Limoncello from ‘Put ’em Up! Fruit’

by Dorothy Reinhold on April 18, 2013


Print This Post Print This Post Limoncello Italian Lemon Liqueur on Shockingly Delicious

Limoncello Italian lemon liqueur is sunshine in a bottle – light, lemony, lethal, complex, nuanced and addictive! Serve it chilled, over ice or cut half and half with seltzer.

When life hands you a bushel or a peck of some fruit at the height of its season, as it is shortly going to do this summer, you’ll eat lots out of hand, but then you’ll wonder if there is a way to preserve that goodness.

Sure there is, and with a smart new half-guide, half-cookbook, you have everything you need in one place!
PutEmUpFruit book cover on Shockingly DeliciousCalled Put ‘em Up! Fruit: Creative Ways to Put ’em Up, Tasty Ways to Use ’em Up,” (by Sherri Brooks Vinton; Storey Publishing $19.95), this book might truly be your one-stop shop. {affiliant link} It has 80 recipes for preserving 18 different fruits (apples, apricots, blackberries and raspberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, grapefruit, grapes, lemons, oranges, peaches, pears, plums, quince, rhubarb, strawberries and tomatoes), along with clear instructions for the boiling water method of canning, and such necessities as acidity, pectin, sterilization, etc.

But, most importantly, I think, it also has an additional 80 recipes for ways to use those preserves you just made. So, for example:

  • We make a Cherry Mostarda and then use it in a Nut-Crusted Goat Cheese.
  • We make a Cherry Almond Relish, and use it in a Turkey Wrap.
  • Or make Maraschino Cherries and use them in a Momma’s Manhattan Cocktail.
  • And then we then make a Cherry Ancho Chile Jam and use it in Pulled-Pork Tacos.
  • Finally, we make a Classic Cherry Jam and use it with a Sauteed Duck Breast.

Cherry Almond Relish from Put em Up Fruit on Shockingly DeliciousSee how that works? No more 35 little jars of jam in your fridge, waiting for inspiration. You have all the fresh, current, flavorful ideas you need in this book.

I have my eye on Lemon, Red Onion, and Oregano Jam. How good would that be with grilled sausages, roast chicken or burgers even? I also like the idea of Thyme Herb Jelly, Apricots in Honey Syrup, Blueberry Ketchup (yes!), Grapefruit Sections in Lavender Syrup, Lemon Ginger Marmalade…oh stop me before I just bookmark every single recipe.

Thyme and Herb Jelly from Put em Up Fruit on Shockingly DeliciousBut I stopped cold when I saw the recipe for Limoncello. I made a similar version, oh, 30 years ago, and it was the best stuff ever! The technique is interesting. You suspend the lemons over grain alcohol, and the alcohol evaporation encourages the oils and juice to be released from the fruit.

Let’s make it!

Limoncello

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 quarts

Limoncello

Limoncello Italian lemon liqueur is sunshine in a bottle – light, lemony, lethal, complex, nuanced and addictive! Serve it chilled, over ice or cut half and half with seltzer.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds lemons (about 8-10)
  • 1 (1.5-liter) bottle grain alcohol, such as Everclear
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water

Directions

  1. Using a vegetable brush, scrub the fruit with a nontoxic, odorless dish soap and hot water.
  2. Thoroughly wash a 5-gallon glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Rinse out the jar with about 1/4 cup of the alcohol. Pour the rest of the alcohol in the jar.
  3. Place the lemons in the center of a single layer of cheesecloth. Bundle the cloth around the lemons and tie the bundle as close to the fruit as possible with a narrow strip of cheesecloth. Suspend the bundled and tied fruit inside the jar, allowing the loose cloth from the bundle to dangle over the top of the jar. Use a rubber band to secure the loose fabric around the neck of the jar.
  4. Cover the jar with the lid, making sure to create an airtight seal. Set the jar aside where it will be undisturbed for 4 to 6 months.
  5. The alcohol from the liquor will evaporate and condense on the fruit, releasing the fruit’s oils and juices, which will drip down into the liquor at the bottom of the jar. The process is complete when the lemons surrender their color and flavor to the liquor – the fruit will be pale and the liquid will be vibrant.
  6. When the lemon liqueur is ready, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let cool to room temperature and then add to the lemon liqueur. Decant into small bottles and allow to cure for at least 2 weeks.
  7. The liqueur will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
  8. Makes about 2 quarts

Notes

Recipe source: "Put 'Em Up Fruit," by Sherri Brooks Vinton; Storey Publishing, $19.95.

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/limoncello-from-put-em-up-fruit-and-a-giveaway/

Here’s one way to use your Limoncello

Lemon Pepper Martini with Limoncello from Put em Up Fruit on Shockingly Delicious

Disclosure: I was provided a copy of “Put ‘em Up! Fruit” for review, and one copy was provided to the giveaway winner, courtesy of Storey Publishing. I was not paid to do this review, and all opinions are my own.

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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

kimberly himelein April 18, 2013 at 10:20 am

Awesome!

Reply

CaptnBlood April 18, 2013 at 10:17 am

We use up preserves by using them as sweetening/flavoring agents for cocktails. strawberry/blueberry jam is great for berry mojitos. fig jam I use for and interesting twist on stormy weathers (rum, ginger beer and lime)

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carrie s April 18, 2013 at 10:14 am

liked Shockingly Delicious

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carrie s April 18, 2013 at 10:11 am

I love to pu up tomatoes as there is so much you can do with them

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Bonnie Cramer Stone April 18, 2013 at 10:10 am

I followed Shockingly Delicious on Pinterest.

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Bonnie Cramer Stone April 18, 2013 at 10:10 am

I followed Shockingly Delicious on Twitter.

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Bonnie Cramer Stone April 18, 2013 at 10:09 am

I liked Shockingly Delicious on facebook.

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Bonnie Cramer Stone April 18, 2013 at 10:09 am

My favorite thing to do with preserves is to eat it on buttered toast (usually a jam/jelly of sort). However, I am eliminating grains and white sugar for health concerns so I’m looking to re-think the items and ways I preserve.

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Laura April 18, 2013 at 10:08 am

And yes, I ran over to like the Facebook page as well. 🙂

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Laura April 18, 2013 at 10:08 am

Outside of violet jelly, my favorite preserves are actually mustards. A good homemade curried mustard used in egg salad is awesome!

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Linda S. April 18, 2013 at 9:37 am

I love limoncello–have enjoyed the limoncello made by my cousins in Italy, the cream kind. I had never thought of it as preserved fruit before, but of course it is. I’m looking forward to trying it over vanilla ice cream this summer.

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vaishali April 18, 2013 at 9:00 am

I love them in salads and on toast sometime..:)

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Linda S. April 18, 2013 at 8:44 am

I’m following you on twitter.

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Dale Mackey April 18, 2013 at 8:11 am

And instagram! Whew! That was a lot of liking!

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Dale Mackey April 18, 2013 at 8:11 am

And pinterest!

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Dale Mackey April 18, 2013 at 8:10 am

And Twitter!

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Dale Mackey April 18, 2013 at 8:10 am

Liked Shockingly Delicious on Facebook!

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Dale Mackey April 18, 2013 at 8:09 am

I love to use preserves in tarts and galettes!

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Martina Lively April 18, 2013 at 7:26 am

Spicy marmalade chicken!

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Angela Baker April 18, 2013 at 6:52 am

My favorite way to use preserves is to share them with others.

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