Last Saturday night,
in a fit of post-Collingwood-loss-to-Hawthorn-crankiness, I needed a domestic distraction
to keep myself busy and prevent the usual depressive dwelling that follows
after a disastrous Magpies defeat.
Holey socks were
darned, folded and put away; dinner was Thai takeaway and a bottle of wine in
an hour’s time; the bathtub gleamed from a thorough bleaching and the carpets
had been vacuumed to within a millimetre of the skirting boards. What was there
left to do?
I spied the ¾ full
bottle of grappa on my drinks trolley and a bowl of lemons and decided I would
make Limoncello. Without
bothering to do any research, and based on a half-assed-barely-remembered conversation
with a work colleague from about a year ago, I dug out an empty 750ml glass bottle
with a rubber stopper/seal, a potato peeler, nine lemons and the bottle of grappa.
I remembered the first step – infusing a clear, base spirit with natural lemon
oil. The other stuff (sweetening and diluting it) happens later. Obviously, I
know enough to get started.
I washed the bottle
in hot soapy water, rinsed it thoroughly, then put it in a hot oven for 10
minutes to sterilise and dry. While that was happening, I peeled the lemons
carefully, ensuring I didn’t scoop up too much of the pith then shoved the
peels through the narrow neck of the bottle until it was half full. I then
poured the grappa over the peel, but wasn’t able to fill the bottle. Not enough
grappa, damn. Aha, that’s when the bottle of Ciroc vodka (also grape-based)
came in handy – I topped up the bottle with the vodka, inserted the rubber
stopper and stuck it on the bottom shelf of my pantry cupboard.
Four days later, the
grappa is turning a bright, fluoro yellow and the peels have faded to a dull
cream colour. I know that in 4-6 weeks, I should remove the peels and top up
the bottle with sugar syrup and then let it steep in the freezer for another
4-6 weeks, after which it will be ready for drinking.
Okay, NOW, I decide
to do some research. Bless the internet and the staff at that amazing bottle shop on Queen Street.
Apparently, I have flubbed my first attempt at Limoncello.
Why? How?
It appears grappa
with 40-50% alcohol content isn’t strong enough and will take FOREVER to
extract the full amount of lemon oil (try 6-8 weeks). The nice lass at the
bottle shop recommended I replace the old peels with a fresh batch in a couple
of weeks to really enhance the lemon essence.
Apparently, the base
alcohol for extracting the lemon oil should be the strongest you can get – like
180 proof ‘Spiritus’
a flavourless Polish spirit with a 95% alcohol “DANGER: BLINDNESS AND NUMBNESS
IN YOUR FINGERS AHEAD” label slapped on it. In the USA you would use Everclear (AKA moonshine).
I understand it’s illegal in some American states…
One 700ml bottle of ‘Spiritus’
can be spread out over 3-4 750ml bottles of lemon peel (you only pour in enough
to cover the peels), will take 6-7 days to extract the oil, and can be topped
up with equal parts grain vodka (40% alcohol is fine) and sugar syrup straight
after. Easy peasy. The closest you’ll get to the real deal in a third of the
time it will take me to make my crappy first-time concoction.
Oh well.
By mid September, it
should be good enough to pour over ice in a long glass, add some mint, a wedge
of lime and topped up with tonic water. I hope.
In the meantime, I will
get started on another batch using the right base and see how that goes.
Stay tuned for
Limoncello updates.
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