How to Make Limoncello

Published on Wednesday, September 9, 2009, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

How to Make Limoncello

A. J. Rathbun, author of CHOW-approved cocktail books Good Spirits and Luscious Liqueurs, has an easy recipe for homemade limoncello. It’s just lemon peels, grain alcohol, and rich simple syrup. Then let the mixture sit for a few weeks, giving it a shake every so often. Minimal effort, maximum pleasure. Rathbun’s most recent book is Dark Spirits.

CHOW Tips are the shared wisdom of our community. If you’ve figured out some piece of food, drink, or cooking wisdom that you’d like to share on video (and you can be in San Francisco), email Meredith Arthur and tell us what you’ve got in mind.

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POST A COMMENT |17 Comments

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  • The video does not mention anything about what ratio of sugar to water the simple syrup should be.....and different amounts of sugar to water confer different flavors to the finished product.

    Personally, the simple syrup should be added to the infusion of lemons and grain alcohol just before freezing the finished mixture before drinking, not during the aging process.

    To be a shamless self...+READ

    The video does not mention anything about what ratio of sugar to water the simple syrup should be.....and different amounts of sugar to water confer different flavors to the finished product.

    Personally, the simple syrup should be added to the infusion of lemons and grain alcohol just before freezing the finished mixture before drinking, not during the aging process.

    To be a shamless self promoter, I have a recipe, by weight, posted here:

    http://www.pizzablogger.org/index.php/2009/07/05/drinks-drink-related/pizzabloggers-home-made-limoncello/

    An video of my own to be finished soon that is more specific.

    That being said this video on Chowhound is very good in that it hopefully has encouraged some of you to make your own limoncello at home. It's easy to do and even better shared with friends!-COLLAPSE

  • I also add some fresh lemon juice after I finish making it. It gives it a fresh taste and a little more depth.

  • I made this recipe, but, although I thought it was wrong, used the peels (but tried to not have too much pith). I too thought that it looked like more than 1 ounce of simple syrup and so added more. Not sure how much, but I was disappointed in what I ended up with. I used coffee filters instead of cheesecloth. It did take quite a while to filter this way. The color that I ended up with was not...+READ

    I made this recipe, but, although I thought it was wrong, used the peels (but tried to not have too much pith). I too thought that it looked like more than 1 ounce of simple syrup and so added more. Not sure how much, but I was disappointed in what I ended up with. I used coffee filters instead of cheesecloth. It did take quite a while to filter this way. The color that I ended up with was not that nice clear yellow that I saw on the video. It was more urine-like and so was totally unappetizing. We tried to drink it but it was very bitter. I will try this again, but this time will do everything as it should have been shown correctly in the video.-COLLAPSE

  • If my limoncello isn't as thick as what you have there, could it be that the final alcohol content is too high?

    I used 95% alcohol and diluted it by about three, volume wise.

  • Also, gochrisgo, you can find grain alcohol hopefully in your local liquor store. But if not, ask for high proof vodka. It's not quite as potent, but darn close, and makes a good limoncello too.
    Cheers-
    A.J.

  • Hello Trudietootie and crm77--It was supposed to be a cup and a half, and thanks for the great catch. I was lucky enough to shoot a bunch of tips with the lovely folks at Chow on one day, and this was the last one. I think I must have had too much sampling during the tips (they were all cocktail related), leading to ths mistake.

    Oh, also, to Pyangas--I've never tried the Barenjager/Limoncello...+READ

    Hello Trudietootie and crm77--It was supposed to be a cup and a half, and thanks for the great catch. I was lucky enough to shoot a bunch of tips with the lovely folks at Chow on one day, and this was the last one. I think I must have had too much sampling during the tips (they were all cocktail related), leading to ths mistake.

    Oh, also, to Pyangas--I've never tried the Barenjager/Limoncello combo, but it sounds delicious. And, since I'm getting a cold, I can't wait to try it as a remedy.

    Cheers-
    A.J.-COLLAPSE

  • Try mixing it with Barenjager, the German Honey Liquer, for the best darn lemon and honey cold remedy you've ever had in your life.

  • trudietootie,

    You bet. I'm thinking he meant a CUP and a half, not an ounce and a half. That's what it looked like anyway.

  • didn't it seem from the video that more than an ounce and a half of simple syrup was added?

  • Where do you buy grain alcohol?

  • Funny that this was posted now, my wife Nikki and I were channel surfing last night and happened across the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun". It was the scene where the Italian guy is explaining to Diane Lane how to make limoncello. In any case, thanks for tips, this is a favorite drink of Nikki's that she wants to try her hand at making.

    Jonny
    www.SundaySauceNY.com

  • Xaga and Ciaolette (and mudaba)--Great point on the pith, and I'm sorry I didn't slip that in there when making the tip (I was nervous under the bright lights). I always try to avoid the pith, and usually suggest it, too, when talking limoncello (or any other homemade liqueur using citrus fruits). But I have to admit, I like the peeler more than a microplane (even if it means scraping off a...+READ

    Xaga and Ciaolette (and mudaba)--Great point on the pith, and I'm sorry I didn't slip that in there when making the tip (I was nervous under the bright lights). I always try to avoid the pith, and usually suggest it, too, when talking limoncello (or any other homemade liqueur using citrus fruits). But I have to admit, I like the peeler more than a microplane (even if it means scraping off a little of the pith with a paring knife after you’ve peeled). I find that a microplane forces too much of the essential oil out of the peel when using it--you can see it going out into the air when microplaning. This then reduces the flavor that's infused into the liquid ingredients. But mostly I’m just happy to know so many folks are making limoncello at home. That’s lots of fun. Cheers--COLLAPSE

  • After making limoncello, try making a sgroppino, a frothy lemon sorbetto from the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Traditionally made with lemon gelato, prosecco and vodka, my cousins from Portogruaro seem to think that it is perfectly acceptable to substitute limoncello for the vodka and spumante. On a recent visit I had a killer sgroppino with my cousins in Carole, a fishing port on the...+READ

    After making limoncello, try making a sgroppino, a frothy lemon sorbetto from the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Traditionally made with lemon gelato, prosecco and vodka, my cousins from Portogruaro seem to think that it is perfectly acceptable to substitute limoncello for the vodka and spumante. On a recent visit I had a killer sgroppino with my cousins in Carole, a fishing port on the Adriatic near Venice, now a summertime beach retreat for Italians on holiday. It was the perfect ending to a meal at La Ritrovata da Eugenio, a rustic seafood ristorante where we feasted on fish, mussels and rigatoni alla pescatora that was spectacular.-COLLAPSE

  • mudaba, Thank you for your question. We always use a microplane on the lemons. The zest gets filtered out very well if you use multifold layers of cheesecloth in a sieve. Easy and effective! We once tried a coffee filter, but that took hours and hours to filter.

  • Xaga and Ciaolette, Thanks for the heads-up! I am the person who actually peeled the lemons for AJ for that tip, and I used a vegetable peeler. Sounds like I should have used a microplane grater instead, although don't you then have the problem of the zest being too fragmented and sort of dissolving into the alcohol?

    Thanks again, Meredith of CHOW

  • I would agree with ciaolette. Although I don't doubt that the recipe provided would be fairly tasty, if you want just the lemon freshness, you will have to be more careful with the pith. I personally use a microplane grater rather than a vegetable peeler.

  • Um....I have been making limoncello for years, and all the recipes I have ever seen make a point, DO NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THE WHITE PITH of the lemon peel. In the video , I can see the peels he makes have lots of this white inner layer, that's bad, and makes the finished product bitter.
    IMHO