Ingredient to stabilize Limoncello?

I've made Limoncello from various citrus for a couple of years now, mostly different lemon and orange varieties. Before this year I have always made it the traditional way, steeping rind in high proof neutral alcohol (Everclear 75.5% ABV) for several weeks before adding sugar syrup.

This year I decided to try using an ISI whipper for a quick infusion for some experimental batches. The extraction seemed to work well but for some reason after a few weeks there is a surprising amount of separation going on in the bottle. When left to sit the liquid loses a lot of its color, as well as much of its cloudiness. A thin layer of waxy looking dark colored residue forms on the top of the liquid and on the sides of the bottle at the liquid level. Shaking for a couple of seconds restores the milky look to the ‘cello and shaking for a couple of minutes re-dissolves the residue back into the liquid.

An initial thought might be that this is wax or some other residue from the rind but the fruit is all home grown, never treated with anything, and thoroughly washed with a natural product designed to remove all residues (including wax) from commercially purchased fruit.

What I am assuming is happening is that the oils are coming out of solution for some reason, but I can't figure out why. The only thing I think I did different this year (other than using the whipper) was that I just heated the sugar/water mixture in the microwave until it became clear rather than boiling it for 10-15 minutes, not sure if that could explain it.

Does anybody have any experience or suggestions as to what I might be able to add to the ‘cello to help keep it together?

Cheers

HW

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Comments

Chris_Young_80640

@HappyWino — Do you have a before or after photo? Not sure off the top of my head, but a couple of photos showing the stages of emulsion break down might help me suggest some possibilities.

james.denissen

No help here, but I've always had this issue with home made Limoncello. Exact same problem, where a thin film of yellowish sludge gathers around the edges of the bottle. A good shake fixes it temporarily.

happywino

@Chris - Three photos attached, Before.jpg is how they were when I pulled them out of the pantry last night. After.jpg is how they were after shaking them for 30-45 seconds. Morning.jpg is how they were this morning after letting them sit on the counter all night, slightly different angle to maybe give a better idea of how the "scum" on top looks

I have to be honest and say I don't remember for sure whether I passed the infused alcohol through coffee filters before adding the sugar syrup, I nearly always do but these were made at a friends house so I can't be 100% sure.

Chris_Young_80640

@HappyWino — Interesting. My initial guess is that you've extracted something that is not very soluble in the water/ethanol mixture (but is somewhat soluble under higher pressure) and this material is promoting oil droplet flocculation and coalescence, which drives the phase separation. Higher molecular weight oils would be one possible explanation.

As to what you can do... Probably not much. Increasing the ethanol content may help. You might try a glycerol monosterate or gum arabic *might* work, but at this alcohol level I'm really not sure. You can get these ingredients at Modernist Pantry if you want to try.

http://www.modernistpantry.com/Emulsification.html

happywino

but at this alcohol level I'm really not sure.

@Chris, what alcohol levels start to present a problem? I believe them to be in the 30-35% ABV in these 'cellos.

Thanks

HW

Chris_Young_80640

I would guess that when you drop below 45%, perhaps 40%.

Bearded_Chef_132669

I know this is an old article, but did you ever find a solution to this separation problem? I've been making Limoncello for years around the 35% ABV mark, and never had separation before, but this time I did. The only difference I saw was I didn't filter the alcohol solution after separation. Usually I do. My guess is theres some sort of particle that must be large enough to separate the emulsion. Going to filter with my next batch to see if that makes a difference.