Sorrento is a city filled with lemons...no just kidding, they do, however, produce A LOT of quality lemons. A light digestif to any italian meal, Lemoncello makes a great addition to your summer bbq and pantry.
Making lemoncello is super easy, but must be done with great care and a lot of patience. The success of this simple digestif is the quality of the lemons and the amount of suger used. So experiment away!
Choosing organic lemon or home grown lemon is the best as they do not have wax on the skin that might conterminate your mixture. What is wax? It's the stuff that they spray on your fruits in the supermarket to make them shinny and seeminly "healthy". Mum always says that fruits should always be washed before eaten, part of it is this, part of it is the dirt and insectacides residues. So, choose your fruits wisely and always wash them, always wash them. If you do choose non organic lemons, then scrub away at the fruit under warm water with a vegetable brush or soft plastic brush.
Ingredients
- zest of 6 or 7 large organic lemons
- 1 litre or quart of pure grain alcohol or vodka
- 5 cups (1250 ml) water
- 3 cups (700 gr) sugar
- Large Glass Jar (not plastic because of the acidic quality of this drink - you don't want plastic tasting lemoncello!)
How to
Wash those lemons, organic or not, wash them good. Dry them with paper towel.
Zest those lemons with a zester. Just the yellow part, don't take the white part because those will make your drink bitter. So add another lemon if need be. Also, if you don't have a zester, peel the skin carefully and, again, avoid that white part under the skin.
Place the zest into a large glass jar, then add the alcohol.
Seal the jar and place in a cool dark place for at least 7 days.
A day before you take out the jar, prepare syrup but boiling water and sugar until all the sugar has dissolved and let it cool overnight.
Strain the lemon zests or peel from the alcohol, and pour the liquid into a clean glass bottle, then add the syrup, stir well.
Lemoncello will keep well in a cool pantry for a year or two. Chill the drink in the refrigerator or freezer before serving.
(personally, I like to keep a small bottle in the freezer as I live in a tropical country, super chilled drink is a treat for us!)
The lemon peels can be used to add additional flavors to other cocktails or desserts.