Thursday, July 05, 2012

Lemony Goodness!

Limoncello for all!

Way back in March my friend Kris and I began our limoncello adventure!  Remember when I posted about my abundance of lemons I had?  Click HERE for my other lemon recipes.

Limoncello
The Recipe
20 lemons , well scrubbed  

2 (750 ml) 151 proof Everclear - grain alcohol

5 1/3 cups sugar 

6 2/3 cups bottled water

Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any reside of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry. Carefully zest the lemons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith on the peel.
Zesting the lemons

Step One: 

In a large glass jar (1-gallon jar), add one bottle of Everclear; add the lemon zest as it is zested. Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least (10) ten days and up to (40) days in a cool dark place. The longer it rests, the better the taste will be. (There is no need to stir - all you have to do is wait.) 
As the limoncello sits, the Everclear slowly 
take on the flavor and rich yellow color of 
the lemon zest.
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Step Two: (In our case it was 40+ days later) 
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar 
and water; cook until thickened, approximately 
5 to 7 minutes. Let the syrup cool before 
adding it to the Limoncello mixture. 

Add to the Limoncello mixture from Step One 
Add the additional bottle of Everclear. 
Allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days. 
suggest 40 days, it really makes a 
HUGE difference.

~~~~~~~~


Step Three : 
After the rest period, strain and bottle: 
discarding the lemon zest. Cheese cloth or 
coffee filters are good methods of straining.

I bought my bottles at 
Specialty Bottles.
Keep it in the freezer until ready to serve.
OR
Add a label and give as a gift
Download for tag/label if 
you want HERE

5 comments:

  1. This sounds wonderful! And i know this may sound silly but it would go bad sitting out on the counter.....grow mold or anything.....even for the second resting after you've added sugar??

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  2. I have to ask: what did you do with the naked lemons after step one?

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  3. Yummy! That's all I am going to say. YUMMY! oh and refreshing...I'll say that too.

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  4. I never heard of Everclear. I hope I can find it near me. Thank you for very clear instructions and photos. A picture is always worth 1000 words!

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  5. Just as an FYI...it will not molding...there is so much alcohol and sugar in it that it doesn't go bad. Also, we juiced the naked lemons to use for cooking :-)

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