how to make limoncello

Limoncello is a digestif, which is an alcoholic drink meant to be sipped after a meal to aid in digestion. My friend, Tammy got interested in this after a visit to Italy, where the drink comes from. To make it, you need to use home grown, or else organic lemons. You do not want lemons which have been sprayed with any chemicals. I got my lemons in Florida from my mother-in-law’s friend Marie. She has a huge tree which is half meyer lemons and half some other kind with bumpy skin. These lemons were the size of oranges. We hauled about thirty of them home, in our luggage, this past January. This batch of limoncello is the result. This recipe is one I’ve developed over the years by combining ideas from several recipes and tweaking as I go along. Feel free to tweak away as you experiment. I want to try it with oranges next, or limes.

Step 1

Take about 10 large lemons, home grown or organic. Wash and dry lemons. Zest the lemons thinly: do not include the white part, but only peel off the top thin yellow layer. Put these shavings into a large clean glass container.

You can juice the lemons if you want, and freeze some of the juice if desired. You will not neeed the juice for this recipe. Mix the lemon zest, in the jar, with a liter of everclear grain alcohol. Let this sit for about 30 days in a cool dark place. You can mix every week or so if you think of it. At the end of 30 days, the peels should be crunchy when broken, like a potato chip. If not crisp, then marinate another week. If crisp, then remove peels from liquid, and proceed to step two.

Step 2

Boil 5 cups sugar with 5 cups water for about 5 minutes. Cool mixture. Add to lemon-infused alcohol. Let this sit a month or so to mellow. Then, strain the whole thing twice through coffee filters. If you wet the filters first, it may work a bit better. Bottle in clean glass bottles or jars with corks or lids. That is it.

You can adjust this recipe to your taste. If you want sweeter, try a bit more sugar and water, or use less sugar for a more tart taste. Some people use vodka, but I think that adds its own flavor, which distracts from the lemony goodness. Also, beware, as this stuff is strong: sip lightly. Best of luck with your limoncello production!