Limoncello from ‘Put ’em Up! Fruit’

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!
Called “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.

See 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.

But 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!

Here’s one way to use your Limoncello

Tagged as: cocktail, cookbook, lemon liqueur, lemons, limoncello, liqueur