Re: Limoncello

In article <[email hidden]>, zxcvbob
<[email hidden]> wrote:

What's the shelf life of homemade limoncello. I made some with regular
lemons and potato vodka which was very good initially. But it's a
couple of months old now and seems to taste a little harsher. Also
despite straining it's developing little squigglies. Could it be wax
remnants from the lemons or other impurities from the mixture?
Seems like with all the alcohol the squigglies would be harmless.

On Tue 24 Jan 2006 05:38:42a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Stark?

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, zxcvbob
<[email hidden]> wrote:

What's the shelf life of homemade limoncello. I made some with regular
lemons and potato vodka which was very good initially. But it's a
couple of months old now and seems to taste a little harsher. Also
despite straining it's developing little squigglies. Could it be wax
remnants from the lemons or other impurities from the mixture?
Seems like with all the alcohol the squigglies would be harmless.

Ewwww! Reminds me of the worm in tequila, but at least it's dead. :-)

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

Stark said:

What's the shelf life of homemade limoncello. I made some with regular
lemons and potato vodka which was very good initially. But it's a
couple of months old now and seems to taste a little harsher. Also
despite straining it's developing little squigglies. Could it be wax
remnants from the lemons or other impurities from the mixture?
Seems like with all the alcohol the squigglies would be harmless.

We keep our Limoncello in the freezer, which of course doesn't freeze
due to its' high volume of alcohol.
If you prefer it room temp. pour a glass and let it sit for a few
minutes. Kev

zxcvbob said:

Bob (this one) said:

Limoncello

An Italian lemon-flavored liqueur, usually sipped very cold right out
of the freezer. Also good over ice cream or trickled on cheesecake. A
splash in fruit salad is good.

15 lemons (zested, pith and pulp discarded)
1.5 liters 100-proof vodka
4 cups sugar
5 cups water

Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any
residue of pesticides or wax. Carefully peel the lemons with a zester
or vegetable peeler retaining only the yellow zest. White pith and
interior pulp should be completely discarded.

In a 1-gallon glass jar, combine the vodka and the lemon zest. Cover
the jar and let sit at least 10 days, and up to 40 days in a cool dark
place. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook until sugar
is completely dissolved, about 7 minutes. Let the syrup cool before
adding it to the limoncello mixture. Allow to rest for another 10 to
40 days. After the rest period, strain and bottle, discarding the
lemon zest. Keep in the freezer until ready to serve.

In Italy, the general sense about it is that the longer the zest and
vodka mix rests, the better the taste will be.

Bob Pastorio

Does the quality of the vodka make much difference? (I suspect not,
within reason.)

No.

Quoted message said:

If I can only find 80 proof vodka, will it work to use that, and reduce
the water in the syrup to about 2 or 3 cups to compensate? (I can
calculate the exact amount of water to use in the syrup to keep the
proper final concentration of alcohol, but don't know if the lemon
essence will extract OK in the weaker vodka.)

I don't know, but since Italian limoncello is usually made with a higher
proof alcohol, I suspect it may affect the final extraction.

Quoted message said:

I made some Blueberry Gin liqueur once, but it was nasty because it was
too sweet and not alcoholic enough.

Ah, youth...<LOL>

Quoted message said:

(What to do with the leftover .25 litres from a 1.75 jug of vodka...)

Wait. Lemme think...

Pastorio

Stark said:

In article <[email hidden]>, zxcvbob
<[email hidden]> wrote:

What's the shelf life of homemade limoncello. I made some with regular
lemons and potato vodka which was very good initially. But it's a
couple of months old now and seems to taste a little harsher. Also
despite straining it's developing little squigglies. Could it be wax
remnants from the lemons or other impurities from the mixture?
Seems like with all the alcohol the squigglies would be harmless.

Mine lasted for over a year in the freezer. I might have been good
longer but it didn't last longer.

Pan Ohco
I would like to see the bottom of my monitor, but I have cats.

In article <[email hidden]>, Wayne

Boatwright said:

On Tue 24 Jan 2006 05:38:42a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Stark?

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, zxcvbob
<[email hidden]> wrote:

What's the shelf life of homemade limoncello. I made some with regular
lemons and potato vodka which was very good initially. But it's a
couple of months old now and seems to taste a little harsher. Also
despite straining it's developing little squigglies. Could it be wax
remnants from the lemons or other impurities from the mixture?
Seems like with all the alcohol the squigglies would be harmless.

Ewwww! Reminds me of the worm in tequila, but at least it's dead. :-)

The squigglies are not squiggling. But I strained them and after a few
days they return. Hmmmmmm.

On Wed 25 Jan 2006 05:43:22a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Stark?

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Wayne

Boatwright said:

On Tue 24 Jan 2006 05:38:42a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Stark?

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, zxcvbob
<[email hidden]> wrote:

What's the shelf life of homemade limoncello. I made some with
regular lemons and potato vodka which was very good initially. But
it's a couple of months old now and seems to taste a little harsher.
Also despite straining it's developing little squigglies. Could it
be wax remnants from the lemons or other impurities from the mixture?
Seems like with all the alcohol the squigglies would be harmless.

Ewwww! Reminds me of the worm in tequila, but at least it's dead. :-)

The squigglies are not squiggling. But I strained them and after a few
days they return. Hmmmmmm.

Wonder what those would look like under a microscope? :-)

--
Wayne Boatwright Õ¿Õ¬
________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!