Limoncello: Italians do it better!

As yesterday was my birthday, my sister had the idea of going out for dinner (with our couples) and celebrate the event for one more time (see previous post on my birthday party). Once we decided the place, the food, the dessert...then came the idea of something that will help us digest everything we had devoured. And what's best than a (few) glass(es) of limoncello.

Limoncello is one of the gazillion italian gourmet trademarks that has a really old origin in the neighbour country (Italy, duh!). Every family has its own recipe to prepare limoncello and reserve it for every happy occasion. It's really refreshing and ideal to finish a meal.

I did a quick research for limoncello and I came up with a big number of different recipes. All of them include only 4 basic ingredients: lemon zest, vodka, sugar & water. What differs between recipes is the quantity of each item and the time you will have to give limoncello to rest.


Here's a typical recipe:
10-15 lemons from which you will take only the yellow zest (not the white part or the juice)
1 bottle of vodka (750ml) and an extra one to taste
4 cups of sugar
5 cups of water.

Take out the zest of the lemons and place them in a pincher along with one bottle of vodka. Cover the pincher and let it rest for 1-2 weeks (yes weeks!!!). Once ready, mix sugar and water so that they will become syrup. Combine the syrup to the previous mixture (don't add it all at once, maybe you'll find it too sweet so you won't have to use the whole portion) and add extra vodka to taste. Let it rest again for about a week (within covered pincher). Once ready strain the zest from the mixture, place limoncello in bottles and store it in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!