Meloncello Food

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.
• Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

MELONCELLO

Steps:

• Rim a rocks glass with the sugar, if desired, and put in the freezer. Puree the watermelon cubes in a blender until juicy.
• Fill the prepped glass with ice. Add the watermelon juice, limoncello and rum. Top off with enough club soda to give the drink a light bubble. Garnish with the lemon wedge. Drink.

LIMONCELLO (LEMONCELLO, LIMONCELLA)

Steps:

• Remove yellow part of lemon peel either with micro-plane or sharp peeler. If any pith remains on the back of a strip of peel, scrape it off.
• Place peels in a large jar with screw-top lid or sealed with clamps and cover with one bottle of vodka.
• Leave mixture to mellow for 2 weeks in a dark place.
• After mixture sets, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature (This is very important- if the sugar syrup is still warm the limoncello will result cloudy instead of limpid).
• Using a coffee filter or fine sieve, strain the vodka from the peels and mix it with the remaining bottle of vodka and the syrup. Put the liqueur in bottles, seal tightly (cork or screw-top lid) and let the components marry, in a dark place, for at least 10 days before using.
• For drinking straight, store the Limoncello in the freezer.

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Zest the lemons, and place zest into a large glass bottle or jar. Pour in vodka. Cover loosely and let infuse for one week at room temperature.
• After one week, combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Do not stir. Boil for 15 minutes. Allow syrup to cool to room temperature.
• Stir vodka mixture into syrup. Strain into glass bottles, and seal each bottle with a cork. Let mixture age for 2 weeks at room temperature.
• Place bottled liqueur into the freezer. When icy cold, serve in chilled vodka glasses or shot glasses.

MELON LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Place the honeydew in a bowl and mash until some of the juice is released; pour into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. Measure 1 cup of the melon puree, and pour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add vodka, sugar, and green and yellow food coloring. Cover and shake until the sugar is dissolved. Store at room temperature for 1 week.
• Strain the melon mixture into a bowl through a paper towel-lined sieve to remove any solid bits. (You may need to do this multiple times.) Pour the vodka into a bottle, and seal until ready to use.