Briefly about fascinating details.
The origin of the "cultured" lemon fruits is associated with the first Chinese emperors, or rather, with their court healers.
Another version of the origin of the lemon is associated with India. The history and geography of these states goes back deep into the millennia.
The two oldest civilizations on earth are famous for their deep knowledge, including in the field of medicine, so any version has a right to exist. But we will leave a detailed study of this issue to historians and archaeologists and dwell on moments that are relevant to the secrets of preparing tinctures with lemon for alcohol.
As a tropical culture, lemon quickly encircled the globe and became a universal remedy not only in medicine and cooking, but also in everyday life.
Apparently, following the traditions of Chinese monks, healing potions based on it continued to be created by both Avicenna and the monks of the Middle Ages.
For a long time, however, lemon tinctures, like all other types, were considered exclusively a medicine. The compositions of tinctures and balms for a long time were kept in the strictest confidence.
In Russia, potions were originally prepared by medicine men on water, and later on vodka (derived from the word "water"). Tinctures have always been very popular in Russia, and therefore their range is constantly replenished, both among the nobility and among ordinary peasants.
So that the healing balms and tinctures are not too bitter, honey and later syrup or sugar are added to them. By the way, honey in the composition of medicinal potions was also given an important place as a valuable natural component.
Tincture on a lemon - basic technological principles
Any tincture can be prepared at home, following the example of ancient ancestors, and no special equipment or rare expensive ingredients are needed for this. Well, maybe just a little. But nowadays, any ingredient can be obtained right under the door within a few hours by making a couple of “clicks” in an extensive network of specialized online stores. Just for starters, you still need to go through a little theoretical training in order to make a purchase plan for ingredients and materials, to think about their further application.
Tinctures are divided into alcohol, water-alcohol and water, which have recently been called infusions or just tea.
Why is this classification necessary? It is known that water and alcohol are solvents, i.e. extractants. Any ingredients of tinctures, be it herbs, roots, fruits or berries, getting into an aqueous or alcoholic environment begin to dissolve (be extracted), transferring their elements to a liquid.
But it must be borne in mind that the beneficial properties of the same lemon are stored in water and in alcohol in different ways.
For example, vitamin C, which is rich in the fruits of lemons, has extremely unstable properties and is almost completely destroyed when heated in water above 40Ϲ. For the essential oils contained in lemon, alcohol is the best solvent. When starting to prepare tinctures on lemon, you must first decide on the choice of the elements necessary for extraction: vitamins, essential oils, organic acids.
For the maximum extraction of essential oils, alcohol of the highest strength is used. But alcohol destroys vitamin C, as does hot water. Take into account this nuance in the preparation of tinctures with lemon on alcohol. It should be understood that adding juice to tincture of lemons on alcohol is not practical, because the vitamins contained in the juice are better used in some other way, preventing their complete destruction in the alcoholized liquid. By the way, it should be noted that the content of ascorbic acid in the citrus peel is much higher than in the juice, but the peel is insisted on alcohol specifically to obtain the maximum amount of essential oils.
Taking into account that for high-quality extraction of lemon components alcohol is taken, with a strength above 70%, further dilution of the tincture depends on the requirements for the recipe. To achieve the desired degree, knowing the strength of alcohol, you can use the ratio of 2: 3, where 2 parts - alcohol; 3 parts - water. Of course, distilled water must be used for this purpose. You can reduce the strength of tinctures by adding pre-prepared syrup, on juice or water. Sometimes vodka is used for infusion, but the duration of extraction in this case increases from three weeks to six months. If the taste composition of rum, brandy or brandy does not conflict with the rest of the ingredients of lemon tincture, then these drinks can also be used to dissolve the essential oils of lemons.
The next criterion for choosing the extractant is the purpose of the tincture. It is known that lemon essential oil is very widely used in both industrial and home cosmetology. It is a wonderful tool for eliminating unpleasant odors in the room. Lemon juice is used as a bleaching agent, stain remover. In cooking, lemon fruits are also a universal ingredient in the preparation of sauces, tonic drinks, and confectionery.
Lemon is also part of home immunomodulating tinctures, vascular strengthening agents, and antiviral formulations.
If the tincture with lemon for alcohol has a purely household purpose (fragrance for linen or detergents, air freshener, cleaning agent), then, of course, sugar and other sweet components are not included in its composition. In this case, the use of technical alcohol is allowed, unlike lemon tinctures intended for internal use.
The next scale is the classification of tinctures by sugar content. Tinctures are bitter (they are considered masculine), sweet and semi-sweet - ladies. But such a division does not speak about the sugar content, but about the alcohol content, which ranges from 16% (for sweet tinctures) to 60% - for the bitter. The sugar content in tinctures reaches 15-50%. Sweet tinctures are liquors with a similar manufacturing technology.
