| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 8 days 4 hr 40 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 2 quarts plus 1 cup (36 2-ounce servings) |
Ingredients
- 14 organic lemons
- 1 liter vodka
- 3 cups sugar
Instructions
- Grate the zest from the lemons using a Microplane grater, taking care to leave the pith behind. Place the zest in a 3-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over it and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a spot where it won’t be disturbed, at room temperature, and let steep 1 week.
- Combine 3 1/2 cups water and the sugar in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Let cool completely, then pour the syrup into the pitcher with the zest and stir. Cover tightly again and let stand for 24 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Pour into clean bottles with tight-fitting caps. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 1 month.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 24 servings |
| Calories | 197 |
| Total Fat | 0 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 28 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 26 g |
| Protein | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 1 mg |
Reviews
I peeled the lemons lightly with a peeler making sure to leave the pith behind. It turned out great! Best thing ever served with crushed ice. I’m busy making a second batch.
I put mine in the freezer ! Icy delicious
I love this recipe and have made it several times. All who have tried it have asked for the recipe. I refer them to this recipe because I changed nothing.
What do you do with all the juice from the tested lemons?? How long will the juice keep in the frig?
I have a question…I started to make this month’s ago then got sidetracked with my job. My vodka has been steeping with lemon zest for a couple of months. Im hoping that the flavour isn’t to strong. Are there any old Italians following that can advise? My Italian Nono passed away and he was my go to for everything Italian. I know he would tell me to taste it and find out how the lemon vodka tasted, but just wondering if there is anyone else on this thread to advise?
Just finished making it and it is amazing! It will make great gifts.
Just made Valerie’s lemon cello. It is so good! My plan was to mix it with hibiscus green, which I still may soon, but honestly it’s great straight. It’s cold, lemony and potent. In other words, it’s perfect all alone!
Following several other comments, I let mine “brew” for 3 weeks, added the sugar syrup and let sit for about 36 hours because I got too busy to deal with it in 24 hours. It is sooooo good!! I only used 11 large lemons, not 14, and it is still plenty lemony. I think we will be having a little sip of this every evening out on the deck this summer!
This was my first attempt at Limoncello…I’ll never buy it again. It was so much fun…like a science project! And the result was amazing. I read some of the reviews and let it sit for 2 weeks…result: Yummy! Thank you Valarie!
I just tasted my limoncello and it was amazing. I followed the ingredients but used the 3 week sitting time and then let the sugar mixture sit before straining the zest. I have never had limoncello before and actually dislike anything lemon but making this was on my bucket list. Since I can’t go to Italy during this pandemic, why not try making limoncello !! Thank you! Can’t wait to share with my friends !!