Five-Spice Limoncello
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 1250 milliliters (about 5 cups)
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 8 servings
- Calories
- 451
- Total Fat
- 1
- Saturated Fat
- 0
- Carbohydrates
- 67
- Dietary Fiber
- 5
- Sugar
- 54
- Protein
- 2
- Cholesterol
- 0
- Sodium
- 5
- Total: 1 day 35 min (includes infusing time)
- Active: 35 min
Ingredients
Limoncello:
3 pounds organic lemons (10 to 12 lemons, depending on size)
One 750-millilter bottle 80- to 100-proof vodka
Spiced Simple Syrup:
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 green cardamom pods, crushed
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
Directions
Special equipment:
glass serving bottles- For the limoncello: Wash and dry the lemons well. With a sharp Y-shaped vegetable peeler, remove all of the peel in strips. If there is any white pith on the underside of the peel, carefully remove it with a sharp paring knife.
- Put the lemon peels and vodka in a large glass bottle and tightly seal. Allow the bottle to sit in a cool, dark place for at least a week, checking and shaking gently every few days. After a week, the vodka should have turned a sunny yellow hue and smell lemony. If not, give it another few days. (The peels will look slightly less yellow than when you began, as their color has seeped into the vodka.)
- When you’re ready to bottle it, make the simple syrup.
- For the spiced simple syrup: Combine the sugar, Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder, cardamom, ginger and 2 cups (480 grams) water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
- Set a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a deep bowl or pot. Strain the lemon-vodka over the cheesecloth, pressing on the solids to extract as much lemon flavor as possible. Then, using the same cheesecloth-lined sieve, strain the simple syrup. Remove the sieve and discard the cheesecloth and solids. Stir the simple syrup into the limoncello.
- Use a funnel to transfer the limoncello to serving bottles. Screw the caps on tightly and store in the refrigerator. Serve chilled. Limoncello will keep indefinitely, months or more, in the refrigerator.