Limoncello - lemon liqueur

Limoncello is a lemon liqueur produced in the south of Italy, mainly in the region around the Gulf of Naples and the coast of Amalfi, but also in Sicily and on Sardinia. It is made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water, and sugar. Lemons for limoncello are picked and washed only with water. They are then fed through a machine which gathers the lemon rinds. The rinds are then placed into a vat, where they saturate with alcohol for 3 to 5 days. Sugar and water are added to the vat. Higher quality sugars used in the infusion process denotes sweeter liqueur. The resulting liquid is then homogenized in a turbo emulsifier for 40 minutes, after which it is bottled.

While limoncello is very common in Italy, it has not exactly caught on to the mainstream American drinking and resturant world. But restaurants in the United States are starting to find the appeal of limoncello. Unlike other hard liquors, limoncello is extremely cheap to produce, only requiring sugar, water, lemon rinds, alcohol, and time to ferment. Italian restaurants in the U.S. are also gaining extra class and credibility by serving their guests limoncello.

Limoncello is also popular among Italian-Americans, who often make their own homemade versions of it. Homemade limoncello can be a great deal stronger than brands sold in stores. It is fairly common in America for limoncello to be consumed in a shot glass, whereas in Italy is is strictly drank in the traditional form.

Limoncello (pronounced Lee mon CHELL oh) is a liqueur, so it needs to be sweet and strong of flavor.

Infused-Vodka.com's Limoncello recipe

approx. 16 Meyer lemons

Limoncello recipe
1 cup sugar
1 750 ml bottle of vodka. Obviously the better quality of vodka is preferred for the best limoncello.
1 infusion jar from /www.infused-vodka.com/g,  the widest selection of limoncello jars.

Peel all the lemons into strips with as little of the white part as possible and put them in your Web Infusion's limoncello jar sealable jar. They should go halfway to the top of the limoncello jar. A few more or less is not terribly important.

Add the cup of sugar first and then the liquor to within 1 inch of the top. Latch the lid of your limoncello jar tightly and shake the mixture vigorously.

Shake once a day for 2 weeks. At the end of 2 weeks, strain the mixture into another container (a liquor bottle is a good choice) and place in the freezer.  Serve your limoncello in your infusion jar.

Serve in very small, chilled glasses. (Please enjoy your limoncello, this stuff is potent!)

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