{"id":920,"date":"2023-04-27T11:42:45","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T10:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=920"},"modified":"2024-11-21T11:14:52","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T11:14:52","slug":"limoncello-lemon-liqueur-amalfi-coast-cinque-terre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/limoncello-lemon-liqueur-amalfi-coast-cinque-terre","title":{"rendered":"Limoncello, Italy&#8217;s Famous Lemon Liqueur: Why and Where to Try It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most famous <em>digestivi, <\/em>or after-dinner drinks, in Italy,<em> limoncello <\/em>is also the pride and joy of Italy&#8217;s Campania and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/food-in-liguria-italy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Liguria<\/a> regions. And with reason. If you&#8217;ve ever had a sip of this sweet, almost fluorescent-yellow liqueur (perhaps poured for you as a sign of thanks after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/the-16-most-iconic-foods-to-eat-in-italy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dinner in Italy<\/a>?), you know that it&#8217;s not like any other <em>digestivo.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22040\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22040\" class=\"wp-image-22040 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0352.jpg\" alt=\"man in yellow shirt pouring yellow liquid into a small blue cup\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0352.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0352-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-22040\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After dinner or even before dinner, a nice shot of limoncello always hits the spot!<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/limoncello-lemon-liqueur-amalfi-coast-cinque-terre\/#History_of_limoncello\" >History of limoncello<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/limoncello-lemon-liqueur-amalfi-coast-cinque-terre\/#When_to_drink_digestivi\" >When to drink digestivi<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/limoncello-lemon-liqueur-amalfi-coast-cinque-terre\/#Limoncello_tangy_refreshing_and_perfectly_balanced\" >Limoncello: tangy, refreshing, and perfectly balanced<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/limoncello-lemon-liqueur-amalfi-coast-cinque-terre\/#How_is_limoncello_made\" >How is limoncello made?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"History_of_limoncello\"><\/span>History of limoncello<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>Digestivi <\/em>(or &#8220;digestifs&#8221;), taken at the end of the meal to, ostensibly, soothe the stomach, have a long history. The ancient Romans infused wine with herbs, believing that such a drink had medical, even supernatural, powers; Hippocrates indulged in bitter post-dinner drinks as a way to assist his digestion. In the Middle Ages, monks grew herbs and came up with concoctions that they thought could stave off disease &#8212; hence a phrase still applied to many <em>digestivo <\/em>labels, &#8220;<em>anti-colerici,&#8221; <\/em>meaning the drink can &#8220;prevent cholera.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But it wasn&#8217;t until the 19th century that such drinks became commercialized. This started in 1815, when a 24-year-old wine merchant in Milan concocted a liqueur with 33 different herbal ingredients, including rhubarb, orange peel, quinine, rose petals, and peppermint. He dubbed his <em>amaro, <\/em>which means &#8220;bitter&#8221; in Italian, the <em>Amaro Festina Ramazzotti. <\/em>It quickly made its way into the many cafes and salons opening up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/?s=milan&amp;post_type=posts\">across Milan<\/a> as prime places for a tipple. And it&#8217;s still one of the most popular <em>digestivi <\/em>in Italy today.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22427\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22427\" class=\"wp-image-22427 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Devour_Florence_Oltrarno-at-Sunset_0217.jpg\" alt=\"a round board with several small glasses and cookies\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Devour_Florence_Oltrarno-at-Sunset_0217.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Devour_Florence_Oltrarno-at-Sunset_0217-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-22427\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Most Italians finish big meals with some sort of digestivi.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_to_drink_digestivi\"><\/span>When to drink <em>digestivi<\/em><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As eyebrow-raising as the &#8220;medicinal properties&#8221; of <em>digestivi <\/em>might sound, though, Italians and visitors alike swear that they&#8217;re true. And we can affirm: After a heavy meal, nothing quite takes the edge off of that &#8220;I ate way too much!&#8221; feeling as a shot-sized glass of grappa or amaro.