Limoncello

[itsstillmatt]

Just picked lemons from the back yard to make this years batch. Any fans of this stuff? I am not sure that I love the taste, but I love the memories that it brings up. Homemade is waaaay better than the colored store bought junk.

 

[LabelKing]

I am fond of most lemon refreshments.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

I am fond of most lemon refreshments.

Lime also is an excellent flavor.

Ever have home-made Limeade?

Another good juice is made from half fresh orange juice, half fresh tangerine juice.

 

[alflauren]

Limoncello is great stuff, particularly if you can get good lemons. I assume your backyard variety is of the right quality. I also like Nocino, but it's harder to find green walnuts.

 

[globetrotter]

that is great - I enjoy it, but I used to enjoy more the idea of having fruit growing in my backyard

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by alflauren

Limoncello is great stuff, particularly if you can get good lemons. I assume your backyard variety is of the right quality. I also like Nocino, but it's harder to find green walnuts.

My mother lives in the walnut country in Southwest France. She always has bottles of the stuff in the wine cellar.

We have both standard and meyer lemons in our backyard. I was taught to use about 75% yellow lemons and 25% green lemons. The yellow ones have more flavor, but the green ones have more fragrance.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by iammatt

but the green ones have more fragrance.

Which seems to make all the difference in such recipes as this.

 

[sygyzy]

I like limoncello. I visited Sorrento, where it comes from (?). I like the cream version more than the traditional version.

 

[Fabienne]

I once bought a bottle, tasted it, and poured it down the drain. I have never tasted the homemade kind. What goes into it?

I've made walnut wine while visiting relatives in Burgundy.

 

[Mike]

My mom just returned from a trip to Capri and the Amalfi coast. Lemoncello is huge there, since they grow a lot of lemons there. she liked it and brought me back a bottle. Good stuff.

 

[Thracozaag]

Friend of my dad's makes his own; it's terrific--and great as a digestive/apertif.

koji

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by Fabienne

I once bought a bottle, tasted it, and poured it down the drain. I have never tasted the homemade kind. What goes into it?

I've made walnut wine while visiting relatives in Burgundy.
Lemon peels and grain alcohol. Then after awhile you mix it with a sugar and water syrup. You really need to grow the lemons yourself to avoid the waxed ones that are sold everywhere in the US.

 

[alflauren]

Yeah, you can use the wax ones but 1) you have to scrub the hell out of them, and 2) if they're waxed, they're probably not the kind to use in the first place.

I've seen it made two ways: lemon peels, everclear, sugar and water or lemon peels, sugar, and vodka. In the end, you end up with the same alcohol content. It's just which ever way you prefer to extract the lemon essence.

 

[LabelKing]

You can also add milk to make it a cream version as someone has mentioned earlier.

 

[Jill]

Yup! We love it. Go through lots of it when we're there, as an after-dinner aperitif . Especially when we're in the Amalfi Coast region. Oh who am I kidding? We have it everywhere. Our tie-maker's mother gave us a bottle to bring home with us last year. It never saw the borders, though.

I can't imagine anyone not liking it, really. It's not intended to be consumed in large portions though. Our limoncello glasses are teeny tiny, and are kept in the freezer, alongside the limoncello.

We're in the process (day 32, I believe) of making our own right now. 11 more days before adding the simple syrup. Just started a batch of orangecello a couple of nights ago. From everything I can find, it will basically be similar to Cointreau or Grand Marnier. While all the recipes recommend using organically grown citrus, everyone I know says it doesnt really matter as long as you wash them very well prior to zesting.

Anyway, glad to see there are so many other fans. Will let you know how it turns out!