Don't be a lemon - try some limoncello! (Limoncello)

Member Name: fizzywizzy

Product:	Limoncello
Date:	25/05/09 (270 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, alcoholic, refreshing

Disadvantages: Too moreish

To me, nothing sums up the taste of summer better than a chilled glass of limoncello. This delicious drink, served usually as a digestivo, comes from the Campania region of Italy, with the main areas of production being around Sorrento, the Amalfi area and the islands in the Bay of Capri (Ischia, Procida and the isle of Capri itself). It is also made in Sicily, Sardinia and even the Maltese island of Gozo but it is best when made from Sorrento lemons because this variety contains a greater proportion of the zesty oils from which the drinks gets its characteristic flavour.

While limoncello is manufactured commercially, many people (in Italy - I know nobody who has made any in the UK!) make it themselves at home and it is said that it's quite an easy drink to make. There are many different brands but the most common ones (certainly outside of Italy) are Luxardo and Pallini. If you are souvenir shopping in Naples or Sorrento you will see lots of differently shaped bottles of limoncello - crescent moons, lemons, copies of local monuments; I did wonder about the quality of these limoncellos and bought a branded bottle in a shop selling local fare to take home to England.

I first tried limoncello in Italy when an icy glass was presented to me with my bill at a Naples trattoria. I was dining alone and was so excited about this exciting flavour that when I later met my partner after his business meeting I wanted him to try some. However, his Italian colleague explained that, strictly speaking, limoncello is a digestivo and drunk at the end of a meal. However, I have never been one to bow to convention (although I do impose my own - in England, no sherry before 6.30pm although a lunch time sherry is de rigueur in Andalusia) and do what I like at home; in Italy I do as the Italians do and usually drink limoncello after a meal though I was introduced to a refreshing aperitivo in which a serving of limoncello is topped up with tonic water.

How best to describe the taste of limoncello? Quite simply it tastes of the sun. How could it not? Just think of those beautiful vibrant yellow lemons ripening on the trees around Sorrento soaking up the sun. Limoncello has the zestiness of lemons but not the sour flavour as this comes from the juice which is not used at all in the making of limoncello. As it is quite a thick liquid it is certainly a liqueur though it is not too sweet and sickly. The alcohol content of limoncellos varies but the Luxardo, which I currently have in my freezer, comes in at 27%. Homemade versions tend to have a higher alcohol content. While limoncello is very refreshing and not at all sour, you do get a strong hit of alcohol on first tasting it though, dangerously, you can quickly forget you are drinking alcohol.

The colour varies quite a bit from lurid almost fluorescent yellow with a slight green tinge to a more cloudy gentle yellow. Personally I prefer one that looks a bit cloudy simply because it seems to be more natural looking. The greener looking limoncellos are simply made with greener lemons.
How should limoncello be served? In the Sorrento area limoncello is often served in ceramic glasses made especially for serving this liqueur (which can be bought in souvenir shops) but you can serve it in a small wine glass, a shot glass or a small tumbler. At home I keep the bottle in the freezer; the alcohol won't freeze but it will be perfectly chilled. I also pop the glass in the freezer for a minute or two before pouring the drink into it. Of course, be careful which glasses you choose for this. Instead you could serve the limoncello on the rocks though this is not the authentic way to do it. When you are served limoncello in Italy, the glasses are often frosted with ice as they are almost chilled first. Many bars and restaurants have marble counters with round holes in them and the bottles stick out of the counter. Underneath the bottles are chilling in ice so the bottle is close at hand but the limoncello is always the perfect temperature.

It's not all about drinking. I love to pour a little limoncello over some vanilla ice cream and I have tried a Saturday kitchen recipe for limoncello flavoured panna cotta which went down very well at a dinner party I held. Look out for specially packaged limoncello cake - a huge sponge cake flavoured with the liqueur which comes with a miniature bottle of limoncello.

Alternatively, those who prefer cream liqueurs (not me) may be interested to know that you can also get a cream version which is made with milk instead of water though I suspect that a cream liqueur couldn't capture that gloriously sunny flavour that the more usual version has.

A 70cl bottle of Luxardo limoncello costs around £16.00 but shopping around may get you a better price. If you have never tried limoncello before you may be able to find miniature bottles from specialists stores (Fenwick's Wine Store in Newcastle always has some on the counter if you are in that neck of the woods).

If the summer turns out to be as short lived as so often it is in the UK you can always conjure up a taste of the Med with a nicely chilled bottle of limoncello.

If you want to try making your own (and do tell me how it went) there are lots of different recipes to be found on the internet but here is a link to one made by Valentina Harris. Cheers!

http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Valentina's_Limonc ello.aspx

Summary: A refreshing lemony liqueur from Italy