Limoncello Quest

Testing the Merits of Organic Lemons

I started two new batches this week to test whether using organic lemons adds to the flavor or quality of the Limoncello. I have absolutely no doubt that it reduces toxins in the finished product since it’s the outside of the lemon that is used in making the Limoncello. However, I’ve heard it said that using organic lemons produces a much greater lemon flavor so I wanted to put that claim to the test. The differences in the lemons themselves are obvious from the start. The organic lemons were literally about half the size of the normal ones and they had more blemishes on the surface as you can see from the photos. The first picture shows the organic lemons. As a result of the smaller size, I used 23 organic lemons and 15 normal lemons to get roughly the same quantity of zest.

Organic LemonsZesting Non-Organic Lemons

I added the zest to two separate containers filled with 100 proof Smirnoff vodka that I filtered 5 times. You can tell that the organic lemons are producing a much darker colored infusion after only a couple days. The normal lemon infusion looks like they injected the lemons with chartreuse by comparison, pretty amazing difference. These two are batches 7 and 8, I’ll keep you updated on their progress.
Organic vs. Non-Organic Lemon Infusions

2 Responses to “Testing the Merits of Organic Lemons”

  1. Keith says:

    Ciao!

    Thanks for the comment on my blog. Your blog is also quite interesting. I haven’t had a chance to try making my own limoncello yet, but it seems like you have made an art and a science out of it. Quite interesting what you’ve done here. When I write a blog post about limoncello, I’ll be sure to include your blog as a good reference point.

    Keith

  2. Sarandi says:

    Hi there! I don’t remember when it struck me that limoncello couldn’t be terribly difficult to make. Not as resource dependent as brewing beer for example - but still a challenge. Thank you for commenting on my website and for tackling much of the guesswork. This will make things far easier! If there’s anything I can help you with, or would care for me to write about, let me know. I mostly write about food and nutrition, though also adept at numerous other things. It’d be nice to give something back.

Leave a Reply