Wednesday, December 10, 2008

L is for Limoncello Part 1: It begins


Cliches do, indeed come to mind...when life gives you lemons and all that...but I went looking for these lemons because I decided I simply MUST do limoncello.

Now the idea was to do limoncello for Christmas, but of course, once I went looking at recipes, I realized three weeks are hardly enough for limoncello. But since I had 32 lemons...well, you get the picture.

So this short entry--there will be more--is the beginning.

It's really quite simple...Everclear (heh. You might call it grain alcohol) was not so easy for me to find, although it's not like I shop for it that often. With time an issue (after all, it was important for me to get my nails done for Nevis), I went with the vodka other recipes used. I used this limoncello recipe, but there are tons of recipes out there--all close to each other. You choose your Googled poison.

The only other thing you need for the first step? Lemons. I peeled them carefully, making sure to get JUST peel, not pith, which would make it bitter. So I stood, watching what? Hmm. Last Wednesday..I must have had Top Chef on the TV. Peeling carefully took some time.

Then? Well, then the vodka goes into a big container followed by all those delicious smelling peels...sunshine in a bottle, right? Seal. Place in a cool, dark place. Shake now and then. According to the recipe, I could add the sugar now (7 days later) and drink...Hmm. Maybe I will. Other batches sit forever (45 days followed by 45 days). It has turned a lovely shade of yellow, sitting in that cupboard forgotten except for me to give it a little shake here and there.

And then again? Maybe I won't. But I will let you know! Practicing making limoncello could become a new favorite pastime.

3 comments:

Isabelle Lambert said...

J'adore le limoncello, j'en fais chaque année pour les fêtes..cette année, j'ai fait de la créme de limoncello ( crema limoncello )...c'est excellent :)
Mets le traducteur :
http://lesgourmandisesdisa.blogspot.com/2008/12/crme-de-limoncello.html
tu pourras utiliser ta préparation de limoncello pour faire de la crème de limoncello

My Chutney Garden said...

What do you think would happen if I did this with limes?
We don't grow lemons here.
Maybe I can invent a new drink.

Babette said...

It would be fabulous, sez me. I've seen orange flavor...Why not limes? Why not indeed?