How to make lovely Limoncello

Anyone who has indulged in a belly busting Calabrian meal will be familiar with Limoncello.  This delicious liqueur is offered as a digestivo to help you wash down the plentiful courses that you are likely to have just swallowed.  Cool, sweet and light this is the perfect accompaniment to any meal.  My freezer is always stocked with a home made bottle and over the year I have experimented with different quantities (and strengths!) to settle on what I now believe is the perfect limoncello. So grab your lemons, make a batch and let me know what you think!

Ingredients: 

• 8-10 big, beautiful Calabrese or Sicilian unwaxed lemons
• 1 litre of pure alcohol (95% pure grain)
• 750g granulated white sugar
• 1 litre of water

Method
First of all, take your lemons and give them a good scrub to remove any grime impurities or wax from the skin.

Very carefully using a knife or a potato peeler remove the thin rind paying attention not to get any white pith as this will make your limoncello too bitter.

Put your lemon rinds in a big glass container with a lid and drench in the litre of pure alcohol. Leave to stand for 1 month, mixing and shaking the container every week (or when you remember to do so).

After a month, mix together 1 litre of water with 750g of granulated sugar in a saucepan
and heat over a small flame so that the sugar dissolves creating a syrup.

Add the syrup to your limoncello and leave again for another 3 weeks.
Remember where you’ve put your limoncello mixture and filter it through a sieve to remove the lemon rinds.  To be really authentic you can also do this through muslin fabric like a lady I know here but it’s not a deal breaker!