TOP 4 recipes with photos of making homemade limoncello liqueur at home. Secrets of an Italian drink. Video recipes.
Limoncello is a sweet, tart and refreshing sweet Italian lemon liqueur. This is a terrific recipe from the sunny coast of Sorrento that is incomparable. However, when you try store copies, at the bottom of the glass there is only sugary sweetness and a complete lack of freshness, for which the liqueur is so fond of. Therefore, the inhabitants of the southern regions of Italy have learned how to cook limoncello at home and finely tune the taste of the drink to their preferences. In this article, we will learn how to properly prepare homemade limoncello liqueur.
Homemade Italian Drink Tips & Secrets
- Traditionally, limoncello is made from the zest of lemons of the Femminello St. Teresa is more Sorrento lemons. They are characterized by rough, wrinkled skin and rich essential oils. Lemons are grown under the shade of chestnut trees, which protect young tree shoots from precipitation. The crop is harvested in the Campania region, between Vico Equense and Massa Lubrense, or on the island of Capri. In our area, lemons of all sorts are used to prepare a drink. At the same time, remember that their color affects the color of the finished liqueur.
- To add a greenish tint to the liquor, use 1 green peel for every 5 lemons. The color of the tincture will be more "sunny" if 1 of 6 lemons is replaced with orange.
- Selected citrus fruits are washed well and the zest is cut from them without the white albedo. This is easier to do with a potato peeler or a sharp vegetable knife.
- Lemon zest is soaked in alcohol for up to one month, after which the aromatic infusion is mixed with sugar syrup and left for a while, after which the liquor is filtered.
- Having remembered the classic algorithm of actions, you can then experiment with the drink, because there are many ways to make liquor.
- The strength of the drink changes due to the different ratio of sugar to water. The sweeter the liquor, the stronger it is. But sweet liquors are surprisingly easier to drink. Limoncello is usually 20 to 37% ABV.
- For a medium-strength liquor (about 35%), use 120% water in relation to alcohol and 80% sugar. Then the drink will have a sugar content of 30%. It will turn out to be classic limoncello, with a strength of 35-38% and a sweetness of 300 g / l, as is commonly believed in southern Italy.
- If the liqueur is too sweet, add mineral water to it before serving. At the same time, the degree of too strong product will decrease.
- Italians love to play with the taste of limoncello, adding a cinnamon stick, ginger, and other spices to the drink.
- Italians recommend taking 30 g of lemon peel for every 100 ml of alcohol. Then a bright and fresh lemon flavor will be guaranteed.
- Vodka, alcohol and even not the most successful moonshine, previously purified in a filter, are suitable as an alcohol base for Italian liqueur.
- The liquor tastes better if you use distilled water.
- The liqueur is served chilled, so place the liqueur in the refrigerator 1 hour before use. The lower the temperature, the richer the taste of limoncello. It is also best to chill the glasses in the freezer.
- The liqueur is stored from 3 to 6 months. The longer the drink is aged, the tastier it will turn out.
Traditional recipe for Limoncello with alcohol
Homemade Italian lemon liqueur recipe based on alcohol limoncello. It is very easy to prepare at home and you can easily adjust the taste as you wish.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 321 kcal.
- Servings - 2.5 L
- Cooking time - 7 days
Ingredients:
- Large lemons - 10 pcs.
- Sugar - 800 g
- Grain alcohol 95, 6% - 1 l
- Pure water - 1-1, 2 l
Cooking Limoncello with alcohol according to the traditional recipe:
- Wash the lemons, pour over boiling water to release the wax and rub them with a rough cloth.
- Remove the yellow zest from the fruit without the white undercut that gives off bitterness.
- Put the zest in a jar, fill with grain alcohol, close tightly and leave to infuse in a dark and cool place for 20 days. During this time, the alcohol will turn yellow, and the lemon peel will turn pale and become brittle. Then strain the tincture through a sieve into a clean container with a sealed lid.
