Homemade Limoncello Recipe
Homemade Limoncello Recipe - Limoncello is actually an Italian liquor made from the zest of lemons, sugar, water, and, of course, alcohol, but its a very popular drink here in Spain and is perfect for the long summer evenings and so simple to make, you can use oranges in the same way to make Arancello.
Ingredients
10 Lemons or to make orange arancello use blood oranges (To make Spiced Arancello: Simply add one whole clove, one whole cardamom pod, and one whole cinnamon stick in each bottle of Arancello)
1 Litre Vodka
800gms granulated white sugar (more or less according to taste)
750ml water (more or less according to taste)
Homemade Limoncello Recipe
Method
There are 3 Easy Steps to making homemade limoncello or arancello (orange): Infusing the alcohol. Filtering the infused alcohol and combining the alcohol with simple syrup
Peel the lemons: Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peels from all the lemons. Try to remove only the outer yellow skin and as little of the pith as possible. Trim away any large pieces of pith with a paring knife, but don't worry about trimming every last scrap
Cover the peels with vodka: Transfer the lemon peels to a 1-quart jar and cover with vodka. Screw on the lid.
Infuse the vodka: Let the vodka and lemon peels infuse somewhere out of the way and out of direct sunlight for at least 4 days or as long as a month. The longer you let the vodka infuse, the more lemony your limoncello.
Strain the vodka: Line a strainer with a large coffee filter and set it over a 4-cup measuring cup. Strain the infused vodka through the filter. You may need to stir the vodka in the strainer if the flow stops.
Prepare sugar syrup: Prepare a sugar syrup of at least 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar — bring the water to a simmer and stir in the sugar to dissolve; allow to cool.
You can play with the ratios of water to sugar. Start with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, taste the limoncello, and add additional sugar syrup gradually until you reach a flavour you like — up to 4 cups of water with 4 cups of sugar. More water will dilute the alcohol base, making a less alcoholic, milder, and smoother-sipping liqueur. More sugar will make a sweeter limoncello.
Mix the sugar syrup with the infused vodka: Pour the sugar syrup into the infused vodka. Stir gently to mix. Taste and add additional sugar syrup if desired (see above). The mixture will turn slightly cloudy this is normal so don´t panic.
Bottle the limoncello: Insert the funnel in the neck of one of the bottles and fill with limoncello. Repeat with remaining bottles.
Chill and store: Chill the limoncello in the fridge or freezer for at least 4 hours before drinking.
ENJOY
Tips
What Lemons to Use?
Standard lemons are just fine for making limoncello, but it is recommend buying organic lemons. Since non-organic lemons are usually coated with wax, you’ll get a better extraction from organic lemons. Plus, alcohol will pull everything from those peels, including any pesticides or insecticides used on the lemons.
What to do with all the peeled lemons when you're done? Juice them, pour the juice into ice cube trays, and freeze. Then bag up the frozen ice cubes and you've got fresh lemon juice for all your recipes or add to a glass of water for a healthy refreshing drink!
How Long to Infuse?
Infuse your lemon peels and vodka for at least 4 days or up to a month. Most of the lemon flavor is extracted in those first few days, but you’ll also get a stronger, bolder flavour the longer you let it sit.
Storage
Limoncello can be kept in the fridge for up to a month or the freezer for up to a year (and often much longer!).
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