"Limoncello" at home

Italy is famous for its alcoholic beverages, including wines and liquors. One of the most well-known local liqueurs is Limoncello, the Italians themselves often give it preference. The drink resembles lemonade, but it is not non-alcoholic. Rather, it is a lemon tincture, the strength of which ranges from 16 to 38 degrees, the sugar content is at the level of 20-30 g per 100 ml. Most Italians cook “Limoncello” at home, so the canonical recipe of this drink does not exist. Going on sale lemon liqueur most often has a strength of 25 to 32 degrees, contains about 30 grams of sugar per 100 ml. They drink it heavily chilled, so that it is very refreshing and refreshing on a hot day. You can fall in love with it from the first sip.

Cooking Features

To try the legendary “Limoncello”, you do not need to go to an expensive cafe or buy a drink of industrial production, especially since the price for it bites. It will be much easier and more economical to cook it yourself, it's easy. It is only important to know the technology of preparation and proportions:

First, you need a lot of lemons, and the taste and aroma of the finished liqueur will depend on their quality. Preference should be given to fruits that have a rich color and a pronounced aroma.
Lemons are not enough to just wash - they need to be doused with boiling water and rubbed with a brush in order to wash off the wax that is covered with fruit to give a presentation.
If a prescription is to squeeze lemon juice, it is convenient to use a citrus juicer (the peel is not removed in this case).
Many recipes for making “Limoncello” include infusing alcohol or other strong alcohol on lemon zest. Cut it to do this with a thin layer, trying not to capture the white layer between the skin and the flesh - this layer will give the drink an extra bitterness.
Lemon tincture is combined with syrup, after which the drink is aged for at least 5 days. When mixing alcohol tincture with syrup, the drink becomes cloudy. This is normal: when diluted with alcohol, the release of essential oils that have passed into it from the lemon zest occurs. Muddy shade "Limoncello" speaks of its high quality and naturalness.
By increasing or decreasing the amount of sugar and water in the recipe, you can adjust the strength and organoleptic properties of the finished liqueur according to your taste.

The full flavor of “Limoncello” can be enjoyed using it properly. This drink is served not just cold, but ice, placing before tasting a bottle of drink at least a quarter of an hour in the freezer. Small liqueur glasses, of which it is customary to drink "Limoncello", are also frozen. Drink liquor in small and not too frequent sips, but not so slow as to allow it to warm up. To “Limoncello” can be served a light dessert. An excellent pair of lemon liqueur makes up with ice cream.

“Limoncello” on alcohol

Composition:

lemons - 1 kg;
alcohol with a strength of 95-96 degrees - 0.5 l;
sugar - 0.5 kg;
water - 0, 7 liters.

Method of preparation:

Wash the lemons thoroughly with boiling water. Wipe well with a cloth. Using a vegetable peeler, remove a thin layer of peel from the fruit and place it in a clean glass jar. You can decompose in two liter cans, distributing the zest roughly equally.
Cut the peeled lemons into pieces, remove the bones. Pulp chop with a blender, mix with sugar, put in the refrigerator.
Fill lemon peels with alcohol.
Close the jar tightly (or jars), place in a cool and dark place.
Insist alcohol on lemon peel for 3-7 days, shaking the container daily. The longer you insist on the lemon peel, the more aromatic then “Limoncello” will turn out, but experienced winemakers say that a week is more than enough for this.
Drain the alcohol from the cans into a separate container. Place the zest in a saucepan, cover with clean water. After half an hour, strain the water and pour it into a clean pan.
Add lemon puree, mix.
Put on low heat and heat, stirring, not allowing to boil, until the syrup has a uniform consistency. Syrup can be boiled for 5 minutes, removing the foam. This will destroy pathogenic microorganisms, but will reduce the benefits of lemons, as under the influence of high temperature vitamin C, which is rich in fruit, is destroyed.
Strain the syrup, cool to room temperature.
Mix with alcohol infused on lemon rinds.
Remove the resulting mixture in the refrigerator. Shake it daily.

In 5 days homemade “Limoncello” will be ready for use. The strength of the drink will be about 35 degrees, the sugar content in it will be about 30 g per 100 ml.

“Limoncello” on vodka

Composition:

lemons - 0, 5 kg;
vodka - 0.5 liters;
sugar - 0, 4 kg;
water - 0, 2 liters.

Method of preparation:

Wash lemons well, dip into boiling water, boil for 3-4 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. As a result, the extra bitterness will go away.
Cut the fruit in half. Squeeze the juice out of them, mix with purified water and sugar.
Heat over low heat and cook for 5 minutes, removing the froth protruding on the surface.
Cool the syrup to room temperature, pour it into a clean jar, screw the cap tight and put it in the refrigerator.
Chop the lemon peel with a blender or with a meat grinder, place it in a clean jar and fill it with vodka. Insist in a cool place for 5 days.
Strain vodka, mix with syrup. Put in the fridge.

Drink can be tasted in 2-3 days. If the liquor seems too sour or, on the contrary, sweet, next time, increase or decrease the amount of sugar. The strength of the liquor depends on the ratio of water and vodka, it can also be adjusted to your liking.

“Limoncello” with cream

Composition:

lemons - 0, 5 kg;
alcohol (96%) - 0, 25 l;
sugar - 0, 4 kg;
milk - 0, 25 l;
drinking cream - 0, 25 l;
vanillin - at the tip of the knife.

Method of preparation:

With washed and dried lemons, remove a thin layer of zest. The flesh for cream "Limoncello" is not required, it can be used to prepare other dishes.
Place the zest in a jar and cover with alcohol. Close. Insist 7-14 days. The jar should be shaken periodically.
Strain the alcohol.
Pour sugar into the pan, add vanillin, cover with milk and cream. Bring to a boil, stirring. Cool it down.
Mix the alcohol with the milk, pour it into a clean bottle, seal it and put it in the refrigerator.

The drink will reach full readiness only in a few days. His taste will be gentle and harmonious.

“Limoncello” is a popular Italian liqueur that is drunk heavily chilled. You can prepare it at home from lemons, sugar and alcohol. Alcohol can be replaced by vodka and even moonshine. An interesting taste is the cream "Limoncello", which is prepared with the addition of cream.