It’s easy to make limoncello: Soak a bunch of lemon rind in vodka for a couple of months. Strain the rind, add some simple syrup and bottle the golden liquid for gifts.
Eazy Peazy.
However, it’s even easier to ruin limoncello in one of two ways: 1, Include the pith, that bitter white part on the rind’s underbelly. 2. Leave the rinds soaking for so long that the liquid is hopelessly bitter.
Which brings me to this year’s limoncello batch. Mistakes were made. For more than six months I completely forgot about my stage-1 limoncello that sat in gallon jugs on the floor of my closet in the dark. Those lemon rinds soaked up the vodka and soaked and soaked and soaked. But at some point, the vodka started soaking up the lemon.
So here we are, poised upon the holidays’ doorstep. No way could I pass off the gallons of ruined limoncello that I’d made for gifts. It would be too bitter to drink. And it would require too much simple syrup to correct it.
Now’s a good time to mention what limoncello is supposed to be like: Lemony and sweet. Slightly viscous and completely translucent. Also, if you make it right, you should be able to put limoncello in the freezer, only it won’t freeze, because of the high alcohol content, which is why, if you have a choice, buy 100-proof vodka for limoncello, not 80-proof.
I couldn’t just keep adding more simple syrup, not if I wanted to store it in the freezer. Too much simple syrup and the bottle’s contents would freeze, expand, and shatter glass all over your Frigidaire.
Happy holidays, to you.
I’m loathe to waste food. Therefore, when life handed me bitter limoncello, I used it to make limoncello vinaigrette.
Here’s the recipe. It starts with overly bitter, unfit-to-drink limoncello. Be patient and I’ll share my recipe for limoncello, below. Learn from my mistake. Don’t forget about those soaking lemon rinds. You could wind up with a bitter ending.
No Regrets Limoncello Vinaigrette
1 cup hopelessly bitter limoncello 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest3 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon ground red-pepper flakes
2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Put everything except the olive oil and salt in a blender and turn the machine on high until everything’s combined.
With the blender running, slowly pour in the olive oil in a thing stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Doni’s Limoncello
1 dozen large, clean lemons (use more, if they’re small; try to find organic or home-grown lemons, if possible)
1.75 liters cheap vodka (preferably 100 proof, but 80 proof will work, too)
7 cups water
3 1/2 cups sugar
Remove just the yellow rind from the lemons. (The white pith is bitter.)
Pour the vodka into a wide-mouthed jar or container, preferably glass. Add the lemon peel. Cover tightly.
Leave the mixture in a cool, dark place for 2 to 8 weeks. (The longer it steeps, the more flavorful and colorful it will be.) Don’t stir it or fuss with it.
Weeks later ….
Boil the water and sugar in a heavy pot on the stove, stirring occasionally, for between 5 to 8 minutes, or until the syrup starts to thicken.
Remove from heat. Let cool.
Strain the lemon rinds from the vodka. (If you used a microplane, a final strain through cheesecloth will help remove remaining particles.)
Pour the cooled, simple syrup into the strained lemon liquid.
Pour into bottles. Allow bottles to rest for another 10 days or so in a cool, dark place.
Store the sealed bottles in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve or give as gifts.
