Limoncello

While searching for a good recipe for Limoncello, I found a lot of conflicting information.  Some recipes use vodka, others use grain alcohol (without specifying the potency, which varies) and others even used rum!  The alcohol-to-water-to-sugar ratios also varied widely, and it made me wonder if people had typos in the recipes, or were just posting a recipe they had never even tasted!

So I started with the premise that grain alcohol will extract the most lemon oil and flavor from lemon zest.  Then I adjusted the water and sugar levels until I had a recipe where I liked the potency and the sweetness balances the tartness of the lemon.  Here's what I've come up with:

Limoncello

3 pounds lemons, preferably organic.
16 oz. grain alcohol, 190 proof (I use Everclear)

• Wash the lemons thoroughly in warm water, and rinse well.  Remove the zest (only the zest - the yellow part) from the lemons.  Try not to get any of the white pith that's under the yellow zest, because the pith makes the limoncello taste bitter.  
  • I use a Microplane Grater / Zester that I bought here. (This is one of the best under-$10 kitchen tools I have, because I use it for cheese, chocolate, lemon and orange zest, and lots of other things!)
• Save the lemons and make lemonade!
• Put the zest into a glass jar, and pour in the grain alcohol.  Seal the jar tightly.  Shake the jar gently to mix.  I used an empty wide-mouth mayonnaise jar for this, but put a piece of plastic wrap under the lid before I closed it, to make sure it was a clean seal.
• Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.
• Two or three times a day, shake the jar gently to mix things up.  The alcohol will turn a beautiful clear yellow.

On the 3rd day:

4 cups sugar
4 cups (=32 oz.) water

• Combine the sugar and water in a non-reactive saucepan (i.e., stainless steel, or a pan lined with enamel - not aluminum or cast iron).  Heat on the stove until the sugar dissolves completely.
• Let the sugar mixture cool to room temperature, covered with a lid
• When the sugar mixture is cool, pour the alcohol and lemon mixture through a strainer or sieve into the pan with the sugar and water.  Or, if your pan isn't big enough to hold everything, combine the liquids in a mixing bowl.
• Use a funnel to pour the limoncello into decorative bottles.
• Store in the freezer - it won't freeze.  It should be cold enough to taste in a couple of hours
  
  

Clemencello

My latest discovery! Great to make in December, when you see those 5-pound crates of Clementines in the grocery store!

• Use the recipe for Limoncello above, but put the grain alcohol into a jar and add the zest of the clementines as you eat them, and swirl the jar daily.
• After you add the last citrus zest, wait 2 or 3 days and then add the sugar and water.
• This turns out more of an orangish-yellow, but not as bright orange as the clementines.  But really delicious!

Lemonade

1 part lemon juice
1 part sugar
4 parts water

For example:
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
4 cups water

• Heat the sugar and some of the water (in the microwave or on top of the stove), until the sugar has dissolved.
• Add the rest of the water, preferably very cold, to bring the temperature down.
• Add the lemon juice and stir.  I like this with some of the pulp from the lemons in it, too, but that's up to you.