Being Italian I feel compelled to post the original recipe.
Ingredients:
doses for 2 liters of limoncello
- 10 lemons (preferably from South Italy)
- 1 kg of sugar
- 1 liter of alcohol at 95 °
- 1 liter of water
--- Preparation:
1) Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler peels in a collecting container. Pour one liter of alcohol at 95 ° and close the container tightly, letting the dough rest for 15 days in the dark.
Occasionally stir the pot keeping it strictly airtight.
At this stage, the alcohol will remove all the color and scent from lemon rinds, charging flavor.
2) Meanwhile we can prepare a syrup, the juice from the lemons we get peeled, add 1 liter of water and sugar and mix together the ingredients needed to heat it will generate a real syrup.
To understand the proper density of the syrup can visually adjust, when we bring it to boil a few minutes to thicken. With this process we're pasteurizing the juice of lemon, to keep it intact for the time needed to the recipe.
Once formed the syrup let it cool and place in refrigerator.
3) After the expiry of 15 days of rest of the lemon peels in alcohol, it's time to unite, in a large pot alcohol (even with the lemon peel in it) and syrup. Close the container and let stand another day. The union of these two compounds in flavor blends in those 24 hours, in addition to the work of conservation that creates maximum alcohol with its 95 °
4) Prepare a funnel lined with cheesecloth and bottles that have a total capacity of 2 liters of limoncello. (I managed to fill 3 bottles, 2 x 1 / 2 and a liter)
Past the stage of filtering, filtered carefully through the limoncello into bottles funnel with gauze, the operation may be slow because the syrup is thick and lemon peels are soaked and retain the liquid.
5) At this point you have before you your bottles of limoncello, but beware! are not ready.
In fact, the lemon needs a further period of rest and filing to be effective.
Keep at rest for at least 1 month, you can keep in the refrigerator or at room temperature.