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(Experiment 76)Limoncello

Just before Covid, I travelled to Italy; while I did not go to the south, limoncello was everywhere. From a Canadian perspective, limoncello is a really really sweet liqueur and not very tasty. Once you taste the real stuff, now we are talking. While still sweet, they crank the alcohol to 30%+.

Another thing that struck me is the size of the lemon over there, they are big and much sweeter than what we get.

I cannot wait to go back there, until then, at least I have decent limoncello to sip

The final product contains about 32% alcohol and is sweet but not overly. If you live in a place where they grow lemons you are golden. I’m not 🙁


You need

  • 750ml 70% alcohol*
  • 9-10 organic lemons**
  • 380g sugar
  • 720g water

*If you are able to get 96% alcohol, you can use it, simply use 525g sugar & 1265g water. This will give you an extra 600ML of the liqueur
**Organic lemons? Yes, unfortunately, if you live in a place where lemons don’t grow, the lemons you get at the grocery have been chemically shooted and/or waxed. These will give a bitter taste to your precious drink.

Instructions

  1. First, wash the lemon under water and dry them. Using a knife or peeler, remove the peels from the lemons and put them in a large container that seals properly.
  2. Add your alcohol to the container and seal it
  3. Set aside for a minimum of 5 days and up to 30 days ( I usually stop midway) , the longer you wait the stronger the lemon flavor will be. Make sure to store it in a cool dark place.
Around day 15 you will notice the lemons have lost their colour.
  1. After the time has passed, put the water and sugar into a pot and bring to a simmer while stirring. Set aside to cool.
  2. Strain the lemon peels from the alcohol and put it in the water/sugar mix.
  3. Transfer into a bottle

Salut!

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