Guest Post from Webicurean- Homemade Limoncino

Ciao a tutti!! I am very excited to share with you my guest post from Anne Papina of Webicurean. You can view the original post on her site here and be sure to drop by her facebook page and return the love. Enjoy!!  

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A few weeks back, my cousin Mary Ann dropped off a large bag of lemons from her tree, and here’s how I began…

If you aren’t lucky enough to have homegrown lemons landing on your doorstep, stop by the local farmers’ market and pick up about a dozen. The lemons should be organic, not because it’s trendy, but because supermarket lemons may contain wax and pesticides on the skin. Since we’re only using the skin, this is very important.  Give them a good scrub before you begin.

The lemons are simply gorgeous, which may compel you to take a few artistic snaps, like my honey did below. Can you see him in the picture? 

How cute is that? Now, back to the recipe.

Carefully peel the lemons so that you have just the skin. The white pith will make the limoncello bitter, so scrape any remaining pith off the peel with a sharp knife.

Add the peels and the alcohol (I used Everclear 151) to a glass jar and seal tightly. Since I used a glass pitcher, the top was wrapped tightly with plastic wrap.

Let this steep for at least 45-50 days. At the end of this time, most of the color will have transferred from the peels to the alcohol. This is a good thing.

While you’re waiting, enjoy your vacation pictures.

See how time flies? Now that we’re 45 days into the future, let’s make the simple syrup.

Bring the water to a boil, then stir in the sugar until dissolved–about 10 minutes. See. Simple. Syrup. Let this cool completely.

Meanwhile, strain the alcohol/lemon mixture into another container. I used a mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter–this is to get rid of the peels as well as any other debris that may be in there from the lemons.

What remains is a dazzling golden liquid.

Stir in the simple syrup, then pour into bottles for storage.

The final result should be exquisitely golden, slightly cloudy, and very fragrant.  Some say at this point it should be stored another 10 days or so to mellow out. That’s up to you. We drank it that night after chilling, and it was truly fantastic.  Limoncello tastes best when stored in the freezer.

Homemade Limoncino (Limoncello)

Bright and fragrant, this lemon liqueur makes good use of the lemons in your backyard.

Author: Anne Papina

Recipe type: Beverage

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

·         10-12 organic lemons

·         1 (750-ml) bottle grain alcohol (such as Everclear)

·         3½ cups water

·         2½ cups sugar

Instructions

1.      Wash lemons, and carefully peel in long strips. Scrape away any pith on the peels.

2.      Place the peels in a glass jar or pitcher, cover with the alcohol and seal closed. (I used plastic wrap since no lid was available.)

3.      Let this steep for 45-50 days.

4.      To make the simple syrup, bring the water to a boil in a large pan.

5.      Add the sugar, stirring until completely dissolved. This should take about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

6.      Strain the alcohol mixture into a clean bowl or pitcher. A mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter will suffice.

7.      Stir in simple syrup, and bottle for storage.

Notes

For optimal enjoyment, store limoncello in the freezer.