Why does my lime peel-alcohol infusion become cloudy when mixed with water?

Question

Over the past week or so, I've been experimenting with infusing lime peels in alcohol, by:

Peel limes
Mix with 250mL of 151-proof grain alcohol
Let sit for a week
Strain through a coffee filter.

What I got is a nice, clear-green liquid:

lime-peel infusion in a 250mL swing-top bottle

However, I've discovered that when you dilute this with water, it becomes cloudy:

(click to see bigger, longer version)

Why does mixing two clear liquids create a cloudy liquid?

After letting it sit for maybe half an hour, it stayed cloudy. I haven't tried letting it sit for longer than this. — Evan Krall, Jul 21 '13 at 20:43

score 14 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 21 '13 at 07:33

14

This is a kind of emulsion called the Ouzo Effect (ouzo and other aniseed drinks also do this). I won't pretend to know enough to explain it, but it's essentially down to how oils (like those in fruit skin), water, and alcohol interact when stirred or otherwise agitated.

Wikipedia has an article that explains it fully.

edited Jul 21 '13 at 07:33

SAJ14SAJ

72,735
13
153
231

answered Jul 21 '13 at 07:20

ElendilTheTall

43,460
13
118
177

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 12 '14 at 17:53

0

Easy, when you make your extract with the peels you extract the oil also and when you mix it with water to thin it down the oil "demulsify" meaning it comes out a solution. If you would take the same solution and add high-proof spirit back to it it would go away.

edited Aug 12 '14 at 17:53

logophobe

14,888
37
65

answered Aug 12 '14 at 01:28

user26483

1

Why does my lime peel-alcohol infusion become cloudy when mixed with water?

2 Answers2