limoncello

limoncello, tangy, sweet, and fragrant liqueur of Italian origin made from lemon zest. Limoncello is mainly produced in southern Italy, particularly around the Amalfi coast, Sicily, and the Bay of Naples. It is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestif. Limoncello can also be used to add bright, lemony flavor to cocktails and desserts.

History

According to Federvini, an Italian association of wine and liquor producers, limoncello was developed in the early 1900s on the Island of Capri by innkeeper Maria Antonia Farace. Farace cultivated a lush grove of lemon trees and orange trees and served homemade lemon liqueur to her guests and friends. After World War II, Farace’s nephew opened a restaurant in Capri that featured her lemon liqueur as a specialty. In 1988 entrepreneur Massimo Canale, the son of Farace’s nephew, registered the trademark Limoncello di Capri and began producing small batches of limoncello to supply local bars and restaurants. From 1990 to 2005 limoncello’s popularity boomed in Italy and also spread to Europe and the rest of the world. It has remained popular in Italy, where it is the second most popular liqueur after the aperitif Campari.

Production and uses

Limoncello is relatively easy to make and lends itself to home production. It requires a few basic ingredients: lemon zest (the outermost layer of the peel without the bitter-tasting pith), high-proof grain alcohol, and simple syrup (a mixture of sugar and water). Because the outermost layer of the peel is a primary ingredient, limoncello is made with organic lemons, with peels that are free of wax and pesticides. Limoncello is traditionally made from two varieties of lemon cultivated in southern Italy: Femminello Santa Teresa lemons (often called sfusato, “oblong and tapered”) with thick sweet-tasting peels that are rich in lemon oil and Sorrento lemons, juicy oval-shaped lemons with smooth skin.

Limoncello is made by steeping lemon zest in grain alcohol until the lemon oil is infused into the alcohol. Steeping times can vary from 3 to 30 days, depending on the recipe. The resulting bright yellow mixture is combined with simple syrup, strained, stored in bottles, and aged for a period of up to 45 days. Longer aging periods produce limoncello with smooth and mellow flavors.

Limoncello can be mixed into cocktails with vodka, gin, sparkling wine, bourbon, and other spirits. Some of the most popular limoncello cocktails are the limoncello lemon drop, a tart, sweet, and potent vodka-based cocktail, and the limoncello spritz, a refreshing mix of limoncello, sparkling wine, and club soda. Limoncello can also be used to flavor baked goods and desserts, such as tiramisu, ricotta cake, pound cake, cookies, ice cream, and sorbet. The alcohol content of commercially made limoncello ranges from 24 percent to 32 percent. Crema di limoncello, a sweet limoncello variation made with milk and cream, has a lower alcohol content, usually less than 20 percent.