My step-daughter Suzanne gave me a darling bracelet for my birthday one year, which is still my favorite. The outside is tossed with bright lemon slices, and inside it's engraved to say: “When life gives you lemons, make limoncello”.
Wise words indeed. Though it’s an Italian tradition to offer ice cold limoncello as a digestif after a fine dinner, some of our friends here in France do it too, as do some restaurants (a digestif, by the way, taken after a meal, is a little nip of liquor to settle the stomach. May I suggest we all might be needing that in the coming months, in order to face the daily election news?).
You may be shocked to learn how easy it is to make limoncello yourself, and what a nice surprise to offer after a meal with friends. But it’s one of those either/or things: folks either adore the sweet, citrusy taste, or turn up their noses at the sharp sugariness of it.
I’m afraid I’m in the latter camp. Our friends Gerard and Maria, who are Dutch, make their own, and I politely decline (though limoncello lovers tell me theirs is fabulous). But one night they brought out another homemade bottle: orangecello! And to my surprise, I loved it. By the way, anglophones will call it orangecello, but it is properly called arancello, after the Italian word for orange, arancia.
Gerard and Maria have kindly shared BOTH of their recipes. In Burgundy liquors are often made with Marc de Bourgogne as the base, but you can use a clear, neutral high proof alcohol like vodka (as they do), Everclear, or grain alcohol.
Both recipes are below. Which one will you choose? Or maybe both? Salut!
RECIPE: Gerard & Maria's Limoncello
For 1 liter:
Put the thin yellow peel, only the yellow part and not the white, of 4 organic
lemons in one litre (4.5 cups) of vodka for at least 10 days.
Strain the mixture and remove the peels after 10 days or more.
Add 270 (1 1/4 cups) to 300 (1 1/2 cups) grams of sugar as desired
Shake until the sugar is completely dissolved
Keep the limoncello in the freezer.
RECIPE: Classic Aranacello
For 2.5 liters:
5 large oranges, preferably organic
1 stick of cinnamon
3 cardamon pods
1 vanilla bean (do not split it)
1 liter of vodka (4 1/2 cups)
50 cl water (2 cups)
600 grams sugar (3 cups)
Peel a thin layer of orange zest from the oranges with the help of a vegetable peeler. Remove only the orange part, avoid the white inner layer, which is bitter.
In a large jar, place the orange zest, the cinnamon stick, the vanilla bean, and the cardamon pods. Add the vodka and close the lid. Shake well. Leave it for a week, shaking every day.
After 1 week: Bring the water to a boil, turn heat off and add the sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Cool slightly. Add it to the vodka mixture and let it sit another week, shaking the jar regularly.
At the end of the week, filter the aranchello, transfer it to a bottle, and keep it chilled. Garnish with more orange peel if you like. It will last for 6 months.
Photo below: Gerard and Maria, thanks for the recipes!
In the COMMENTS: We've been talking about Champagne this week. The photo with the tractor and the flowers? That's the orangerie of the Trianon of Moët & Chandon, and our own loyal reader Michaela Rodeno has stayed there. And she wrote a book about champagne!-- see below (along with recommendations from Rainey). Anne Marie has a B&B to recommend in Champagne. Suzanne, Champagne IS expensive, and here in Burgundy we drink the local version, called crémant, which is way cheaper, and delicious. Not sure if you can get it in the states. Beth, I'm so happy you're still enjoying the classic Spanish gazpacho recipe. I make it every week when the local tomatoes arrive.
Favorite Reads: Michaela Rodeno spent a career in the wine and Champagne industry, and From Bubbles to Boardrooms, Act 1 and Act II
