In season: lemons

It’s citrus season and my Meyer lemon tree is chock full of lemons waiting to be plucked. I’ve been finding any excuse to use them up – and give them away.

Let’s just say I’ve become rather popular given the tasty, sweet nature of these yellow beauties.

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be sharing different techniques, recipes and ways to use your lemon bumper crop.

First up: limoncello.

Commonly made with Sorrento lemons, the sweet, yet tart, boozy beverage is a staple in Southern Italy.

My pal Lauren and I decided to make our own with Meyer lemons. We grabbed our lemons, picked up two bottles of 100 proof vodka, and proceeded to create mason jars full of lemony goodness for future use.

It’s super simple and will provide you months (or one really wild night) of digestivo.

Here’s what you need at the start:

• 10 lemons, make sure to wash them
• 1-liter airtight container (We used Ball jars)
• 4 cups of 100 proof (or higher) vodka (we bought Smirnoff at BevMo)
• Microplane for zesting

Here’s what you’ll do:

• Zest the 10 lemons
• Put the lemon zest into the container with the 4 cups of vodka. Seal the container.
• Store the container away for as short as 4 days and as long as 40 days, in a dark, room temperature place

Next you’ll need:

• 2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 cups of water

You will:

• Bring the sugar and water to boil in a saucepan, do not stir.
• Let it cook for 5 minutes and then remove from heat and let it cool at room temperature
• Mix the syrup into the container with the lemon-vodka mix
• Let is stand overnight
• Strain the mixture (cheesecloth into a sieve works good) twice, to separate the vodka-syrup from the zest
• Pour it back into the container for one week, pop it into your refrigerator.

Serve this tasty beverage, after dinner, in cold cups.

How do you use your lemons? Send me an email at sarah@sonomasun.com.