Tincture, which includes a complex herbal collection, is called a balm or bittner. Balms, as a rule, belong to the pharmaceutical group. The composition of those that can be found on sale in a pharmacy is easy to determine by reading the name on the label, although it is unlikely that it will be possible to make exactly the tincture of this composition due to the complexity of the technology. Therefore, the taste and properties of such a balm will only remotely resemble the original. To solve the secret composition of such famous balms as “Riga”, “Amaro Montenegro”, “Bitter”, “Amer Picon” to the end is not possible, because it is a commercial secret. One-component tinctures receive, as a rule, the name of the main ingredient in its composition: anise, pepper, nut, mint.
The range of additives used for tinctures on lemon tends to expand, including due to the invention of new recipes by home craftsmen.
1. Tincture with lemon on vodka - a refreshing liquor
Composition:
Alcohol 96.3% (lux) 100 mg
Peppermint (fresh leaves) 200 g
Lemons 1.0 kg (fresh zest and juice)
Sugar 600 g
Vodka 40% 400 ml
Distilled water 250 ml
Cooking:
Start making liquor with peppermint tincture. Chop the leaves of fresh mint, put it in a jar of dark glass or an opaque dish with a tight-fitting lid. Pour the greens with alcohol so that it is completely covered with it. It is necessary to insist mint on alcohol for at least three weeks, but it is better to leave it like this until the start of the production of liquor. Strain the obtained hood. Wash the lemons, remove the zest, being careful not to cut off the white shell with it. Pour the peeled lemons with boiling water, cut in half and squeeze the juice out of them. From one kilogram of large lemons, 0.5 liters of juice should be obtained. Add sugar to it, stir until dissolved. Pour the mixture into a jar (1.5 l), close the lid and place the pasteurized syrup in a water bath. Warm the syrup, but do not let it boil. Steam the syrup to a clear and viscous consistency. Set aside ready-made syrup for natural cooling. Do not open the jar.
Place the cut zest in a separate jar and, having tightly closed it, remove it to a dark place for at least ten days. After this, strain the vodka, pour the filtered peppermint tincture into it. Shuffle. Pour the alcoholic extract into the water, mix thoroughly again and then pour the composition into the syrup. Stir the liquor again. It can be stored in one large jar or bottled and sealed, but be sure to give time for infusion (at least a month) to get a uniform taste. The ideal aging period is from 6 months to a year.
2. Tincture of lemon on alcohol - an extract for baking and other dishes
Often alcohol additives are used in baking, with their help they bring meat dishes to taste.
You can prepare such an extract at home, especially if you are engaged in the preparation of lemon juice. You can collect a sufficient amount of lemon zest gradually, each time cutting it off from lemons during the preparation of marinades, sauces, tonic drinks. Store the peeled zest in an airtight container in the freezer until the expiration date.
Composition:
Refined oil (odorless) 50 ml
Lemon zest, fresh 300 g
Alcohol 96% 50 mg
Cooking:
Put the chopped zest in a small bowl, mix with oil, pour in alcohol. Mash the composition with your hands or pestle until the juice is allocated and transfer to a jar. Close the lid, in the center of which insert a plastic tube into the cut hole. Lower the other end of the tube into a glass vial and secure it tightly (tie a bandage soaked in a liquid mixture of flour and water. Put the jar in a large pot of water, set the yoke on it so that it does not turn over during boiling. Put the pan on a fire and let it boil. Next to the stove, put another pan or bowl, fill it with ice and pass through it a plastic tube connecting the jar and the vial. When the pan is heated on the stove, steam from the jar will exit through the tube. it will turn into a liquid and flow into a vial. In fact, this device is a home-made distillation apparatus. In this way, extracts can be obtained from any raw material containing aromatic essential oils. The finished extract will only have to be tightly corked by removing the tube from the vial and putting it in a dark place .
3. Tincture with lemon and garlic: from the piggy bank of folk recipes
Prepare a popular infusion, which in early spring will help cope with vitamin deficiency, increase the body's immunity in the fight against viruses. Do not be afraid that garlic is part of it. This specific smell in the tincture is completely not perceptible.
Composition:
Prepared water 0.5 L
Lemons 1 kg
Garlic 300 g
Vodka (40%) 2 L
Honey, linden (fresh) 1.0 L
Rosehip (dried fruit) 250 g
Cooking:
Grind prepared garlic and lemons. Put the mixture in a jar with a capacity of at least 5 liters and add the rose hips there. You can use non-dried fruits, but in this case their number needs to be increased. It is better to make the jar opaque: for this, wrap it with a layer of foil. Boil water and immediately pour it into a jar, stir the mixture. Wrap to create a thermos effect. When the mass has cooled to 30-40Ϲ, add honey and stir again. Pour vodka into the cold mixture. Keep the jar in a dark place, tightly corked for at least 10 days. It is better to filter through cotton wool wrapped in a layer of gauze.
