In addition to Homemade Vanilla Extract, I made some Homemade Lemon Extract to give as gifts this year. I used the same cute 2 oz amber bottles from specialtybottle.com and designed the labels myself.
Making lemon extract is very similar to making vanilla extract, except it doesn't need to sit and process nearly as long and you use lemons instead of vanilla beans (obviously).
I found this recipe online and followed it mostly, except I roughly doubled it and omitted the sugar. My recipe included the rind / peel of two lemons and roughly a cup of 80-proof vodka (40% alcohol).
I added the lemon rind directly to the vodka bottle |
The lemon extract after sitting for about 6 days |
The recipe linked above says to let it sit for about a month, but after only 6 days the mixture didn't smell like vodka anymore and had a strong lemon extract scent. I think using a lot of lemon rind and less vodka than other recipes I found online. I'm going to let it sit for about two weeks and then try the recipe to see how it works! Look for an updated post in a couple weeks with the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipe and comments on how the extract turned out!
In the meantime, I have the 2 oz bottles ready to go! I designed a cute little lemon with a happy face to add to the label to make it a little more fun and less formal than the Vanilla Extract. The label reads: "Homemade Pure Lemon Extract. ingredients: lemon rind, vodka, and a pinch of love." The labels are adhered and the top tied with yellow and white baker's twine.
Easy Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipe card |
Nice, I wonder if orange makes a good extract?
ReplyDeleteHi Dan :) I think I'll try Orange next, it's just way too easy to make extracts!
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