You may recall back in October, I started brewing this with hopes of giving away at Christmas. I zested enough lemon peel to fill the smaller of the two sizes of Everclear bottles to the top. Week by week it became more and more yellow. Sixty+ days it did its thing. Then I boiled 5 cups of water and added 3 cups of sugar. I poured the yellow brew into the mixture through a sieve to separate out the lemon peel.
For containers, I frosted some 1/2 pint jars. When Daughter #2 arrived, she knew just what to do. She ribboned these 1/2 pints of lemon brew.
Limoncello for after dinner over the holidays. The recipe yielded 9 one half pint jars.
We passed them out on Christmas Eve.
Limoncello–it’s called. Keep it in the fridge. Then over ice cream pour just a smidge.
Or, pour into a liqueur glass just one ounce. For after dinner it’s a digestif.
Happy Holidays at home!
ooh! a smidge over ice cream sounds delicious! tart and delicious!
It’s nice to reach in the freezer and put something on the plain vanilla. My husband prefers the hershey’s chocolate. 🙂
You had me at everclear…LOL!
My sister makes it and when a colleague of mine shared her recipe, I just had to try it, too. 🙂
Pretty packaging and it sounds good 🙂
It is good. 🙂
So pretty! So festive 🙂 and I bet it tastes just yummy !
MJ
Just a tablespoon of the lemon zest and sugary sweetness are good on ice cream or pie. 🙂
I love this stuff but don’t that I’ve ever had it made with Everclear.
Definitely made for sipping I think. The jars are so pretty and festive and yes, innocent looking.
hmmmm…a lot of folks are reacting to the everclear. What other base can I use? I went with my colleague’s recipe.
I think you should stick with the everclear. It has a bit of a reputation as a bum-on-the-street drink of choice, because the alcohol content is so high. But that also means it has fewer impurities. And you wouldn’t want to use other clear liquors, like gin or vodka, because you don’t want anything messing with the taste of the lemon. That’s my theory, anyhow! I just learned I have a friend who makes limoncello, and she always has used the everclear.
It’s beautiful! I may give it a try myself – I so love lemon curd, and this would be a nice way to get a lower-fat version of that sweet tartness.
Thank you for weighing in. My Italian colleague uses everclear. And, I like your theory–everclear it is. 🙂
My reaction to the Everclear is simply from college days when we all attempted to drink it straight and much to our dismay could not do so for long. 🙂
Most of the recipes I’ve seen use Everclear or vodka and one is not expected to drink it straight. The Everclear that is.
A spirits hydrometer is recommended to test the end product to come out at much less strength. Certainly the 5 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar dilutes it.
Thanks for sharing your process, it makes a lovely gift.
Thank you, Patti. Daughter introduced me to wrapping with tulle. The yellow tulle did wrap it up nicely, I thought.
What a wonderful gift! Clever girl. 🙂
Thank you, Dor. It certainly stretched the holiday baking.
Well worth the wait, I’m sure. The jars look so festive. Way to go, Georgette! Hope you and yours have a very happy, Limoncello New Year!
Thank you, Monica. I was thrilled with the lovely bright yellow color and that it yielded 9 jars.
Sounds so delicious! Happy New Year to you, Georgette!
It’s a perfect treat for grandma. Grandson and husband enjoy Hershey’s chocolate, while I spoon out a tablespoon of my limoncello. Happy New Year, SAM.
A joyous treat and a wonderful gift. To some, it’s too strong or too alcohol smelling – thus an option is one bottle of Everclear and one bottle of vodka … however they don’t start together. (Explained here) http://afrankangle.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/on-a-joyous-zest/
Thanks for promoting one of my favorites!
I think I will try the orangecello next year. My friend recommends making 90 days in advance, I just made 60 starting in October. Thank you for the link. I really enjoyed reading your method and recipe.
The time intervals is bizarre. The first time I had it, it was less than a week. Then, I went to the 45 day method. Noticing that minimal difference, I settled on 2 weeks – one week for each phase.
The first phase is the extraction of the oil. It’s a natural process, so I find it difficult to believe that it takes 30-60 days to reach. No proof, just a realistic hunch.
The concentration of alcohol is another factor in the oil extraction. I first used vodka – and given the lower proof than Everclear – it won’t extract as well. However, I find that solely Everclear is a bit strong in taste and smell … thus why I used Everclear in phase one to extract the oil, then add vodka in phase two.
Thought I”d share a bit of what I’ve learned.
Interesting your explanation of the oil extraction. I will try this adding vodka and thus producing more. Still I will start early as the thought of it getting more and more yellow appeals to me…yet after a month or so I did think the peels just lay there offering nothing more. My friend says some folks make it just two weeks before…I’m not scientific…like my dad or daughter…but I just like the thought that it’s made over a good bit of time.
Another thing I found interesting. I found the everclear right by the vodka.
Notice that my recipe uses 2 bottles … the question is 2 bottles of what … 2 vodkas? 2 Everclears? 1 of each? … Obviously, I’ve migrated to the last option.
Another added twist. A friend of mine removes the peels to be added to the water that will be boiled — this extracts the pectin from the peel, thus brings more cloudiness to the final result. So hey – variations are great.
🙂
Simply so many variations … the key is making what you like!
hmmm…I’ll have to make it more often to discover that. After gifting 7 jars, that leaves two for me right now, enough to last for a while. But should I gift some more (and come to think of it I will–we’re invited out to dinner tonight), I will get onto it again.
Gifting is a great idea that I have done too … but discovering the variations is part of the process. Enjoy! … BTW – it is wonderful on a hot summer day! … and there’s always limoncello cake.
oh my goodness–I’ll have to try that. I noticed your suggestion for that, too, among the comments. I made a key lime cake two Thanksgivings ago. It was gone before the pies. Perhaps I can adapt that recipe.
🙂 😀
Looks fantastic!
Thank you, G & K.
So pretty! And yum, sounds good over ice cream.
After the holidays, I think this will take us until the 4th of July at the lake with ice cream. And, it will make for a lot of conversation. 🙂
What an interesting discussion on the merits of everclear vs vodka.
I have some plain Greek yoghurt ice cream in the freezer and would LOVE to add a little sprinkle of your limoncello to it. I think I’ll just pop over with my bowl… if that’s OK with you.
I invited aFrankAngle for some limoncello to celebrate his wp-fp and he took me up on it. Little did I know I would learn a whole lot more! He is such a gracious individual.
It sounds wonderful!
🙂 It adds to dinner and evening conversation.
[…] The Limoncello is Ready (georgettesullins.wordpress.com) […]
A delicious beverage that lightens up the holiday spirit!
It can be sipped or poured over ice cream or pie. Grandson likes lots of cool whip while the grown ups enjoy this. I have given away all my jars–I guess I need to make some more. It makes a fun and unusual gift to have on hand.