- Make a syrup. To do this, mix water and sugar in a saucepan, heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, so that the sugar is completely dissolved. Then remove the syrup from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Pour the syrup into the lemon macerate and stir. The liquor will immediately become cloudy, but it should be so.
- Pour homemade limoncello into sterile bottles, seal with airtight lids and leave in a cool, dry place away from sunlight for 40 days.
- Then store the liquor in the refrigerator.
Classic lemon liqueur Limoncello
The classic Limoncello is very popular in Italy and is easy to make yourself at home. Sicilian lemon liqueur with a pleasant citrus taste will be very popular with lovers of sweet alcoholic drinks.
Ingredients:
- Lemons - 10 pcs.
- Alcohol 96% - 500 ml (or 750 ml of quality vodka)
- Drinking water - 650 ml
- Sugar - 450 g (or 600 g if vodka is used)
Preparation of the classic Limoncello lemon liqueur:
- Wash the lemons, dry and carefully remove the upper yellow part of the peel from the fruit, without touching the white pulp, otherwise the liquor will turn out to be bitter. The total weight of the zest should be about 120-150 g.
- Pour the zest with alcohol or vodka, and close the container tightly with a lid.
- Leave the drink in a cool dark place for 7-10 days, shaking the container daily.
- After 7-10 days, prepare the sugar syrup. To do this, pour water into a saucepan, add sugar and put on low heat. Boil and simmer the syrup over medium heat for 5 minutes, removing the white foam. Then cool it down to room temperature.
- Strain the lemon tincture through a sieve and squeeze the zest dry.
- Pour the strained chilled tincture into the sugar syrup and stir.
- Pour limoncello into bottles and leave in a cool place to improve the taste for 5-7 days. Then the lemon liqueur can be tasted.
Homemade limoncello with vodka
A strong vodka-based limoncello drink can be mixed with mineral water or sparkling wine by adding ice cubes. It can be used as a fragrant impregnation for baked goods: muffins, rolls, biscuits.
Ingredients:
- Lemons - 5 pcs.
- Vodka - 0.5 l
- Sugar - 200 g
- Water - 80 ml
- Cinnamon - 1 stick
Making homemade limoncello with vodka:
- Wash the lemons, dry, peel the upper yellow layer of the peel so that the rind turns out to be about 80 g.
- Pour vodka over the crusts, toss in the cinnamon stick, close the lid and store in a cool place for 7 days. Shake the composition every day.
- Prepare the syrup after 7 days. To do this, measure out the required amount of sugar and add water. Put the container on low heat and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Strain the infused cinnamon crusts through a sieve and pour the boiled syrup into the strained tincture.
- Mix everything thoroughly, pour into decanters and chill well in the refrigerator, then serve the sunny drink to the table.
Limoncello from moonshine
Italian lemon liqueur Limoncello on moonshine. This is a simple recipe for a delicious drink, which consists of the available ingredients. This produces a dessert drink with a mild taste and moderately alcoholic.
Ingredients:
- Lemons - 12 pcs.
- Moonshine 40% - 1 l
- Granulated sugar - 0.9 kg
- Pure water - 0.6 l
Making limoncello from moonshine:
- Rinse citrus fruits with a kitchen brush under cool water so that no wax or dirt remains on the surface.
- Then dry the lemons with a paper towel and peel off the yellow zest without touching the white layer.
- Place the finished zest in a glass jar and fill it with moonshine so that the alcohol completely covers the zest.
- Leave the workpiece to infuse at room temperature in a dark place for 5 days. Shake the jar with the preparation 2-3 times a day.
- After a while, strain the workpiece through cheesecloth and remove the used raw materials from the liquid. Squeeze the lemon peels well.
- When the tincture is ready, boil the syrup from water and sugar for 5 minutes, until the sugar mixture darkens and thickens.
- Cool the sweet base to room temperature and pour into the tincture.
- Stir until completely dissolved, pour the drink into bottles, close the lid tightly and leave for 2 weeks so that it acquires a pronounced citrus aroma and lemon aftertaste.
