Arancello is an Italian orange liqueur, also called orangecello. In fact, arance (ah-RAHN-cheh) from Italian translates as oranges. Just like authentic Italian Limoncello it’s made by infusing orange peels in high proof alcohol, then filtered and mixed with sugar syrup.
The result is delicious, vibrant liquor with irresistible orange flavor.
Table Of Contents
Before You Start
- Get organic, untreated oranges. Organic fruit will have more flavor, but mostly important it will NOT have any harmful pesticides and superficial treatments that alcohol will inevitably extract during maceration process.
- Get high proof alcohol. It should be 190 proof or (95% abv). Famous brand like Everclear is easy to find but feel free to go with any other brand that’s available for you. It’s possible to make orangecello with slightly lower alcohol proof but the result will not be the same. You can see more details on how to make Orangecello with 151 Proof Alcohol (75.5% abv) or vodka in the calculation section below.
Ingredients & Tools
- Organic Oranges - you can use oranges only or a mix of oranges and mandarins/tangerines for more intense flavor and color.
- Pure Grain Alcohol - 190 Proof or 95% vol.
- Sugar and water - for simple syrup.
For maceration:
- A vegetables peeler, a knife, a glass jar large enough to fit alcohol and orange peels.
- A pot to make sugar syrup and a strainer.
For bottling:
A funnel and 5 8-ounce swing top bottles.
Variations
Any organic, untreated citrus fruit can be turned into liqueur. The process and the ingredients are pretty much the same. Italians make a huge variety of citrus liqueurs and have a name for each of them.
- Mandarinetto - citrus liqueur made with mandarines or tangerines.
- Limoncello - the most famous of them all, lemon flavored liqueur made with lemons. Sometimes it's also called Limoncino and pronounced as "lee-mohn-CHEE-noh".
- Agrumello - citrus liqueur made with a mix of citrus fruits: lemon, oranges, tangerines. The word agrumi translates from Italian as “citrus fruits”. This liqueur is very popular in Sicily.
- Kumquatcello - most frequently called simply Liquore di Kumquat. You guessed it, citrus liqueur made with kumquat fruit - a small citrus fruit that looks like a tiny orange. Unlike oranges, you can eat the skin of a kumquat, which is sweet and the inside is tangy. It's a bit like a mix between an orange and a lemon.
How To Make - Step By Step With Pictures
Wash oranges and if using mandarins/tangerines under water and dry.
Peel oranges and infuse in alcohol
Zest oranges. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off the skin from oranges as thin as possible. Avoid removing the white pith. Roughly chop with a chef’s knife. Add to the jar with alcohol.
Zest mandarins/tangerines. Using a small sharp knife scrub off as much white pith from the tangerine peels as possible. Chop with chef’s knife and also add to the jar with alcohol.
IMPORTANT: Make sure your mandarins/tangerines are fresh with firm/bouncy skin. It's almost impossible to zest a wilted/withered mandarin.
PAY ATTENTION: I do not recommend using a microplane zester for peeling oranges or mandarins, unless you have a good paper filter to strain through after maceration. Notice however, how I chopped the peels to have a similar effect of those zested with a micro-plane. The end goal is to have as much of the surface of the citrus peels with alcohol as possible. That's my method, use it or make your own call.
I usually fill the bottle with orange/mandarine zest it in the course of a few days. As I eat a tangerine I would scrub off the white pith and add it to alcohol. Do the same with oranges. Repeat the next day. This way you don’t have to eat all the fruit at once.
Infuse: keep the jar in a dark place or wrap with aluminum foil. Let infused to 7 days or better yet 2 weeks.
Make sugar syrup.
When ready to make orangecello, prepare sugar syrup. In a pot add water and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Turn the heat off, cover the pot with a lid half open and let cool completely.
Filter and mix with sugar syrup.
Filter orange infused alcohol using a strainer placed over a large bowl. The bowl should be large enough to fill both orange infused alcohol and sugar syrup.
Start adding syrup at room temperature. Once you’ve added almost all the syrup, taste. If needed add the remaining.
