Thursday 11 October 2012

Limoncello

I've already mentioned Christmas and how I like to make homemade Christmas gifts. This year, as an avid Pinterest user, I've picked up loads of ideas for different presents, and have been pinning like mad over the last couple of months in preparation. You can follow me on Pinterest here, and look at my 'Things that are gifty' and 'Things to try to make' boards. There's also a Christmas board with all things festive too!

Having decided on a few things I'd like to try making, I thought that I'd best test some of those ideas - I don't want to poison anyone, and if things don't work out as planned I'll need time to try again or choose an alternative. So a couple of weeks ago I settled on Limoncello, which I'd seen others pinning as a present idea.

You'll need:
A large glass bottle or kilner jar
75cl vodka
5 lemons (unwaxed, or washed in really really hot water to rinse the wax off)
650gwhite sugar
700ml boiling water

Start by taking large strips of the peel from the lemons and placing in the jar. Try not to get any of the bitter pith in, you just want the peel. Pour the vodka over the top and leave to steep for around a week-ten days. Keep in a dark place, and give it a shake every day.
You could leave this upto a month if you really wanted to improve the flavour, but I was desperate to get on and try it! Now you've made lemon vodka, and you could leave it at that - it's a great gift still.

But I wanted something a bit more than just flavoured vodka, so...
After the initial steeping, put the sugar into a jug and pour over the boiling water. Stir until the sugar is all dissolved. The pour this sugar mix onto the lemon vodka. Give it a gentle shake and leave for another week, again shaking each day.

Now all you need to do is strain through a muslin/paper coffee filter, and bottle or jar it, adding a few of the large pieces of peel if you desire. You could make your own labels, and add ribbons to make it pretty. Best served from the freezer, but it'll keep well for months in a cool, dark place.

And how about trying some homemade lemon curd with the juice from the leftover lemons?

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