Limoncello is a traditional Italian liqueur made with lemons, and making your own is a fine tradition.
I've made straight limocello a couple of times but pictured above are my first forays into non traditional versions.
On the left is orange and clove while on the right is lemon, satsuma, and lime.
The method of production is easy.
Firstly, give the fruit a clean to remove any contaminants or preservatives applied to the skin.
Next, chop into quarters. Fill a sealable jar with the fruit quarters (ensure it's well cleaned with something that wont leave a residue - I use bicarbonate of soda and boiling water).
When the fruit is packed in up to the top, add in your alcohol. For this you want a high percentage neutral spirit. For these I used Lautergold's Prima Sprit, which is 70 proof. Whatever strong neutral spirit is local to you is fine.
Seal the lid on, and let the fruit marinade. A day or two will suffice, but these were in for a couple of weeks.
Next I emptied the jar into the blender and let it whizz up until it looked like a thick fruit juice. Then it gets strained through dome cloth to retain the liquid, but lose the pulp.
With that done I pour into a measuring jug so I can see how much I have. For both it was about 750-800 ml.
The bottles pictured are litre bottles so I kept 700ml, and topped that up to 1000ml with simple syrup, which is equal parts sugar and water. A plain white sugar is best, though the citrus one above ended up with muscovado in it.
Once mixed together the liquor is poured into the bottle (again, clean it well first) and sealed.
A few hours in the fridge will chill sufficiently, but I'll be taking these on holiday next month.
