When Life Gives You Lemons

don't make lemonade, make Limoncello!

(although, funnily enough, I used lemons from our Lemonade Lemon Tree to make this)

Homemade limoncello:

• is super easy to make (I've always wanted to say "super-easy") The trickiest bit is making sure you avoid the pith when you peel your lemons.

• uses lots-o-lemons (well, the peel of said lemons).

• is a refreshing tipple, or digestivo if you speaka da lingo This coming from someone who "does not have a natural apptitude for languages" And I'm quoting from my Year 8 Italian report here - this was written next to a big, fat D.

 

 

You need four things to make Limoncello: lemons, 100 proof vodka, sugar, and water. Oh and patience. You'll need lots of that, because it takes a couple of months to get molto delizioso limoncello - a month for the lemons to give up their lovely lemon-ness to the vodka, and another month in the bottle once you add the sugar syrup. The longer you leave it, the smoother the flavour, and you want smooth limoncello.   

 

(if you want so-so limoncello you can bottle it as early as a week after marinating - but who wants so-so, right?!)

 

I used this recipe, but extended the marinating time to a month (as discussed above) after reading this post on a blog dedicated to creating the perfect limoncello. I figure if someone's going to write a blog about limoncello and nothing else, they must know their stuff (or need a life! Ha!)  

 

 

Straining the lemon-infused vodka from the peel

 

 

All I need to do now is add a simple sugar syrup.

 

Yes I know it looks like wee*, but in a month, after filtering, it will look cloudy like the real thing.

  

Anth and I had a sneaky little taste test last night and even though this stuff is fresh, "Oh Mio Dio!", it tasted good.

 

A bottle of homemade limoncello would make the perfect Summer Christmas present. Just remember, a tiny glass, sipped s-l-o-w-l-y. Take my advice here okay - I speak from experience.

 

Salute!

 

*but it definitely doesn't taste like it! 

(not that I've had the misfortune of being in the dire position of having to drink my own urine for survival or anything)

 

p.s. Limoncello Pound Cake sounds nice.

 

p.p.s. gonna give it a whirl libarygirl?

 

and

I almost forgot to mention this awesome give-away over at Rebecca's. You've got until the 8th of July to enter, so what are you waiting for?