Limoncello
 

Had this wonderful liquor after dinner at a cute little Italian trattoria in Venice and loved it. Bought some at the airport to take home. I know it is served chilled and in a shot glass or cordial glass. Does anyone know what type of liquor it is made of with the lemon flavor? It sort of has a mild vodka/lemon taste. I am not a vodka fan, but I do like this drink!! Very refreshing too! Also, does it go by other names as well. There were so many to choose from at the airport and in Italy and they all had a little different name, but they all started with Limon.....Cheers!<BR><BR>

MyBelle,<BR>Do a search here and you'll find lots of info and even recipes for making it yourself.

MyBelle: If you want to be really &quot;authentic&quot; they had limoncello glasses at Crate &amp; Barrel recently!

We bought limoncino in Venice. I have no idea if this is different from linoncello.

When we were in Apulia, in the south of Italy, recently we stayed with friends who own an olive grove there and Yolanda was making her own limoncello (same as lemoncino according to her). She used these funny, very thin- skinned, greenish lemons that were very pungent. <BR><BR>They are allowed to ferment (no details, secret family recipe) then helped along a bit with the Italian equivalent of &quot;alcool&quot; and a simple sugar syrup which I was allowed to boil up on the stove. <BR><BR>Bottled and kept in the freezer and served after dinner in these tiny frosted yellow glasses that were also pre-chilled. <BR><BR>Of course, being a loyal pal, I am going to say that nothing is as good as Yolanda's but the Limoncello I bought back home tasted quite fine, too.

Hi all,<BR> Remember, in making your own limoncello, the most important ingredient is the lemons from the Amalfi Coast.

Limoncello is one of the finest food treats of Italy IMO. Can't answer your question about type of alcohol that's in it but whatever it is it is good. First taste I ever had started me thinking about choosing this as my drink of choice. Putting a little in the bottle of the glass and filling the rest with champagne (like you do with Kir) is a good way to serve it if you want to vary the just straight over rocks thing. I also made a limoncello cake by using the Bacari rum cake recipe made in a bundt pan, substituting limoncello for the rum and using lemon cake mix and lemon pudding mix instead of the yellow and vanilla called for in the Bacardi recipe. Yummy!.

When we were in Positano, we became hooked on Limoncello. We buy it whenever we can, and it is a big hit at dinner parties. <BR><BR>As far as ingredients, here is a Limoncello recipe that somebody sent me. I have not tried it yet.<BR><BR> INGREDIENTS:<BR>* 15 thick-skinned lemons (Eureka, Lisbon or Citron)<BR>* 2 bottles (750 ml each) of the best 100 proof Vodka<BR>* 4 1/2 cups sugar<BR>* 5 cups water<BR><BR> INSTRUCTIONS:<BR>Wash the lemons in hot water before starting. 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. <BR><BR>Add 1 bottle of Vodka and stir. Cover the jar, date it, and put it to rest in a dark cabinet at room temperature. <BR><BR>After 40 days, take out the lemon-Vodka mixture. Ina sauce pan 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 lemon-Vodka mixture along with the second bottle of Vodka. <BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>At day 80, remove the limoncello from the cabinet. Strain the mixture and discard the lemon peel. <BR><BR>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. <BR>Makes approximately 3 quarts.<BR><BR>Good drinking to you.<BR><BR><BR>

Limoncello! Yum! We discovered it on our first trip, when checking the freezer of a rental villa and found what looked like a bottle of antifreeze! Bless the brave soul amongst us who tried it before we tossed it.<BR><BR>We've been making it at home for a few years, similar recipt to mai tai tom's, but let me suggest tips we've learned: <BR><BR>Use the &quot;large&quot; scraping-place on a zester to create fat strings of rind. It creates more surface area of lemon for the vodka to absorb. (or, slice the peels into thin strips with a knife) Also, avoid cheap vodka; it makes yucky limoncello. Go for middle-of-road stuff like gilbeys. When bottling, strain the limoncello in a coffee filter. Our system uses a paper coffee filter inside of a paper/mesh paint filter (?) this thingy costs 11 cents, and fits neatly into a large tumbler for collecting the limoncello.<BR><BR>Salute!

&quot;Also, avoid cheap vodka;&quot;<BR><BR>I am assuming to make the Limoncello. I can still drink cheap vodka, can't I?

This is so apropos... I was just given 6 beautiful limoncello glasses. Thanks for the thread and the recipes...

And lucky you lovers of that drink can find it at any good shop that imports all our favorites from around the world, or ask a friend or relative who is nearer.

Having read similar posts before my first Italy trip last November, I decided to buy a bottle here in So. Calif at Trader Joe's and &quot;practice.&quot; Fortunately, it was love at first sip and still love--six months later. Yes, I had it in Tuscany served out of the same glasses I had purchased at Crate and Barrel for $2/ea (pictured on catalog website).<BR><BR>You will find TONS of recipes using GOOGLE as your search engine, and can buy a large, screw-top glass bottle at Crate and Barrel also.<BR><BR>Nope, haven't made it yet, just keep buying the brand that Trader Joes has for $10--a bottle in three freezers should last a while!<BR><BR>BTW, I did have the homemade version at a Birthday party for an Italian, and it was made with the &quot;cheapest&quot; vodka that Trader Joe's carries (because they had bottled it in the vodka bottle). A young clerk there told me that her Aunt uses &quot;grain alcohol&quot; and a few of the recipes on Google call for that.<BR><BR>Good luck and Bon appetit!

My sister Burta gave me some Crate &amp; Barrel limoncello glasses--to go with the &quot;Limoncello Cream&quot; recipe that she got from Monica Pileggi on this board! yummy. But as an avid vodka fan, I have to agree that you use high-quality vodka when making limoncello or it just won't be as fabulous.

In case any unsuspecting person gets this and thinks they will automatically love it.....here's a dissenting opinion. I hate the stuff!

Grasshopper said, &quot;here's a dissenting opinion. I hate the stuff!&quot;<BR>Maybe Grasshopper prefers this drink.<BR>1 ounce green cr&egrave;me de menthe<BR>1 ounce white cr&egrave;me de cacao<BR>1 ounce light cream<BR>1/2 cup crushed ice<BR><BR>

Aha! I recognize the ingredients for a &quot;grasshopper&quot;. Nope, give me a nice glass of Valpocello, Monica, Amarone, Sangiovese, Brunello........

&quot;Sangiovese, Brunello&quot;<BR><BR>My two favorites.

Obviously, the posters on these forums are not teetotalers:)<BR>Over the past few months, friends would discuss their love of Limoncello. I was ignorant of what it was, so someone gave me a wee bottle with two tiny glasses. I love it ice cold, just after a large rich meal, when you know there is no room for another bite:)<BR>I have recipes for ice cream with Limoncello poured over it also:)

&quot;Obviously, the posters on these forums are not teetotalers&quot;<BR><BR>I hope my screen name doesn't give me away.