Why didn't my limoncello turn cloudy?

November 8, 2013 11:01 AM

I watched a video where a guy mixes his simple syrup with the month-old alcohol/lemon peel infusion, and the mixture became cloudy. I let my lemon alcohol get filtered, then sit for way longer than a month before adding the syrup. Was this a mistake? Now I add the syrup and it's just clear yellow liquid.
posted by film to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

I'm just guessing, but if the sugar syrup is just water and sugar, than that cloudiness (known as the louche effect) is probably oils in the water/alcohol solution being suddenly less soluble because of the water. Does your lemoncello have oil from the peel in it?
posted by TheTingTangTong at 11:08 AM on November 8, 2013

The Ouzo effect might be relevant here. It's possible that your infusion doesn't contain any essential oils.
posted by pipeski at 11:11 AM on November 8, 2013

Response by poster: I did let the zest/peel sit for the recommended time, and the peel:alcohol ratio was to specs. The lemons were from a backyard tree...

TheTingTangTong is a great word to say in your head, btw!
posted by film at 11:20 AM on November 8, 2013

It's possible that your infusion doesn't contain any essential oils.

Exactly. How did you make your "lemon alcohol"? Did you steep a LOT of peels in strong alcohol (e.g., 100 proof vodka, or even Everclear)? That's what it takes to get a nice cloudy limoncello. I used the peels of 10 lemons in a fifth of liquor, and it wasn't enough (still delicious, though).
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 11:21 AM on November 8, 2013

Best answer: I once asked why my limoncello got so cloudy and got a ton of fascinating information about why it happens. I think you will find it an interesting read.

I now know a lot more about what makes my limoncello cloudy. Higher proof alcohol and more lemon peel increase the cloudiness. In my personal opinion (and that of my many, many tasters), higher peel to alcohol ratios make better cello. If yours was not cloudy, I'd wager that you used vodka or low proof grain and less lemon peel than what I'd consider optimal.

I also find that augmenting my lemon with a modest amount of pineapple (say about half a pineapple for a 1.5 liter batch) adds a terrific depth of flavor that you don't get with just simple sugar and you would never in a million years guess it was pineapple that was added.

There are a ton of different recipes out there. If you'd like to offer yours up I'd be happy to discuss it in more detail. I'd estimate I've now made somewhere on the order of 25 gallons of limoncello, so I've got a fair amount of practical expertise.

Also, letting it sit a long time is never a problem. I think longer resting time is better although the value of it diminishes over time. But I've let it sit for as long as a year as part of my ongoing experiment to find the perfect batch.
posted by Lame_username at 1:16 PM on November 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Mandymanwasregistered and I run our own limoncello side gig with locally-foraged citrus, and our batches usually take about a year to a year and a half to get the best, most robust flavor. We tend to use lower-proof (vodka) liquor, due to state regs, but use a LOT of citrus peel, and we also find that adding some fresh lemon juice at the end helps give an even deeper lemon flavor (and also means that it's pretty damn cloudy).
posted by klangklangston at 1:22 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Lame_username, yes, great read! And thank you for the offer to fine-tune my recipe.

I have to warn you that I am a total n00b, but I must admit it's pretty fun to become obsessed about something like this. I never knew it could be so complicated! If you don't mind, I will lay out a bunch of questions, and please feel free to answer any that you like (or not).

The recipe I used:
• 10 lemons' peel (avoiding pith)
• 750ml 80-proof vodka
Let sit for 5 months in cool, dry place.
Filter through paper cone coffee filters, 3 passes.
Store the liquor bottled in a cabinet.
Later, add simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio).

Questions I now have:
• Can I just add lemon essential oil to my current batch? (Definitely seems wrong, but if so, I wonder why it wouldn't be a viable option)
• Can I infuse more lemon zest to my already-infused (but without sugar added) vodka?
• If you add pineapple how much sugar do you reduce?

What I would do differently next time:
• Use Everclear. The taste of vodka is definitely present.
• MOAR LEMONS
• Add pineapple

Thank you!
posted by film at 12:14 AM on November 9, 2013

Oh, one thing that will help: Don't use peel. Just use zest. Well, we use vegetable peelers to get it off, but really, super thin. Then we filter through cheesecloth rather than cone filters, because they take so damn long and we've always got cheesecloth.
posted by klangklangston at 12:18 AM on November 9, 2013

I currently use 40 lemons for a 1.5 l batch, using two 750ml bottles of Everclear 190 proof as my base spirit. I have become convinced that the initial stage where you dissolve the lemon oils in the alcohol really doesn't have to be as long as people say. In blind taste tests, I find that no one can distinguish periods of longer than about 30 days, so I usually use 60 days to be safe. Having said that, it is also the case that no one can distinguish the flavor of limoncello that has sat on the peel for a year either, so I really think that it doesn't matter at all once you have dissolved the oils, which probably mostly happens fairly quickly. If you use lower proof Everclear or vodka, it will take longer. I am convinced that the high proof Everclear makes a substantially better product.

However, aging is still important. But I've found that you can age it after you filter and add the sugar water. There are huge improvements in the flavor for at least 6 months and I actually think that the flavors continue to mellow and blend for probably 18 months to 2 years. Younger limoncello has more alcohol burn and a more pronounced sweetness. Older stuff seems to mellow and the flavors meld together.

