Limoncello

Limoncello

Make up a batch of this boozy lemony drink - it makes a great homemade gift

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes about 2 litres

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Ready to drink in 2 weeks

Method

  1. Pare the zest from all the lemons, taking care not to include any white pith. Put the zest in a large clean jar and pour over the vodka. Cover with a tightly fitting lid and leave for a week, shaking the jar each day.
  2. Put the sugar in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vodka and peels and leave for a further week, shaking the jar regularly.
  3. Strain into decorative bottles, adding a few strips of lemon zest to each bottle.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2004.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 01 November 2007

    Kelvin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made mine with citrus absolute vodka and reduced the sugar by 250g

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  • 13 January 2008

    Mary commented on this recipe

    Am in the middle east, made this with Smirnoff vodka for a gourmet club Italian dinner. Excellent and disappeared very quickly!

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  • 29 August 2008

    AnnP commented on this recipe

    Would be interested to know if you're suposed to add the lemon juice to this recipe. Doesn't make it clear in the instructions.

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  • 10 November 2008

    Gordon rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Zest only - that way you get the lemon flavour but none of the bitterness. Have just added the syrup and it tastes great already, not sure it'll last another week...

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  • 19 November 2008

    Chris commented on this recipe

    Love the sound of this recipe but how long will it Keep?

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  • 17 December 2008

    Jeanie Mas commented on this recipe

    Have made this using lemons from my tree - picked them Sunday. Where do I get the bottles shown in the recipe picture?

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  • 22 December 2008

    Chris commented on this recipe

    Hi Jeanie Mas. Lakeland Ltd sell preserving bottles. www.lakeland.co.uk

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  • 03 January 2009

    miche rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    too much sugar! A waste of vodka. didn't work for me

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  • 23 February 2009

    Sarah-Emily commented on this recipe

    I have ordered my palermo bottles from Lakeland and can't wait to make this and the Cranberry vodka, although I have a glut of frozen rasperries so it will probably be rasperry vodka! My boyfriend must be bored of hearing me going on about them!

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  • 16 November 2009

    Kay Mount commented on this recipe

    Is the vodka etc added to hot sugar syrup?

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes about 2 litres

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Ready to drink in 2 weeks

Great poured over ice cream

Ingredients

  • 5 unwaxed lemons
  • 1l bottle vodka
  • 750g caster sugar
  • 700ml boiling water
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