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   Limoncello

Chill out with this after-dinner delight.

When life -- or your supplier -- brings you lemon peels, sugar, water and 100 proof vodka, make Limoncello.

Limoncello -- also spelled Lemoncello -- is a delicious, lemony, sweet, cold drink from southern Italy; in all those stunning-weather places south of Rome, Limoncello is served as a refreshing and strong post-meal digestif on lovely hot days.

While Limoncello is pretty much the official drink of Capri, it still hasn't completely saturated the American eating and drinking scene. So those stateside restaurants that do serve Limoncello get extra credit from customers (and critics) for ingenuity and good taste.

But American restaurants are starting to catch on to the appeal of Limoncello -- you'll find restaurants named "Lemoncello" and "Limoncello" beginning to crop up in big cities, and other restaurants with less focused names are also drawing attention for serving this drink. Limoncello's relative rarity makes it an appealing (and inexpensive) way for restaurants to distinguish themselves.

"I find it to be a great marketing tool," says Nick Mautone, the former managing partner of New York's famous Gramercy Tavern, the current partner/beverage expert of South Florida restaurant Trina Restaurant and Lounge and author of the upcoming entertainment and cocktail recipe book, "Raising the Bar." Serving Limoncello makes your restaurant stand out as more authentically "Italian", it also appeals to customers who have been to Italy and discovered Limoncello in its native environment.

"Limoncello is catching on," says Dan Almquist, chef of Lombardino's -- a popular Italian restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin. Almquist has found that even customers who haven't been to Italy become fans of Limoncello once they've been introduced to it. "Some people order it themselves. For others, the chef will send over a glass," says Almquist, who usually serves his Limoncello in 2-ounce glasses that look like small Champagne flutes. If you're looking for new converts, Mautone says that Limoncello especially appeals to the customer who "likes full flavors and wants something new."

Another reason to get excited about Limoncello is that its production is shockingly easy and its production cost is astonishingly low -- after all, aside from the vodka, all Limoncello needs is lemon peels, sugar, water and time to ferment.

"I juice all my own fruit for the bar. This leaves us with lots of lemon rinds left over," says Mautone, who sells several liters of his homemade Limoncello every month. "The cost to prepare Limoncello is very nominal as you are using the left over lemons from juicing."

Cost-effectiveness isn't the only reason to make your own Limoncello, says Almquist, who makes three-gallon batches that last around four months.

Almquist's Limoncello is homemade not only because of the fruity detritus, but also because his customers prefer it: "People like the more authentic Limoncello," says Almquist.

Authenticity can cut both ways, though, since the special lemons Italian Limoncello is made of aren't usually available in the United States. If the Italian lemons are important to you, there are a handful of commercially-produced Limoncellos using these lemons -- for example, Caravella Limoncello is made of Amalfi Coast lemons.

If you do want to try making Limoncello (and you may as well, since it's so cheap, easy and indisputably good), there are a bunch of recipes to choose from.

Mautone's recipe, for example, calls for 12 lemons, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and one 1-liter bottle of vodka or grappa:

- Juice the lemons and reserve the juice for another purpose. Cut the remaining lemon rind into quarters. Place the lemons and sugar in a large pitcher with a tight-fitting lid and stir well, using a spoon to break up the lemons to help extract any remaining juice.

- Add the vodka or grappa (save the bottle for storing the Limoncello later) and stir well. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours then stir well and taste, adding more sugar if necessary.

- Refrigerate for up to 6 days more, stirring every day.

- Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the lemons against the sides of the strainer to extract all of the Limoncello. Pour into the reserved spirit bottle and store in the freezer.

Mautone says he's also used oranges ("Orangecello") and limes ("Limecello") in place of lemons, to great effect.

Other recipes -- there are thousands -- call for more or less time to leave the mix before serving, and for different proportions of ingredients. You can find lots of other recipes in cookbooks and on the internet; you can also visit Italy, where many families have developed their own Limoncello brews. But whatever mix you use, always be sure, Almquist reminds, to choose firm lemons with thick skins, and to "wash the skins thoroughly."

Limoncello shots and Limoncello martinis are fairly well established variations on the digestif theme. And Limoncello's relative obscurity means diners don't have many preconceived notions about how Limoncello should be served -- this frees up restaurant owners to experiment.

Almquist, for example, likes to use Limoncello in desserts. "I used it as a syrup in cakes. I also use it as a splash in the dessert Panna Cotta -- an Italian custard. Limoncello Panna Cotta is refreshing for the summer, smooth and creamy." Mautone also puts Limoncello in desserts - he soaks pound cake with it.

Pizza and Limoncello both hail from Naples. Serving them together will give your restaurant the cache of authenticity, but with a license to experiment. And that's a delicious combination.

Arin Greenwood is a Saipan, Phillippines freelancer. If you have qurestions or comments, contact Jeremy White.

  
  

  




    


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