This article and recipe first appeared in the March 2014 issue of Culinaire Magazine.
by BJ Oudman
"First, book a plane ticket to Sorrento, Italy to buy lemons." Making limoncello from scratch was destined to be costly with this advice! The teacher was Toni Hilton, an American expat who rents out not only her house at the peak of Villa San Secondo, but provides a supply of homemade limoncello in the freezer. Mysteriously, our often half-consumed bottle would be filled again with the sweet, tart, slushy lemon concoction that we grew to accept as a daily staple of Italian life.
Limoncello is a liqueur made from lemon, alcohol and simple sugar. Enjoyed as an aperitif, a digestif or in a cocktail, it is sunshine in a glass - a perfect way to freshen your palate from the ports and bourbons that warm you during the long winter months. Produced since the early 1900's in southern Italy and at that time known simply as "yellow liquor", the name limoncello became a registered trademark only in 1988. Although imitations are made in other regions, including California, true limoncello is made only from Sorrento lemons. This region of the Amalfi coast, with abundant sunshine and volcanic soils, grows plump lemons with gnarly skin and powerful fragrance - so unique that Sorrento lemons are a protected geographical indication (IGP) in Europe.
Making homemade "limoncello" is simple (and not expensive sans a quick trip to Sorrento!).
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