On my Tray of Bliss today is the Limoncello I've made for family and friends as gifts this year.
Limoncello is seductive when served chilled from the freezer and is simply lemon peel (no pith...that's the white stuff) steeped in vodka for a couple of weeks, strained and mixed with a sugar syrup, and left to brew to a luscious smooth liqueur over several weeks or months.
The labels are something I just whipped up using some clipart, and I have decoupaged white tissue paper over them to give an artisanal appearance.
My family look forward to my home made gifts each year, and just between you and me, I reckon this one's a real winner!
What's on your Tray of Bliss today?
Ingredients:
1 litre vodka...cheap is fine
12 organic or home grown lemons (spray free)
For the sugar syrup used later:
4 cups sugar
6 cups water
Equipment:
Large open mouthed jar with airtight lid. A spaghetti storage jar with a swing top lid is ideal.
Sharp vegetable peeler
Saucepan for making sugar syrup
Method:
Peel the yellow peel from the lemons, being careful not to get any of the white pith as it will make the limoncello bitter. Pile these into the jar, and add the vodka. Leave in a cool, dark place for 14 days, giving the mix a swirl every couple of days. The liquid will gradually turn yellow and the peel will fade.
After 14 days, strain the mixture through a clean, damp Chux or some muslin, into a large bowl or jug.
Make the sugar syrup by bringing the 6 cups of water to a simmer and adding the 4 cups of sugar. Stir until dissolved and allow to cool.
Add the cooled sugar syrup to the lemon vodka, and mix well.
Rebottle as desired. You can put in a little extra vodka at this point if you like. This will increase your yield, but I would only do it to top up bottles, not to dilute it or you will lose the flavour.
You can then make a super cute label using a fancy font and clip art.
I glued mine to the bottles with Decoupage Glue. I then pasted a torn piece of white tissue wrap over it to give it that hand made look.
My bottles were sourced through eBay, but many of the discount stores and home brew suppliers have suitable containers.
The longer you leave the Limoncello, the smoother it becomes. I have a 5 litre flagon of it on the go now. A bit of an outlay up front, but it's for my sons' wedding next year, along with a few gifts in between.
This recipe works equally well with limes, blood oranges or valencias.