Unlike klangklanston, I'm a huge believer in the value of filtration. I think it is a good idea to use a cheesecloth for the first pass because it traps the huge particles, but I think you want fine filtration for subsequent passes. I've switched from coffee filters to using a Buchner funnel and filtration paper which filters more quickly and I think more effectively. I use a coarser grade of Whatman filter paper for the two passes and a finer grade for two more. In my experience, if you don't filter as well you experience some harsher burning and off flavors. I used coffee filters for years and had good results with that, it just takes a very long time to do large volumes of 'cello.

The amount of sugar you use is really a matter of taste. My current recipe is 4 parts sugar to 5 parts water if I don't add pineapple and 3.5 parts sugar to 5 parts water if I do. My wife and some of my tasters prefer a sweeter mix, so I will sometimes still keep it at 4 to 5 with the added pineapple. I used to use a 1:1 simple syrup and I found that some tasters preferred it to the 4:5 syrup, but I find it cloying and overly sweet for my preference.

klangklangston and I are in complete agreement that you want to be very careful with the peels. Even small bits of pith adds an unpleasant taste. I use a microplane, which is very fast and allows you to completely avoid getting any pith at all. I also suspect that the finer zest allows the alcohol to extract the essential oils more quickly, although I've not proved it. I have done simultaneous batches with microplane zest compared to carefully peeled zest and people can always distinguish the two and prefer the microplane stuff.

Some people do add essential oils or lemon juice to their finished product. I personally don't, and the only thing I've tested is adding juice. It creates a more "bright" lemon flavor but lacks a depth of flavor. I can always pick out the batches that have it, but when I tested it with my friends, most people could not readily identify which batch was which so I stopped messing with it.

You can absolutely add more peel to a batch that you have already processed so long as you haven't added the simple syrup yet. Once you do that, it loses its potency to dissolve the oils, but up to that point you can absolutely add more zest. I did some experiments with batches where I dissolved lemon zest, filtered and then added orange or lime and extracted them into the same alcohol. The less said about the results of those batches, the better, but it totally works.
posted by Lame_username at 4:19 PM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Regarding the Pineapple, do you dice it and add to the zest infusion. Then filter it out with the zest?
posted by Pecantree at 8:47 PM on November 9, 2013

"I use a microplane, which is very fast and allows you to completely avoid getting any pith at all."

So, we went with a microplane for a couple of batches, but found that the zest actually ends up too small and needs finer filtration than we're into. With a deft touch, a veggie peeler or paring knife can get all the zest from a lemon in one (long) turn. This is especially important in yuzu, which has a more uneven peel but gives a nice sharp tartness.

" In blind taste tests, I find that no one can distinguish periods of longer than about 30 days, so I usually use 60 days to be safe."

I think our longer process is a lot more a function of using a lower proof alcohol, but I'll also say that I think your filtration process is part of this. Like, thinking about coffee filters, those pull out a lot more oil than cheesecloth does, and when we're balancing against the lemon juice too, having that extra oil from a longer extraction really helps.

" I personally don't, and the only thing I've tested is adding juice. It creates a more "bright" lemon flavor but lacks a depth of flavor. I can always pick out the batches that have it, but when I tested it with my friends, most people could not readily identify which batch was which so I stopped messing with it."

See, we get tremendous depth of flavor, a lot more than traditional limoncello, but I'll also say that both Amanda and I prefer a limoncello that's much tarter than traditional limoncello. We still use simple syrup, but our recipe ends up about two parts lemon vodka (infused), and a part each lemon juice and simple syrup. We futz with it based on the batch and the lemons, since they're always a bit different, but that's the basic balance.
posted by klangklangston at 10:45 PM on November 9, 2013

I think our longer process is a lot more a function of using a lower proof alcohol, but I'll also say that I think your filtration process is part of this. Like, thinking about coffee filters, those pull out a lot more oil than cheesecloth does

You are definitely right that you need to use a longer soak to maximize the extraction when you use vodka or reduced strength grain. Do you find that just using cheesecloth that you get some floating particulate matter that leaves a line at the top of the bottle? I always had that issue with my less well-filtered batches. I'm always curious about exactly what gets filtered. I don't think it is the essential oils, which are in suspension in the liquid because I don't think the filtered product loses any "lemony" notes. The preference for filtered vs unfiltered limoncello was the subject of my first ever testing (because I was hoping to eliminate it when I used coffee filters because it took forever) and people overwhelmingly preferred the filtered product.

See, we get tremendous depth of flavor, a lot more than traditional limoncello, but I'll also say that both Amanda and I prefer a limoncello that's much tarter than traditional limoncello. We still use simple syrup, but our recipe ends up about two parts lemon vodka (infused), and a part each lemon juice and simple syrup.

I suspect our tastes are fairly similar -- I find many traditional limoncellos to be far too sweet for my liking. Its especially challenging when you use vodka, since any syrup will significantly dilute the alcohol. I like to use roughly equal volumes of my syrup to the grain so that I end up with a 90 proof product. I think the heat of the alcohol is an essential component of the flavor.

However, I've never used anywhere near the volume of lemon juice that you add. I'm now really interested to attempt a batch that tries to approach your proportions. My testing process is that I first make people taste three samples and they have to be able to recognize which two are the same. If that doesn't work, I don't bother to A/B test to see which they like better. I've only ever attempted to add juice to something like 5% juice, where it sounds like your product is more like 25% juice.
posted by Lame_username at 10:04 AM on November 10, 2013