Wednesday 24 October 2007

Limoncello and Dad....



This digestivo is easy to make at home. In Italy this drink is made with pure spirit or grappa and since my dear departed Dad gave me plenty of his home brew (honestly undrinkable in its raw state, in my opinion, many beg to differ) I will endeavour to make limoncello, which might suit me better. My dad was not Italian but he was named after one of it's most famous cities, Milan.



6 large lemons (picked from your backyard or someone else's that is free
from spray or wax)

1 litre unflavoured grappa
1 kg sugar
1 litre water

MAKES 3 LITRES

Peel fruit extremely thinly, removing only the coloured part of the rind (no pith). Use a vegie peeler. Put the strips of peel into a glass, ceramic or stainless steel container with the alcohol. Cover tightly to prevent evaporation. Leave for 1 week.

Strain, pressing well on the skins to release their oils, and reserve the rind and the alcohol. In a saucepan, mix the sugar and water. Tip in the rind and bring to the boil gently, stirring all the time to dissolve the sugar completely. Allow to cool. Strain and add the citrus-flavoured syrup to the alcohol. Transfer to clean glass bottles (pretty one PLEASE but strong enough not to crack in the freezer.) Seal and store in the freezer at all times.

There you are now ready for summer!!

Looks like dear old Dad was ready in those shorts!! I don't think
these are lemons in the photo but we could pretend!

Vida x


10 comments:

paris parfait said...

I love limoncello - there's a bottle in my refrigerator at the moment. Such a sweet photo! xo

Vida said...

Thanks Tara, he does look cute in his homemade shorts! I miss him dearly. The limoncello helps... Vida x

Cindy said...

Oh yeah... I fell in love with limoncello last summer. Straight up in a little glass with lots of ice!

Ilva said...

And my husband comes from Milan!

Vida said...

Ilva, can you see our connection!! We are meant to be friends!! Vida x x

Cindy, ice is the key, it really is potent stuff. Vida x x

Kajal@aapplemint said...

thats a really sweet old photo. I just love to go thru my parents old pictures. I'm not a alcohol drinker but i know if i was i would always have a bottle of this in my fridge.

thanh7580 said...

Hi Vida, I followed your comment from Stickyfingers post about the lemon cake. I wanted to find out how to make the limoncello. It sounds easy enough, but what is grappa and where can I get it?

Vida said...

Thanh7580, hi, Grappa is an Italian term for spirits (alcohol). Basically it is pure alcohol, home brewed! You would be better off to use Vodka, it is much more accomodating than Grappa anyway, I just used Grappa because I had it. My girlfriend did it with Vodka and it was much better! Thanks for visiting... Vida x x x

thanh7580 said...

Vida, ok thanks, I'm going to try it out now. There's an article in today's Epicure about Limoncello. The article said how great it tastes and how potent it is without you realising it. They had prices for Limoncello made in Australia and it was about $35 for 500ml. Now I can make my own for much cheaper. I'll use vodka then.

Vida said...

Thanh7580, yes I saw the article too, but just remember you saw it with me FIRST!!! Glad you are happy to make it even though the article says Vodka won't work but I guess he is just trying to sell his product... Enjoy... Vida x