How do I freeze Limoncello?

I was in a restuarant in South Carolina recently where they did oysters on the half shell with a very small dollop of essentially a limoncello sorbet ball. It was fabulous.

So, what do I add to Limoncello to change the freezing point so that it will freeze up like ice cream or sorbet? Do I just go 50/50 Limoncello and sugar water?

If the restaurant you visited is into molecular gastronomy, they may have used liquid nitrogen to freeze it. Not sure offhand if dry ice would do the trick.

Did the frozen limoncello seem as alcoholic as regular limoncello? Another option might be to gently heat it to drive off some of the alcohol and then make up the lost volume with syrup or water.

I would guess it's just a normal lemon sorbet with a couple shots of limoncello for flavor.

Below is a recipe I have used for an alcoholic granita,obviously not limoncello but in a similar vein and perhaps the proportions may help, eg along the lines of Jeff's suggestion of a regular sorbet with booze added.


BTW this is delicious!


Oysters With Bloody Mary Granita

200 ml tomato juice
1 tsp tabasco
2 tsp worcester sauce
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 Tbs vodka
12 oyster, freshly shucked
ice, lemon wedges, to serve
watercress, to garnish

1. Whisk together tomato juice, Tabasco, Worcester sauce, mustards and vodka until combined. Allow to stand for 1 hour. Strain through a sieve discarding solids and pour into a shallow tray. Freeze for 1 hour or until frozen around the edges. Remove the container and stir with a fork, dragging in the frozen edges. Freeze for another hour (stir once during this time) or until set. Scrape with a fork once more until light and fluffy crystals form Cover and keep frozen up to a week. When ready to serve spoon a small amount of granita on each oyster, serve on ice with lemon and watercress garnish.

Servings: 4