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Friday, January 25, 2008

Limoncello

Arizona is blessed with great citrus trees that produce fruit starting right after the holidays. One of the challenges of this is that everyone seems to have far too many lemons, all at the same time. Since there is only so much lemonade (and lemon poppy seed dressing) that you can make, we decided to tap into Scott's heritage to make Italian Limoncello.

Italian Limoncello
~10 lemons
1 bottle (750 mL) Vodka
2 cups sugar
2.5 cups water


Step 1:
Wash lemons with hot water to remove any pesticide or wax, pat dry. Zest lemons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith on the peel (Note: use only the outer part of the rind, as the white pith is bitter). In a large (1 gallon) glass jar, add the bottle of vodka and lemon zest. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 days. As the limoncello sits, the vodka slowly takes on the flavor and rich yellow color of the lemon zest.



Step 2:
After the 10 days, in a large saucepan combine the sugar and water. Cook until thickened, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Let syrup cool before adding to the Limoncello mixture. Add to the limoncello, and allow to rest another 10 days.

Step 3:
After the rest period, strain and bottle, discarding the lemon zest.

Step 4:
Enjoy!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, check you out with a brand-spankin' shiny new blog! Awesome, I've bookmarked it to peek through later.

Anonymous said...

I too have bmarked your blog -- I'm sure there is more cool stuff to come.
Forgive me for asking. I'm a shiny new cook wannabe. What are the uses of Limoncella?

Mo said...

Shelly,
Limonello is an Italian liqueur that can be used in martinis or other cocktails, desserts (ie. as a syrup over a poundcake) or even in a reduction sauce with fish or chicken. It is most popular served straight up, and very cold, (about 2-3 oz, as it's sweet and potent) as dessert or with dessert after a meal.

Anonymous said...

Yum! I love limoncello. My hub and I made a really great batch a few years back and haven't yet gotten around to doing it again :-(. Friends of ours JUST got back from Sorrento--the home of limoncello--where they said the lemons were just weighing down the branches and lemon trees were everywhere!

Nina Timm said...

I have seen so many recipes asking for Limoncello and here in SA I cannot find it, and today I am so lucky to stumble upon your blog and recipe. Thank you so much for posting

Kelsey said...

I've made limoncello before, but this looks much more divine than the one I made.. This will be bookmarked for summer parties!..