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Pace, Pasqua e Pizza al Formaggio »

Limoncello

February by casalba

On the whole, February has been a remarkably sunny month in Le Marche. We did have a few foggy days early in the month, but hardly any rain. The winter sun wasn’t strong enough, however, to warm the earth and, coupled with the lack of rain, our new ‘grassless’ lawn didn’t germinate. We were a little optimistic, it has to be said.

Nor was it warm enough to let stufa, our wood burning stove, have a rest. We have a close relationship with stufa simply because she requires fairly constant feeding and cleaning. Nevertheless, she keeps us warm and we can use her for cooking at no extra cost. She can also perfume the room:  if you put fresh orange peel on the top,  the air fills with a delicious citrus aroma.

Lemon ghost

 

On the citrus thread, we have just unveiled the lemon trees on our balcony. They have stood ghost-like all winter under white fleeces to protect them from frost. Now they are free again.

 

Both plants were gifts from a neighbour who is a specialist in all citrus fruit.  He has one plant which, through grafting, bears lemons, limes and oranges. (Not sure I’d bother with that. In fact, I know I wouldn’t – clever though!) 

 

 

Dan loves the lemon trees and he makes a great Limoncello:

  •  8 Large unwaxed lemons
  • 750ml pure alcohol
  • 750g granulated sugar
  • 1 litre water
  1. Wash the lemons well and peel them with a very sharp knife – you do not want any of the pith because this will make it bitter.
  2. Put the lemon skins into a 2 litre glass container with a wide mouth (the jar, not you) and add the alcohol. 
  3. Make sure the container is firmly sealed and put it into a dark place for three weeks.
  4. Every now and again, roughly every 3 days, shake the container gently – sort of ‘swish’  it around.
  5. After three weeks, put a litre of water in a large pan, add the sugar and dissolve it over a very low heat, stirring from time to time.
  6. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the solution to boiling point and then turn off the heat and allow to cool thoroughly.
  7. Add the sugar/water solution to the lemon skins and alcohol.
  8. Close the wide-mouthed glass bottle well and leave for another 10 days – again in the dark.
  9. Filter the mixture through a sieve and put in sterilised, dry bottles.

All you need to do now is cork the bottles and put them in the freezer. The Limoncello won’t actually freeze, of course, because of the high alcohol content. It should be served straight from the freezer.

Notes: Most recipes call for ½ a litre of alcohol and 1 kilo of sugar, but through experimenting, Dan has found that by increasing the alcohol and decreasing the sugar the result is far cleaner and sharper. He once also tried cane sugar, but it wasn’t nearly as good.

Our friend Nick found it quite extraordinary that in Italy you can buy pure alcohol by the litre in pharmacies and even in supermarkets. (The Italian mentality contrasts with the recent debates in the UK about licensing laws and underage binge drinking.) Nick tried the recipe.   A few weeks later, he e-mailed this question: “What do you do with 16 bald lemons?’’

If you can’t get the pure alcohol, you may want to try this
Lemon Gin  recipe by The Cottage Smallholder. You’ll have to wait 3 years though.  And, you’ll need a car and plenty of bubble wrap! Limoni

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Posted in Recipes, The Garden | Tagged Limoncello recipe | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on February at 12:26 pm Cottage Smallholder

    Hi Sally,

    This is great! A beautifully written piece and a great design.

    I really envy you your lemon trees and the fact that you can buy pure alchol!

    Love the idea of stufa heating, cooking and perfuming your lives.


  2. on February at 11:06 am amanda

    Hey Sally,
    What a great start to your blog, I love your banner image, it’s very atmospheric. I also love Limoncello but I have to be careful because it doesn’t seem to love me, one sip results in an almost instant hangover, I’m afraid my days of swigging pure alchol may be coming to an end. We have a love/hate relationship with our stufa love the warmth, hate the cleaning and lugging in wood. Will definately try the citrus smell thingy sounds great.
    Ciao


  3. on February at 1:52 pm Maryann

    What better way to start than with Limoncello! My grandmother used to put citrus peels on the stove as well. I wish you lots of fun with your new blog :)


  4. on February at 3:38 pm rowena

    Hi Sally! The planets must be aligned or something, because I’ve been wanting a citrus tree (the aromatic tiny blossoms on the pompelmo at the nursery is heavenly!) but are told each time that citrus trees wouldn’t be a wise idea at our place. Well, now that I see how you’ve covered your lemon tree in fleece, I’m like…..we could do that! I’ll be sure to pass this bit of info on to my husband.

    As for the stufa…acch!…we still haven’t gotten to that point yet. The no-fuss vehicle for natural potpourri and yes, the cooking that costs nothing — so worth having a stufa in the home. Thanks for stopping by and sharing a few words on lemon trees and limoncello. My mother-in-law has already figured out one of my weaknesses and always makes a bottle or two for us to enjoy.


  5. on March at 2:38 pm Joe

    Hi Sally,

    Great post. It’s tough to find pure alcohol here in the US depending on where you live. It’s not legal here in Massachusetts but is in Connecticut (so we just drive on over:)
    I wish we had your lemons though!:) Cheers – Joe



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