Do not give to children and adults with individual intolerance to one or more ingredients.
4. Tincture with lemon and honey "Taiga", bitter
Composition:
Ethyl alcohol (96%) 700 ml
Lemons 1.5 kg
Water prepared 330 ml
Rosehip (fruits)
Guelder-rose (juice)
Orange peel
Raspberries (dried flowers, leaves and berries)
Pharmacy chamomile
Calamus root
Plantain leaf
Mint
Birch buds
Ginseng root
Honey, floral 900 g
Cooking:
For this tincture you will need small jars according to the number of dry ingredients. Take dry herbs, roots and fruits in equal amounts, carefully chop and arrange separately in jars. Also, according to the number of cans, divide the alcohol and pour it into each container. Stir, tightly seal the jars and store for long periods away from light.
At the second stage of preparation, thoroughly clean the prepared tinctures from precipitation by passing them through the filter. Connect together, adjusting the taste of the future tincture as you wish: add more saturated aromas of tinctures, if desired, in a smaller amount. Again, let the combined ingredients infuse together (15-20 days). At the same time, put peeled lemon zest on the alcohol.
Combine the juice of lemons with water and boil. In the cooled broth, put honey, stir, pour into containers with lids and freeze until the tincture of lemon zest is ready.
Combine the thawed honey-lemon drink with tincture on the lemon zest, having previously cleaned it of impurities. Add cooked herbal extract. Pour all the liquid into bottles, seal. Steam them up to 60-70Ϲ, cool and put them in a closet or pantry.
5. Tincture on a lemon - the famous Italian "Limoncello"
Tinctures are prepared not only for medicinal purposes. A significant amount of sugar in the recipe indicates that the prepared drink is intended to be consumed as an aperitif or as a complement to dessert. In addition, a high strength translates tincture into the category of liquors.
Composition:
Sugar and purified water in equal proportions;
Alcohol 96.3% 500 ml
Lemons 1.2 kg
Cooking:
Cut the zest and put it in a jar of alcohol. Seal so that the alcohol does not evaporate. You need to withstand as much as you have enough patience, but you can limit yourself to five days. At least 0.5 g of alcohol requires at least 150 g of fresh zest.
Make sugar syrup as usual. Pour strained tincture into the cooled syrup. After that, soak the drink again for at least 5 days. To make the liquor opaque and uniform. Pour it into a blender and kill. Bottle and place in the freezer. After another five days, it is ready for use, and it is better to drink it in a very cold form, immediately after removing the bottle from the freezer.
6. Tincture of lemons on vodka, saffron
Composition:
Wheat Vodka 0.75 L
Lemon zest 200 g
Saffron 3 g
Water 250 ml
Sugar 150 g
Cooking:
Pour in the vodka zest of lemons, crushed into gruel. Combine the prepared extract with syrup: tincture can be filtered after 2-3 weeks.
Pre-brew saffron with boiling water and dissolve sugar in the same water. Bring the syrup to a boil and pour 50-100 ml of fresh lemon juice to lighten. Pour the tincture into the cooled syrup and let stand 3-5 days.
7. Tincture with lemon and ginger
Composition:
Ginger root 50-70 g
Lemon 300 g
Sugar 250 g
Alcohol, undiluted 350 ml
Purified Water 200 ml
Clove 5 g
Cooking:
Grind the peeled ginger root and fresh lemon zest with a blender. Put the mixture in a jar, add a few buds of cloves and fill with alcohol. Close the cover.Steam the mixture to 50-60Ϲ. Refrigerate directly in the same pan and repeat the operation two more times. Combine the cooled tincture with the prepared syrup.
For syrup: From lemons peeled from the zest, squeeze the juice, add water and add sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
Tincture on a lemon - useful tips and tricks
- When mixing liquids to get tinctures, do not forget about the rule: you need to pour a stronger liquid into a less strong one, and not vice versa: alcohol - into vodka, water or juice.
- Lemon tincture can be added to soups. Alcoholic extract greatly improves the quality of yeast-free dough. The smell of tincture adds a delicious aroma and a beautiful golden crust of baked pork and poultry.
- If you need to cut the zest, and the preparation of citrus juice at this stage is not included in the plans, then peel the fruits and freeze in an airtight package. When you need juice, just remove the bag from the freezer and defrost without printing it. Freezing allows you to get a larger volume of juice with minimal time.
