Strawberry Limes with the Thermomix®

Strawberry limes from the Thermomix® have been within arm’s reach in our kitchen from May onwards. As soon as the first locally grown strawberries appear at the market, we make our first bottle, so we have enough in stock for the first barbecue evening of the year.

We have been making the limes for years, always using the same ratio: 750 g strawberries, 300 g vodka, 50 g Amaretto, 250 g sugar and 200 g water. That gives two 750 ml bottles. The one point that most online recipes quietly skip over is the most important: the sugar syrup must be completely cool before the strawberries go into the mixing bowl.

Why the syrup must be cold first

We cook 200 g water with 250 g cane sugar for 5 minutes / Varoma / speed 1. The sugar dissolves completely and the syrup becomes clear and slightly thick. So far, so straightforward. The key is what happens next: the syrup must not hit the strawberries while it is still hot.

Hot syrup draws the aroma out of the strawberries within seconds, oxidises the colour pigments and makes the finished drink one or two shades darker and duller. We therefore pour the syrup into a bowl and leave it on the balcony or in the fridge for 30 minutes. Only once it has reached room temperature or cooler do we continue.

Vodka as a solvent and preservative

• Vodka as a solvent and preservative. The 300 g of vodka extracts the fat-soluble aromas from the strawberry flesh and at the same time preserves the result. A liqueur is microbiologically stable only from around 16 percent alcohol by volume. Our ratio puts us safely above that threshold, so the limes needs neither heat nor additional preservatives.
• Amaretto as a flavour bridge. The 50 g of Amaretto is only a small proportion, but it makes the difference between a sweet strawberry spirit and a proper limes. The almond note smooths out the sharp vodka impression and gives the drink depth. Anyone who dislikes Amaretto can replace it with 50 g of extra vodka, though the depth is noticeably missing.
• Blending at speed 10 with lemon juice. We blend 750 g of strawberries together with 50 g of lemon juice for 20 seconds / speed 10. The lemon juice immediately lowers the pH, which stabilises the red colour and protects the flavour during blending. Without the acidity, the limes would turn brownish within two weeks.

Choosing strawberries without being misled

Fresh locally grown strawberries from May are the first choice. Anyone who wants to start earlier can use frozen strawberries that were blast-frozen straight after harvest. Frozen fruit from the supermarket is often even more aromatic than the pale early-season strawberries from Spain or Morocco that appear on the shelves as early as March.

When thawing, we collect the juice that runs out of the berries. It contains the most flavour. 750 g of thawed strawberries with their thawing juice work just as well as 750 g of fresh ones. What we do not do is throw half-frozen strawberries into the mixing bowl. That blocks the blades, cools the bowl too much and leaves the strawberries crumbly rather than smooth.

Three stumbling blocks we experienced ourselves at the start

Limes turns brownish after a week

This happens when the strawberries were blended without lemon juice or when the bottle is stored in a bright spot. Our solution: Never leave out the lemon juice, and store the bottles in the dark, in a cupboard or cellar rather than on a windowsill. Stored that way, our limes keeps for two months without any loss of colour.

Limes is too sweet or too sharp

The sweet-sour-vodka balance is a matter of taste. Anyone who prefers it less sweet can reduce the sugar to 200 g. Anyone who wants a softer drink can increase the Amaretto to 80 g and reduce the vodka accordingly. Our solution: Taste only after 24 hours of resting time. Fresh from the mixing bowl, every liqueur tastes of alcohol because the flavours have not yet blended together. After a day in the fridge, the sweetness comes to the fore and the vodka steps back.

Limes has small pieces even though we blended at speed 10

Strawberry seeds cannot be completely ground even at speed 10. Some people find this annoying, but we think it is authentic. Our solution: Anyone who wants a crystal-clear limes can pour the finished drink through a fine sieve or muslin cloth. Anyone who can live with the seeds skips this step and keeps a little extra flavour that would otherwise be left behind in the sieve.

Sterilise, bottle, store

We use 750 ml swing-top bottles. Before filling, the bottles and stoppers go into boiling water for 10 minutes. Anyone without a large pot can place the bottles upright in the oven at 120 °C for 15 minutes. One important point: hot bottle, cold limes. With a cold bottle and hot liquid the base can crack, but the other way round nothing happens.

Sealed, the limes keeps in the fridge for up to two months. Once a bottle is opened, it should be finished within two to three weeks. The flavour is fine, but the freshness fades. Freezing is possible, though it makes more sense to use smaller 250 ml bottles and open only one at a time.

Variations we make regularly

• With lime juice instead of lemon. We swap the 50 g of lemon juice for 50 g of lime juice. The result is slightly more tropical and pairs better with tonic water as a mixer.
• Strawberry and rhubarb limes. Use 600 g of strawberries plus 150 g of peeled, finely chopped rhubarb. Pre-cook the rhubarb for 2 minutes / 100 °C / speed 1, leave to cool, then blend with the strawberries. We love the extra acidity, it brings out the strawberry flavour even more clearly.
• Grain spirit instead of vodka. Anyone who prefers something more traditional can replace the vodka 1:1 with German Doppelkorn. The limes becomes earthier and less neutral. A genuine classic variation in northern Germany.
• Strawberry sparkling aperitif. 50 ml limes plus 100 ml dry sparkling wine in a glass, with a few ice cubes. That rescues any late-summer evening on the terrace.

What to serve alongside the limes

Once you start making your own liqueurs, you rarely stop. Our classics are Thermomix® Advocaat, After Eight Liqueur for winter and Honey Mead. Anyone who enjoys something festive can try our Swedish punch.

From the leftover blended strawberry vodka syrup, if any fruit pulp is caught in the sieve, we often make quick strawberry ice cream straight afterwards. Anyone who is already processing strawberries will find a whole range of further ideas in the Ice Cream collection, from yoghurt ice cream to sorbet.

Serving: cold, but not ice cold

We drink the limes neat over ice or as a spritz with tonic water at a ratio of 1:2. Serving it straight from the freezer works too, but the strawberry aromas lose some clarity. The ideal temperature is 6 to 8 °C, which is fridge temperature. Swirl a single ice cube briefly in the glass beforehand, then remove it before pouring.

As an aperitif before a summer barbecue, 4 cl per person is enough. We do not need more, because the limes is quite filling at 152 g of sugar per bottle. Anyone giving the limes as a gift should label the bottle with the date it was opened and a note about resting time: “leave to rest in the fridge for 24 hours before the first taste”. That is the step where most homemade liqueurs fall short, because people try them too early.

Why our ratio keeps longer than most recipes

Also worth a try: Thermomix® Cream Punch.

We deliberately chose not to follow the typical Cookidoo-style recipes that work with only 100 g sugar and 350 g vodka per 700 g strawberries. Such liqueurs taste lighter when fresh, but according to those sources they keep for only about 14 days in the fridge. Our ratio of 250 g sugar and 300 g vodka per 750 g strawberries brings the alcohol content safely above the 16 percent by volume threshold and results in a liqueur that stays fresh for two months. We stay neutral on the choice of vodka brand: any clear vodka from 37.5 percent alcohol by volume is fine, and any flavour differences disappear behind the strawberry and Amaretto.

More strawberry recipes in the Thermomix®? Here are our favourites:

• Thermomix® Strawberry Jam with Cointreau
• Strawberry Ketchup with the Thermomix®
• Quick Strawberry Ice Cream
• Quick Fruit Ice Cream with the Thermomix®