Villa Massa Limoncello...is it considered creamy?
 

This has been the only brand of limoncello I have yet to sample, but certainly plan on becoming acquainted with others on our next trip to Italy. ;) Was just wondering if this is considered the creamy type? Thanks.

Yes, this company makes a creamy limoncello. They sell a lot at the duty free airport shops in Italy.

Villa Massa is a local brand...by the way the factory is 2 miles from where I live. They also make the creamy type of limoncello (with an addition od milk...like Baileys), but the plain limoncello is their "most sold" produce.

Francisco I am pleased that you are here and hope that you can answer a question about limoncello. I read another thread here that stated that the "true" limoncello is always pale green in color and that any limoncello that is yellow has additives in it. Is this true? Is the vero limoncello always green? Is the limoncello that one makes at home green in color? Grazie mille for your response!

No it isn't true! There is a lime cello that is green. Lemon cello is bright yellow and Lemon Cream, which is the cream version, is lighter yellow. And it is delicious!

Wander, the ones I have seen have been yellow. But that is why I was puzzled when another poster on this board..I believe it may have been Ira.. stated that the "true" limoncellos were always green unless they had additives in them. That sounded odd to me but I did not want to correct him until I had more information.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

A good limoncello is pale yellow with a slight greenish tinge. A bright yellow limoncello arouses suspicion.

On this Web page, look at the second picture. That is the color good limoncello should be. Valle dei Mulini is the co-operative of limoncello makers of Amalfi and their limoncello is the best I have ever tasted.

http://cata.amalfi.it/product.htm

Thank you, Eloise. As usual, an informative post based your direct experience. The next time I look at limoncello, if I see a pale yellow color with no green tinge, do I assume that something has been added, even if the label says otherwise?

Also: Most good limoncellos are not perfectly clear, but more semi-opaque.

I've never had a cream limoncello (nor do I ever want to, no more than I want to drink Bailey's); I assume they are completely opaque.

Ekscrunchy: While I have had good limoncellos from a number of producers and most of them have had that slight greenish tinge, I don't want to be holier than the Pope about this and say that any limoncello that is only yellow must, therefore, have additives. I'll only say that I've enjoyed the ones with the greenish tinge more.

Ok, Eloise. Good enough. Now I am getting thirsty...will take a look here in NYC today and see what I can turn up.

Ekscrunchy - If you're still there: Do also look for one that is not perfectly clear but more semi-opaque. (I'm not sure whether you saw my message to that effect.)

Could the exact color depend upon the variety of lemon, the degree of maturity of the lemon, the time of year when harvested (related to either or both of first two factors) and how long the zest has been soaked in the alcohol? I had home made limoncello a few times in Sicily and honestly can't remember whether the lemon had a greenish tinge. I just know it wasn't a bright pure yellow.

I think the liqueurs with cream addded to them can be somewhat hard to digest, or at least for me.

Cmt: You're right, of course, the type of lemon used influences the color. The greenish tinge comes from the Amalfi lemon. In Sicily, a different lemon is used, and I've had pale yellow limoncello there.

But most of the limoncello imported into North America is from the Amalfi Coast.

We love limoncello!

--"Most good limoncellos are not perfectly clear, but more semi-opaque"

We have made three batches of it, each time tweaking it to our liking. The last batch was our best, while the first was quite sweet and the second somewhat bitter.

The last batch was a gallon of Limoncello :-D and is yellow with a tinge of green and it is semi-opaque.

We used only yellow lemons, so the green tinge is a bit of a surprise! I hadn't noticed it before. Thanks!

My limoncello has 3 ingredients...alcohol, lemons and sugar but it's not as "thin" as alcohol, more like cough syrup which is why I posted the question. I absolutely love it and wondered if this is the creamy kind!
Francesco made a comment about putting milk in it??...mine doesn't have milk so is it or isn't it the creamy kind. Maybe I just need to purchase a few others and have a taste to compare! ;)

Cheryl,

My guess is that what you have is plain limoncello: It is generally fairly thick (not like vodka or gin) and semi-opaque (I'd say "cloudy" but that doesn't sound so good).

If it were cream limoncello, it would be very thick and completely opaque.

Eloise - Does this now mean I can't go buy a few others and do my taste test!! :(

Cheryl, Absolutely not! You have to test my information scientifically, and the only way to do that is to try more brands of limoncello.

I love this forum and fodorites!!!!! :)