food stuff

homemade limoncello

Last month, I returned from California with a duffel bag full of freshly picked lemons from my parents’ backyard. Juicy as they were, it was their shiny peels that I looked forward to using. For the past year and a half, I’ve been storing most of a handle of throat-burning Devil’s Spring vodka in my freezer, totally clueless about what to do with it (make a barrel of jungle juice? sterilize some medical instruments?).

Thanks to that sturdy tree back home, I now have two mason jars of sweet, potent, homemade lemon liquer. Making it was pretty straightforward: steep lemon peels (avoid the white pith) and a high-alcohol vodka (about 2 medium lemons per cup of liquor) in a closed mason jar at room temperature for about two weeks. When the peels have lost most of their color, remove them. Add simple syrup and store in the freezer. Dilute it as much or as little as you’d like. It’ll feel like the Amalfi Coast in no time.