I have been making Limoncello for about 3 years. It tastes really good, but I can't get the cloudy appearance the Commercial product has. Looking at recipes for "Creme di Limoncello" (which uses milk and cream), I am thinking of substituting some no fat milk for water in the simple syrup.
Does anyone have an opinion about this, or tried it?
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I don't have solid answers- but milk seems not ideal. I've heard of brewers using a little regular flour to haze up a beer. Not sure if it will stay in suspension and work for limoncello.– robCommented Apr 12, 2021 at 12:49
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1Funny, we like our limoncello real clear. But there is a difference between limoncello, which is normally around 37% ABV, and limoncello creme liqueur, which is only around 20% ABV, and which falls more in line with other creme liqueurs.– chthonCommented Apr 12, 2021 at 14:22
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3 Answers
Limoncello cloudiness comes from what is generally called Louching, where some of the oils that are soluble in alcohol but not in water come out of solution as it is diluted. If your limoncello isn't cloudy, its because it either doesn't have enough of these oils, or isn't low enough proof, or some combination of the two factors.
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This is correct. Louching is generally seen as a mark of a low quality product because of it's low ABV.– CoomieCommented Sep 28, 2022 at 8:00
If you start steeping lemons in 96% pure alcohol and let it sit for 3 weeks, the alcohol will also strip the oils from the lemon peel. The water in the sugar syrup that you add later will make the limoncello cloudy. If you make limoncello from vodka and let it steep for 3 weeks, the water in the vodka will stop the oil extraction and your limoncello will stay clear. That's why making limoncello always starts with pure alcohol.
I had a very hard time finding Everclear which my recipe called for so I did find 151 proof vodka and I use that all the time. I just found out that you want limoncello to be cloudy. I let my infusion sit for 6 to 8 weeks before I add my simple syrup once I add the syrup to the infusion it clouds perfectly. I am only using coffee filters right now to filter out the infusion so there’s no solids.
