Make Limoncello (also called Lemoncello) an icy cold lemon liqueur popular in Italy. You can serve this drink as an after-dinner apéritif, drizzle on good ice cream for dessert, sprinkle on fresh fruit, or use it to make a lemon cream sauce to go on lobster ravioli.
Enjoy this lemony sipper year-round, it is great on hot summer nights or after rich holiday feasts. This limoncello recipe is an easy homemade gift for food lovers...
What is Limoncello?
Limoncello is traditionally made in Italy with Femminello St. Teresa lemons, also known as Sorrento or Sfusato lemons. It is the second most popular liqueur in Italy after Campari.
Limoncello imparts strong lemon flavor without the sourness or bitterness of pure lemon juice. Lemon peels or zest with no white pith are infused in grappa or vodka. The lemon oil is released from the peels and zest into the alcohol.
Next, the lemon liquid is mixed with simple syrup. Varying the sugar-to-water ratio and the temperature affects the clarity, viscosity, and flavor.
California produces over 90% of the lemons in the United States. California lemons grow year-round and are a popular ingredient in cocktails, desserts, and main dishes. Most of the lemons available in the US are from California, you can use Meyer or any lemon commonly found in your grocery store. This is also a great way to use up lemons grown at home.
How To Make Limoncello
Gather these things...
- 1 large glass 3-quart jar or pitcher
- 1 tall clamp style glass bottles for gift-giving
- A good vegetable peeler like OXO
10 lemons (organic preferred, Meyer or regular)
4 cups vodka (high-quality like Grey Goose 80 or 100 proof)
3 ½ cups water
2 ½ cups granulated sugar (I used a good organic sugar)
- Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any residue of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry.
- Add the vodka to your large jar or pitcher.
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips, use only the yellow outer part of the rind. The pith, or white part underneath the rind, is too bitter. Keep the lemons for another recipe.
- Place the lemon peels in the large jar or pitcher and put a lid on the jar, or cover with plastic wrap.
- Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 10 days at room temperature. Some people steep for up to 40 days, this will produce a better flavor, but 10 days is fine!
- After 10 days, in a large saucepan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil (until the sugar dissolves), about 5 -7 minutes. Cool completely.
- Remove from heat and let the syrup cool before adding it to the Limoncello mixture of lemon peels and vodka. Now, pour the sugar syrup into the lemon/vodka mixture.
- Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer, a coffee filter, or cheesecloth. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to decorative clamp style bottles using a small funnel.
- Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month. Keep in the freezer, but be sure to keep the limoncello in the fridge and chill until ready to use.
What Alcohol Content to Use?
- A high-quality vodka (ideally 100 proof grain alcohol) is the very best to use for making limoncello.
- A 100 proof vodka will extract more improved lemon oil from the peels and make the taste smooth.
- 80 proof vodka brands work just fine if that's what you use, and will be less expensive.
Vodka prevents mold or bacteria from growing. Once strained, it can keep in the freezer for up to a year.
Simple Syrup Tips
You can play with the ratios of water to sugar, all the way up to 4 cups of water with 4 cups of sugar and anything in between.
Start with a simple syrup made of 1 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water start here whether you used 100 proof or 80 proof vodka. Add this to the infused vodka, taste, and add more simple syrup to taste.
PRO TIP: More water will dilute the alcohol base, making a less alcoholic, milder, and smoother-sipping liqueur. More sugar will make it sweeter.
How To Drink Limoncello
- Serve in refreshing cocktails on a hot summer day.
- Refreshing and light, it is wonderful as a palate cleanser or as an after-dinner drinks serve icy cold right out of the freezer in small glasses.
- It is an incomparable digestive, and with sparkling or tonic water, it is a sweet, tasty refreshment.
Store and Serving Tips
- Use a tall inexpensive clamp top glass bottle if giving as a gift, bottle, or jar with a secure lid to store in the freezer. I found some beautiful ones at Cost Plus World Market.
- Best kept in the freezer until ready to serve. Serve ice cold from the freezer is THE best!
- Traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestivo, along the Amalfi Coast in Italy.
- Serve in chilled small glasses.
- Try it to makes various cocktails, pastries or ice cream recipes.
Standard lemons are just fine, though buying organic lemons is a good idea since non-organic lemons are usually coated with wax, you'll get better extraction from organic lemons.
Plus, the alcohol will pull everything from those peels, including any pesticides or insecticides used on the lemons.
If you have access to them, Meyer lemons make have an incredibly sweet flavor and make great limoncello.
You can also try other citrus fruits like grapefruits, limes, oranges-(orangecello), blood oranges, and tangerines-(mandarincello).
Infuse your lemon peels and vodka for at least 10 days or up to 40 days. Most of the lemon flavor is extracted in the first few days, but you'll also get a stronger, bolder flavor the longer you let it sit.
It is easiest to remove the peels with a vegetable peeler, but you can also use a microplane or a zester.
Just try to get the skin alone and as little pith as possible. With the leftover lemons, you can make a batch of lemonade.
More Lemon Recipes
This recipe is incredibly popular on Pinterest and thousands of people have found it on Google. I think it's the Lemon Butter Cream Sauce, I mean who wouldn't love that? This recipe uses either fresh lemon juice or limoncello.
A tropical version of traditional Lemon Bars, the toasted coconut shortbread cookie crust, and lemon-lime filling are simply out of this world. Homemade vinaigrette dressings are so worth the time. Try a Meyer Lemon or Parmesan Lemon salad dressing and use up those lemons!
Meyer Lemon Tapenade, Lemon Dill Butter, or Preserved Lemons all come together so fast and make great gourmet gifts for food lovers.
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How To Make Limoncello
Ingredients
Limoncello Ingredients
- 10 lemons organic preferred
- 4 cups vodka high-quality like Grey Goose
- 3 ½ cups water
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
Instructions
prep lemon peels
- Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any residue of pesticides or wax. Pat the lemons dry.
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips, use only the yellow outer part of the rind. The pith, or white part underneath the rind, is too bitter. Keep the lemons for another recipe.
make the limoncello
- Add the vodka to your large jar or pitcher.
- Place the lemon peels in the large jar or pitcher and put a lid on the jar, or cover with plastic wrap.
- Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 10 days at room temperature. 10 days will produce a better flavor, but 4 days is fine! (Some people leave them up to 40 days for incredible lemon flavor!)
- After 10 days, in a large saucepan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil (until the sugar dissolves), about 5 -7 minutes. Cool completely.
- Remove from heat and let the syrup cool before adding it to the Limoncello mixture of lemon peels and vodka. Pour the sugar syrup into the lemon/vodka mixture.
- Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer, a coffee filter, or cheesecloth. Discard the peels. Transfer to decorative clamp style bottles using a small funnel.
- Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month. Can be kept in the freezer as well, but be sure to keep the limoncello in the fridge and chill until ready to use.
Notes
Tips to Store and Serve Limoncello
- Use a tall inexpensive clamp top bottle if given as a gift, bottle, or jar with a secure lid to store in the freezer. I found some beautiful ones at Cost Plus World Market.
- Limoncello is best kept in the freezer until ready to serve. Serve ice cold from the freezer is THE best!
- Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestivo. Along the Amalfi Coast in Italy, it is usually served in small ceramic glasses that are also chilled. This tradition has been carried into other parts of Italy.
- Limoncello is also used to make various cocktails, pastries, or ice cream.
This is the BEST!! What a fun recipe to make. So delish!
We made this again this weekend and are so in love with this Limoncello recipe! I even love adding this to my homemade Iced tea!
I had no idea I could make this delicious drink at home!! I'm pinning for later! This sounds so darn good!