elapse. It’s a relatively simple process but each producer boasts his or her own limoncello secrets. For example, some use only the rinds, while others marinate the pulp and seeds. People experiment with different ratios of sugar to water in the syrup. The location where the limoncello steeps, with varying temperature and relative humidity, can also play a role. Ultimately, these factors affect the flavor as well as the opacity and texture of the final product. One batch of the final product may be bright, neon yellow; another may be more cloudy and opaque as a result of the emulsification of the sugar and lemon oils. Traditionally, limoncello is made with cask-strength grappa distilled from grape skins. However, in the states grappa is only sold in 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof). Don’t worry about how much time your bottle is sitting out infusing, the high proof liquor will prevent mold from growing. However, should you see any signs of discoloration or something fuzzy growing, discard, sanitize your bottles, and start over. Roman fresco painters depicted large citrus fruits on the walls of luxurious villas at Pompeii and Herculaneum, and surely lemons must have been cultivated for many centuries before the first documentary evidence of lemons along the Amalfi Coast, dating to the Renaissance.Limoncello is served after a meal as it’s believed that lemons help with digestion. Similarly, lemons are a source of vitamin C and antioxidants. In fact, lemons on their own have many significant health benefits. A study proves botulism cannot grow in Alcohol: ”The growth and neurotoxin production (botulism) was delayed by an ethanol concentration of 4% ethanol and completely inhibited by a concentration of 6%”.

Measuring mugs: it is very important to use the exact proportion of syrup vs alcohol. Measurements mugs are a must.Both types of lemons are regulated by a local limoncello consortium. Officials inspect the cultivation, harvesting, production, and labeling of both types of lemons, seeking to protect and promote these local products and their makers. Ladle with spout: to easily pour the liquid into the funnels from a large bowl or pan. I always use the ladle with a spout to take the syrup from the pan where I boiled it into the funnel. If you don't have a pan with a spout, this is the easiest way to pour the syrup once it is cold. In Italy, limoncello is often served as an apertivo, before the meal. The intention is to open the stomach before a meal.

Limoncello is best served ice cold in small chilled glasses. Because it’s made using high proof liquor you can store it in the freezer and it won’t freeze solid. Unless you are pretty familiar with your lemon variety, this means that you have to be a detective and taste-test every few days after a week has passed. I find that two weeks works well using Everclear and my Eureka lemons. Use either a fine zest or long peel of skin in your infusion. I prefer a microplane to create a fine zest, but really it's up to you. It will all be strained out in the next step. For five generations, the Aceto family has been cultivating lemons in the hillsides near the old paper mills of Amalfi. Today the family runs a cooperative based on the cultivation of the sfusato amalfitano lemon and produces a wonderful artisanal limoncello marketed under the brand La Valle dei Mulini.

Are There Health Benefits To Drinking Limoncello?

After you’ve combined your infused liquor with a sugar syrup, tradition says to keep it in the freezer (where it will keep at least a year or more). By using only the outer peel of the lemon’s skin and not the bitter pith, limoncello is naturally oily and rich in fresh citrus aromas. Indeed, limoncello is bright yellow and sometimes almost fluorescent in appearance. Step 1 – Peel the lemons using an angled peeler or Y-peeler. Make sure to remove all of the white pith. Opposed to alcohol, water can be measured by volume or by weight. As shown is the examples above 1000 milliliters of water is equivalent to 1000 grams of water. However, it may also be kept in the fridge instead. Yet, some families will claim that once the frost no longer covers the limoncello, it has become too warm to drink.