Limoncello
Limoncello a la Lizzy. Squisito!
'In Sicily I came to relish the digestive Limoncello, taken at the end of a meal. It is made by steeping lemon peel in alcohol spirit for fifteen days and then blending with sugar syrup. My head rested peacefully on the pillow with the scent of lemons in my nostrils and a vision in my mind of citrus orchards glistening in the sun'.
— Kevin Donovan, Salute! Food, Wine and Travel in Southern Italy.
— Kevin Donovan, Salute! Food, Wine and Travel in Southern Italy.
Peter and I have both travelled overseas to different countries at different times, but neither of us has yet had the opportunity to visit Italy. When we first met, among the things we found to have in common was that we would like to travel to Italy and learn Italian. Hence this is an adventure on the bucket list for our retirement together.
Italian food features regularly on our table and we team it with the occasional glass of icy Limoncello as an apéritif. The first time I tasted limoncello was many years ago during a visit to Tasting Australia in Adelaide, when I was fortunate enough to meet Libero de Luco, the maker of Ambra limoncello. Libero's hand-zested Ambra range includes lemon, strawberry, orange and chocolate! There are some lovely recipes on the Ambra site, so make sure you dip in.
Food history tells us that fruit farmers in villages in the Amalfi region were establishing large scale lemon groves as early as the 7th century. Through experimentation with different species, they succeeded in growing a special variety of lemon, Sfusato Amalfitano, or Amalfi Coast Lemons, recognised as Italy's best variety.
I've had a yearning to make limoncello for years, perhaps since hearing chef Joanne Weir talk about 'gathering a bunch of lemons and making it' when she visited Australia (late 1990s) to teach at the cooking school that I co-owned at the time. So, this desire to experiment with limoncello has been brewing for some time, but here it is, Limoncello a la Lizzy. My receipt is adapted from one by Ursula Ferrigno in Bringing Italy Home (Octopus 2001). On our first tasting, Peter and I agreed that the results taste squisito! The limoncello is now tucked away in a cool dark part of the larder for one more week.
Please tell me about your experiences with limoncello. Have you been to the Amalfi Coast? Oh, I am *envious* and cannot wait to hear about your adventures.
LIMONCELLO
8 unwaxed lemons, preferably thick skinned, if available**
1 x 700ml bottle of vodka
225g caster sugar
450mls pure bottled water*
Soak the lemons for 30 minutes in a bowl of water, then give them a scrub with a vegetable brush. Pat them dry with paper towelling. Using a good vegetable peeler, peel thin strips of rind away from the lemons, taking care to leave behind the bitter white pith.
Place the lemon rind and the vodka into a wide-necked preserving jar that has been sterilised. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for about a four weeks, or longer if possible. Give the bottle a gentle shake on a daily basis. You will notice the colour of the liquid and the lemon rind changing with time. The rind seems to lighten in colour, while the liquid becomes a deep golden yellow.
In the final stages, combine the caster sugar and pure bottled water* in a saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pop a lid onto the saucepan and allow the sugar syrup to cool. Once cold, add the syrup to the jar of lemon rind and vodka, stir well to incorporate the syrup. Strain the liquor into a large jug, pressing out as much liquid from the rind as possible, and carefully pour it into sterilised bottles. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for a week. Ensure the limoncello is icy cold before serving (in fact, pop it into the freezer). Cin cin!
*Pure bottled water is available in supermarkets and specialty stores. I used Nobles pureau pure water, which is said to have 'a chemical-free multi-stage process that ensures that it is free from contaminants such as chlorine, salt, fluoride and heavy metals'.
**I couldn't find thick skinned lemons at the time of writing, however these lemons have given a lovely flavoured liquor.
Italian food features regularly on our table and we team it with the occasional glass of icy Limoncello as an apéritif. The first time I tasted limoncello was many years ago during a visit to Tasting Australia in Adelaide, when I was fortunate enough to meet Libero de Luco, the maker of Ambra limoncello. Libero's hand-zested Ambra range includes lemon, strawberry, orange and chocolate! There are some lovely recipes on the Ambra site, so make sure you dip in.
Food history tells us that fruit farmers in villages in the Amalfi region were establishing large scale lemon groves as early as the 7th century. Through experimentation with different species, they succeeded in growing a special variety of lemon, Sfusato Amalfitano, or Amalfi Coast Lemons, recognised as Italy's best variety.
I've had a yearning to make limoncello for years, perhaps since hearing chef Joanne Weir talk about 'gathering a bunch of lemons and making it' when she visited Australia (late 1990s) to teach at the cooking school that I co-owned at the time. So, this desire to experiment with limoncello has been brewing for some time, but here it is, Limoncello a la Lizzy. My receipt is adapted from one by Ursula Ferrigno in Bringing Italy Home (Octopus 2001). On our first tasting, Peter and I agreed that the results taste squisito! The limoncello is now tucked away in a cool dark part of the larder for one more week.
Please tell me about your experiences with limoncello. Have you been to the Amalfi Coast? Oh, I am *envious* and cannot wait to hear about your adventures.
LIMONCELLO
8 unwaxed lemons, preferably thick skinned, if available**
1 x 700ml bottle of vodka
225g caster sugar
450mls pure bottled water*
Soak the lemons for 30 minutes in a bowl of water, then give them a scrub with a vegetable brush. Pat them dry with paper towelling. Using a good vegetable peeler, peel thin strips of rind away from the lemons, taking care to leave behind the bitter white pith.
Place the lemon rind and the vodka into a wide-necked preserving jar that has been sterilised. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for about a four weeks, or longer if possible. Give the bottle a gentle shake on a daily basis. You will notice the colour of the liquid and the lemon rind changing with time. The rind seems to lighten in colour, while the liquid becomes a deep golden yellow.
In the final stages, combine the caster sugar and pure bottled water* in a saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pop a lid onto the saucepan and allow the sugar syrup to cool. Once cold, add the syrup to the jar of lemon rind and vodka, stir well to incorporate the syrup. Strain the liquor into a large jug, pressing out as much liquid from the rind as possible, and carefully pour it into sterilised bottles. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for a week. Ensure the limoncello is icy cold before serving (in fact, pop it into the freezer). Cin cin!
*Pure bottled water is available in supermarkets and specialty stores. I used Nobles pureau pure water, which is said to have 'a chemical-free multi-stage process that ensures that it is free from contaminants such as chlorine, salt, fluoride and heavy metals'.
**I couldn't find thick skinned lemons at the time of writing, however these lemons have given a lovely flavoured liquor.
You need a scrubbing brush and good peeler to prepare the lemons. I have scrubbed the skin, as you can see by the brush marks, to remove any possible residue.
Peel the rind away from the lemons in thin strips. There should be none of the bitter white pith on the rind
As you can see, the rind is peeled from the lemon, with no trace of the bitter white pith
Place the lemon rind and the vodka into a wide-necked preserving jar that has been sterilised. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for about a month. Give the bottle a gentle shake on a daily basis.
And this is the deep colour after a month or more. The aroma when I opened the lid of the bottle was intoxicating.
In the final stages, you need 225g caster sugar and 450mls pure bottled water, which once dissolved and cooled, is added to the strained lemon zest and vodka mixture. Note the deep colour of the lemon zest mix.
Add the caster sugar to the water and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool.
Add the cold sugar and water mixture to the lemon vodka mixture and stir to combine. Strain and bottle in sterilised bottles. Seal and store in a cold dark place for a week or more.
Limoncello or limunciel should be served icy cold in tiny shot glasses
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