Limoncello

                  Wash the Lemons and Bottles                 Mans

So, you have made your marmalade, but your lemons are still ‘hanging’, weighing ‘that naughty branch’ down so much that you knock your noggin every time you walk past. Surely, it’s time to lighten its load and make limoncello. The first mission is to get 90% alcohol proof from you local pharmacy. My local pharmacist broke into a huge smile when I told him I was making Limoncello and proudly told me he makes his own kosher wine. Clearly I have found the right supplier. Like many things to do with food and beverages, the longer you wait the better it turns out, so start your limoncello process now (july), so not only will you be able to walk underneath ‘that branch’ without causing damage to your pip, but by the time Christmas comes, you’ll have cool prezzies to give your adult friends.

Thin strips of peel          Mans

Wot you need

Sugar

Water

A 4l jar with a tight seal

Muslim cloth and a sieve

750ml vodka

750ml 90% proof alcohol (ignore your pharmacist when he says, ‘don’t drink it’)

About 18 lemons

750ml water

4 cups of sugar

Enough charming and funky bottles for the finished product

Wot to Do

Choose lemons with good skins and give them a wash. Peel them into long strips with as little pith a possible, pop them into your airtight jar with both alcohols and store in a cool dark place. Every couple of weeks give it stir. After a few months try ‘the peel snap test’. If the peel snaps them you can move onto making your syrup. Add the water and sugar and boil for about 5 mins and cool. while the syrup is cooling remove the peels from the alcohol and filter the alcohol through a wet cloth (muslim). Add the cooled syrup to the alcohol and pour it back into the airtight jar and store for another couple of months. Finally, pour into sterilised bottles.

When you pull out a bottle of homemade linocello after dinner, and everybody tells you how cleaver you are to have made it, it’s jolly hard not to feel rather pleased with yourself. 

                            Limoncello an after dinner winner                              Mans