Limoncello
Ingredients:
15 thick-skinned lemons (Eureka, Lisbon or Citron)
2 bottles (750 ml each) 100 proof vodka
4 1/2 cups sugar
5 cups water
Instructions: Wash the lemons in hot water before you start. Remove the
peel with a vegetable peeler, removing all white pith on the back of the
peel by scraping with a knife, and put the peels in a 4 quart Mason jar.
Add 1 bottle of vodka and stir. Cover the jar, date it, and put it to rest
in a dark cabinet at room temperature.After 40 days, take out the vodka-lemon
mixture. In a saucepan set over high heat, stir the sugar and water together
and boil for 5 minutes. Let the sugar syrup cool completely in the pan,
about 10 minutes. Add the sugar syrup to the vodka-lemon mixture along
with the second bottle of vodka. Stir well to combine. Replace the cover
on the jar and note the finish date. Return it to the dark cabinet and
store for 40 more days. At day 80, remove the lemoncello from the cabinet.
Strain the mixture and discard the lemon peel.Pour into clean, unused bottles
with caps or decorative corked bottles. Store the bottles in the pantry,
but put one bottle at a time in the freezer until ready to use.
Makes approximately 3 quarts.
