The short answer: to make lemon extract, peel 4 to 5 unwaxed lemons in strips with no white pith, cover the peel with 240 ml (1 cup) vodka at 40% alcohol, and leave it in a dark cupboard for 4 to 6 weeks. Shake it once a week, then strain and bottle it.
Lemon extract is lemon peel soaked in alcohol. The oils in the yellow zest dissolve into the spirit and give you a bright, clean lemon flavour that survives the oven better than fresh juice. Learning how to make lemon extract takes 15 minutes of work and 4 to 6 weeks of waiting. Two things decide the result: peel with no white pith, and enough time.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Work | 15 minutes |
| Waiting | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Ratio | Peel of 4 to 5 lemons per 240 ml vodka |
| Keeps | At least a year, closed and dark |
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 lemons, unwaxed or organic if you can find them
- 240 ml (1 cup) vodka, 40% alcohol (80 proof)
- A clean glass jar or bottle with a tight lid
- A vegetable peeler and a fine strainer
Waxed lemons? Scrub them under hot water with a brush and dry them well. The wax keeps the alcohol from reaching the oils.
Why vodka? It has no taste of its own, so the lemon comes through clean. Use at least 35% alcohol. Weaker spirits pull out less flavour and keep less well.
How to make lemon extract, step by step
- Peel. Use a vegetable peeler to take off the yellow peel in long strips. Press lightly so you leave the white pith behind. The pith makes the extract bitter.
- Trim. Turn the strips over. Scrape off any white you see with a small knife.
- Jar. Put the strips in the jar and pour in the vodka. Every strip should sit under the liquid.
- Wait. Close the lid, shake, and keep the jar in a dark cupboard. Shake it once a week.
- Check. After 4 weeks, smell and taste a drop on a spoon. It should smell strongly of lemon. Give it 2 more weeks if it is faint.
- Strain. Pour it through a fine strainer into a clean bottle. Squeeze the peel gently to get the last of the liquid.
Zest or strips?
A fine grater gives more surface, so the flavour comes out faster. It also makes a cloudy extract that is harder to strain. Peeler strips take a little longer but give you a clear, golden liquid. For gifts, use strips.
How to tell when it is ready
- The liquid has turned pale yellow to gold.
- It smells of lemon first and alcohol second.
- The peel has gone pale and limp. Most of its colour is now in the jar.
How to use lemon extract
Use it wherever you want lemon flavour without extra liquid or sourness.
- Cakes and muffins: ½ to 1 teaspoon per batch, with the zest of 1 lemon for a stronger result.
- Icing and glazes: a few drops lift a plain sugar glaze.
- Cookies and shortbread: ½ teaspoon per batch.
- Whipped cream: a few drops with the sugar.
It does not replace lemon juice, because it has no acid. In a recipe that needs juice to set or to react with baking soda, keep the juice.
Making a thicker lemon concentrate
Finished extract is mostly alcohol. Reduce part of it away and you get a stronger lemon flavour in less liquid. The NOIDS Herb Lab has an Evaporation function for this. It reduces infused liquids with a boiling point no higher than 100 °C / 212 °F and stops by itself at 102 °C / 215.6 °F.
- Pour the strained extract into the Glass. Stay under the MAX mark.
- Cover with the Dish Lid, place the Glass in the Main Body and turn the Rotary Control to Evaporation.
- It reduces about 50 ml per hour. Turn the Rotary Control to OFF when the volume is where you want it.
- Let the Glass cool, then bottle the concentrate. Use about a third of the amount of plain extract.
Safety: use only food-grade spirits. Run Evaporation in a room larger than 50 m³ with fresh air coming in. Keep the cooker at least 5 m from any open flame. To collect the alcohol instead of letting it into the room, fit the Condenser.
More extracts to make
The same method works for orange and lime peel. For a baking shelf, add our homemade vanilla extract and almond extract. For savoury cooking, lemon-infused olive oil uses the same zest in oil instead of alcohol.
Storage
- Keep it closed, in a dark cupboard at room temperature.
- It keeps for at least a year. Citrus flavour fades slowly over time, so smell it before you bake.
- Label the bottle with the date you started.
Questions
How long does homemade lemon extract take?
About 4 to 6 weeks in a dark cupboard. Shake it once a week. Grated zest works a little faster than peeler strips.
Why is my lemon extract bitter?
White pith got into the jar. Peel lightly and scrape any white off the back of the strips before you add the vodka.
Can I make lemon extract without alcohol?
Not as an extract that keeps. Glycerin versions exist, but they are weaker and keep for a shorter time. Fresh zest is the simple alcohol-free option.
How much lemon extract replaces lemon zest?
Use ½ teaspoon of extract for each teaspoon of zest. One lemon gives about 1 tablespoon of zest, so its zest matches about 1½ teaspoons of extract. Homemade extracts vary, so taste the batter.
Does lemon extract go bad?
It does not spoil quickly, because the alcohol preserves it. The flavour fades over time. Use it within about a year for the brightest taste.
