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Lemon Peel, Tincture Of
Take the thin rind of a large fresh lemon. Put it in a bottle with half a pint of brandy, and let it infuse for a fortnight. At the end of that time the brandy will be strongly impregnated with the flavour of the lemon, and should be strained, corked closely, and put aside for use. Probable cost of lemon, 1d. Sufficient, a tea-spoonful will flavour a pint of custard, etc.
A homemade lemon extract, and one of the few Victorian flavourings that needs no adjustment beyond knowing the measures. The hinge is the paring: take only the coloured zest, because any white pith beneath it turns the tincture bitter over two weeks of steeping.
- Half a pintAn imperial half-pint is 10 fl oz, or about 1 1/4 US cups. Scaling down to a single US cup with the peel of one large lemon gives a slightly stronger tincture, which is no loss.
- Thin rind"Thin" is an instruction, not a description. Use a vegetable peeler or a sharp paring knife and stop at the yellow; the oil glands all sit in the outer layer.
- Unwaxed fruitSupermarket lemons are usually waxed and often treated with fungicide. Scrub in hot water first, or buy unwaxed, since the peel surface is the whole ingredient here.
- The brandyAny drinkable brandy at 35-40% ABV works. Alcohol strength is what extracts and preserves the citrus oils, so do not substitute a low-proof spirit or a liqueur that has sugar in it.
- A fortnightTwo weeks at room temperature, out of direct light, with an occasional shake. Steeping much beyond this is unlikely to add much.
- Straining and storingStrain through a fine sieve or coffee filter and bottle tightly. Kept dark and cool it holds its flavour for a year or more, though it fades gradually as the volatile oils oxidise.
- Strength in useThe stated ratio -- a teaspoonful to a pint of custard -- is weaker than a commercial lemon extract, which is more concentrated. Taste before doubling.
- Probable cost, 1dThe penny covers the lemon only; the half-pint of brandy, far the greater expense, is left unpriced.
A bottle of it would stand beside the rosewater and the vanilla for flavouring custards, cakes and puddings through the winter when good lemons were dear or absent. Alcoholic tinctures were the standard domestic way of capturing flavour before commercial essences became cheap and reliable, and the method is borrowed straight from the apothecary's shelf -- macerate the aromatic material in spirit, strain, bottle. The same logic produced the household ratafias and the flavoured brandies of the period, and it survives commercially in Italian limoncello, where the peel is steeped in spirit before sugar syrup is added.