Bottle in the swing top bottles and enjoy! Arancello is best enjoyed chilled.
Clear vs Cloudy Phenomenon
If your orangecello turns out cloudy, you might think you made a mistake somewhere in the process and now you have a clear lower quality liqueur. But this can't be further from the truth.
In fact, cloudy orangecello is a merit, a sign of the superior quality and taste. And here's why.
During maceration process high proof alcohol "extracts" all essential oils from the citrus peels. These essential oils is what after all give flavor and color to your liqueur. When you filter orange infused alcohol you have a clear orange liquid. Essential oil are dissolved in alcohol and all become one.
The moment you start adding sugar syrup (sugar with water), it immediately starts to turn into a cloudy emulsion. Now alcohol is not concentrated enough to hold all essential oils so they start to separate, forming micro droplets with sugar syrup and creating a cloudy emulsion.
On the contrary, if you use low proof alcohol (vodka) to meceration your liqueur will be clear because vodka is essentially a mix of alcohol and water.
Bottom Line: Essential oils are soluble in alcohol but are not soluble in water. When two liquids are mixed together essential oils extracted from peels create a beautiful cloudy emulsion.
How To Store
Orangecello should be stored in a dark place in the pantry. If you have space in the freezer or in the fridge you can store it there. While orangecello doesn't require refrigeration for storage, it's best to keep it in the freezer for a few hours before serving.
Make sure to keep orangecello in tight swing-top bottles. If you made strong Orangecello following my recipe, it will last for a long time.
More Italian Liqueur Recipes To Try
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Full Recipe
Orangecello (Arancello)
Ingredients
For orange infused alcohol
- 5 oranges or 4 oranges and 3 tangerines , about 80 grams (3 ounces) of peels total
- 500 milliliters alcohol
For Sugar Syrup
- 1 ⅔ cup sugar , 365 grams
- 3 cups water , 720 grams
Instructions
- Wash oranges and if using mandarins/tangerines under water and dry.
Peel oranges and infuse in alcohol.
- Zest oranges. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off the skin from oranges as thin as possible. Avoid removing the white pith. Roughly chop with a chef’s knife. Add to the jar with alcohol.Zest mandarins/tangerines. Using a small sharp knife scrub off as much white pith from the tangerine peels as possible. Chop with chef’s knife and also add to the jar with alcohol.
- EXTRA TIP: Make sure your mandarins/tangerines are fresh with firm/bouncy skin. It's almost impossible to zest a wilted/withered mandarin.
- Infuse: keep the jar in a dark place or wrap with aluminum foil. Let infused to 7 days or better yet 2 weeks.
Make sugar syrup.
- In a pot add water and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Turn the heat off, cover the pot with a lid half open and let cool completely.
Filter and mix with sugar syrup.
- Filter orange-infused alcohol using a strainer placed over a large bowl. The bowl should be large enough to fill both orange-infused alcohol and sugar syrup.
- Start adding syrup at room temperature. Once you’ve added almost all the syrup, taste. If needed add the remaining.
- Bottle in swing-top bottles and enjoy! It's best served chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Let me know if you loved this recipe or learned something new!
Alyson says
Your recipe says if using vodka see « calculations section ». I don’t see that section. Using 37.5% alcohol-vodka. Will it work? Thank you.
Laurie says
Mine is still clear, not orange color at all. What did I do wrong. Thank you
Svitlana says
Have you already added the sugar syrup?
Caz says
2nd brew, simply delicious. Great way to use our surplus citrus. Only challenge is getting more than 45% proof vodka. However, still works
Emma says
Would be a big help if the "ingredients" part of the "recipe" section said • 500 milliliters of - 190 proof grain - alcohol, instead of just saying alcohol. Usually I just use the recipe section of a site like this, so I accidentally got the wrong sort of alcohol. Still looking forward to the end result!
Mary Wilber says
How long will this keep in a pantry?
Svi @ ItalianRecipeBook says
Being a strong liqueur (if you follow the recipe without adding extra sugar syrup) it will keep for a long time - at least 2-3 years. If you make it a little milder you can store it in the fridge to preserve for longer.