Mar
4
Filed Under Blog | 10 Comments
My mother just finished making her batch of homemade limocello. While visiting with her today she bottled it up and it was just WAY too pretty not to photograph and blog. The red rose may be a bit cheesy, but my dad bought her a beautiful bouquet of them and I loved the color contrast.
Enjoy, and let me know if you give it a try!
(recipe from patty.vox.com)
Ingredients:
15-20 organic lemons (this batch was made with the heavenly Meyer Lemons for the tree in their backyard)
2 (750-ml) bottles 80-proof vodka or Everclear
3 C water
3 C white sugar
1 (3 litre) clean glass jar with lid
1. Wash and dry the lemons then carefully remove the lemon peel with a zester/peeler/knife. Be sure to get only peel and NO white pith. The pith will create a bitter taste in the liqueur so if any comes off on your peel, be sure to scrape it off.
2. Place all the peels (with no pith!) in your glass jar then add the alcohol while making sure to leave at least 2 inches of empty space below the rim. Tightly seal the lid and leave in a cool dark place for at least 2 weeks. For even better flavor you can steep it for several months.
3. Create a classic simple syrup by combining the sugar and water in a saucepan and heating on medium-low heat while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once completely dissolved, allow to cool then pour into the jar if lemon peel and alcohol. Allow to sit for another 2 weeks (or longs if you wish..but I have a feeling you’re getting impatient)
4. Strain the limoncello by pouring the liquid through a fine mesh colander or cheesecloth. Squeeze out as much of the oils and alcohol as you can before discarding the peels then bottle the liqueur in tightly sealed clean glass bottles. Allow to sit for just one more week then store is the freezer until ready to drink.
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What a fantastic idea! I just told my partner we should *definitely* give this a try and give some away as birthday gifts if all turns out well. Thanks for the idea!
I’m wondering if I should try and sneak this drink into one of our daily meals…does the everclear/vodka stand out in this drink, or is it well masked by the other ingredients?
Here’s a morality question: Is it wrong to get your husband slightly inebriated without him knowing? I’ve never seen the man drunk darn it!
I just made a bottle, but using Buddha’s hand instead of lemons. Can’t wait to try it. Mine has already turned that lovely yellow color just like yours.
I love the bottle! This seems like something that would be fun to give a try.
I also wanted to let you know, that I really really like your new header. :)
Shirlee – Confession: I actually haven’t tasted it myself because I haven’t been drinking since last fall (no, not pregnant, just haven’t desired alcohol). My mom says it’s very sweet but yes, it tastes like “an alcoholic lemon”. No sneaking with this drink :)
Samantha – The bottle is an empty Sofia Coppola wine bottle and I fell in love with the shape. And THANK YOU. You are the first person the mention my new banner :)
Are these photos prior to adding the simply syrup? I only ask because all of my limoncello, upon adding the syrup, the mix turns cloudy and stays that way.
Yes, the photos were after it was completely finished. The cloudiness comes from adding the sugar syrup while it is still warm instead of cooling completely. It’s considered a fault but some people just like it that way. No change in flavor :)
Could you please translate your blog into Italian as I’m not very comfortable reading it in English? I’m getting tired of using Google Translate all the time, there is a cool WP plugin called like global translator which will translate all your pages automatically- this will make reading articleson your great blog even more enjoyable. Cheers dude, Gourmet Info!
We’re lucky enough to live in southern Italy, in a town called Monte di Procida. My husband makes limoncello from the trees in our yard. The Italian ‘purists’ tell me that it’s not limoncello if I’m not using lemons from Sorrento… I can actually see the Sorrento coast from my balcony, but still… Anyway, I think we make “real” limoncello, and it’s wonderful! My husband likes the bite of the lemons, so he uses about 1/3 less sugar than our recipe calls for. He also uses lemons that are not quite ripe, the green in the skin imparts a deep yellowish green color to the limoncello. We also use the local recipe: skins in “alcol puro” (pure alcohol) for 40 days, remove skins (which are, at this point, almost completely white and brittle once they are out of the liquid – a consequence off having imparted all their oils into the liquor) after 40 days, mix with the completely cooled simple syrup, let rest for another 40 days (this all takes place in a large mouth 3 gallon jar with a rubber gasket rim for sealing) or so. Now it’s limoncello! Run it through cheese cloth, then through a coffee filter, then put it into nice, freezer size bottles. We sip it after dinner, and sometimes I make limoncello margaritas, or limoncello martinis… Oh, and we juice the lemons once they’re naked (poor little guys, giving up their clothes for such a good use). I make lemon cheese or lemon curd from the juice, or freeze it for lemonade in the summer… thanks for this post, and for requesting comments. I don’t normally add anything, I just read. But, this was fun!
Wow homemade limoncello, dare I? Your photography is amazing!