<\/p>\n<p>For the first-time visitor, though, many traditional <em>digestivi <\/em>can be a little hard to swallow. (Literally!). At 20 to 40 percent alcohol content, they&#8217;re definitely strong. As if that weren&#8217;t enough of a &#8220;kick,&#8221; any, like Milan&#8217;s traditional <em>amaro, <\/em>are on the bitter and herbal side. That they&#8217;re an &#8220;acquired taste&#8221;&#8230; well, sometimes that&#8217;s an understatement.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22045\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22045\" class=\"wp-image-22045 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0486.jpg\" alt=\"a beautiful view of colorful houses built on a cliffside overlooking the sea\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0486.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0486-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-22045\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">When Cinque Terre gives you lemons&#8230;well, you know the rest.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Limoncello_tangy_refreshing_and_perfectly_balanced\"><\/span>Limoncello: tangy, refreshing, and perfectly balanced<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>That&#8217;s where limoncello comes in.<\/p>\n<p>Generally lighter than its counterparts, limoncello isn&#8217;t sour or bitter. It&#8217;s tangy and refreshing. It&#8217;s also balanced between acidity and sweetness; while the best limoncellos don&#8217;t burn your throat, neither are they sickly sweet. For those who want to try out the <em>digestivo <\/em>tradition but can&#8217;t quite stomach sambuca&#8217;s strong anise or <em>amaro&#8217;s <\/em>bitterness<em>, <\/em>limoncello can be a tasty alternative.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody can be sure where, or when, limoncello was invented. Like other liqueurs, it&#8217;s likely that it was first concocted by convents or monasteries. And both Campania (particularly the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/things-to-do\/top-attractions\">Amalfi Coast<\/a>, Sorrento and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/things-to-do\/what-to-do-on-capri\">Capri<\/a>), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/food-in-liguria-italy\">Liguria<\/a> (home of the Cinque Terre), claim it as their own.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22044\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22044\" class=\"wp-image-22044 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0377.jpg\" alt=\"people enjoying a small beverage out of a small blue cup\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0377.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Walks_Rome_Amalfi-Boat_0377-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-22044\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leave it to this crisp, refreshing yellow drink to put a smile on everyone&#8217;s face.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_limoncello_made\"><\/span>How is limoncello made?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Wherever it began, the making of it is fairly simple; it just requires fantastic, fresh lemons with thick, hearty skins. These aren&#8217;t the kinds of lemons you would get at your grocery store at home, but grapefruit-sized lemons with inch-thick skins that thrive in Italy&#8217;s sun-soaked climate. (Check out the photo at right if you don&#8217;t believe us!).<\/p>\n<p>On one of our recent trips to the Cinque Terre, we picked lemons at an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/what-is-an-agriturismo\"><em>agriturismo <\/em><\/a>while the owner explained to us how to turn them into limoncello. The traditional recipe, she said, is to take lemon rinds and infuse them with 95-percent alcohol. Leave the infusion for eight days, strain the zest, boil (lots of) sugar in water to make syrup, and stir in the alcoholic mixture; bottle it and let it stand for several days or weeks before serving.<\/p>\n<p>Sounds simple. But the result? Oh, so good.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_922\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-922\" class=\"wp-image-922 size-full\" title=\"Limoncello\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0674-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0674-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0674-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/DSC_0674-1536x1020.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-922\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">We know, we know, this says &#8220;don&#8217;t touch.&#8221; But just look at the size of these lemons in Amalfi!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>So, particularly if you&#8217;re in the Cinque Terre or Amalfi coast, don&#8217;t miss trying a tipple of limoncello! Better yet, get yourself to a limoncello &#8220;factory.&#8221; They&#8217;re scattered all over Sorrento, Amalfi and the Cinque Terre, and that&#8217;s where you can not only watch the concoction be made&#8230; but sample it, for free, yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most famous digestivi, or after-dinner drinks, in Italy, limoncello is also the pride and joy of Italy&#8217;s Campania and Liguria regions. And with reason. If you&#8217;ve ever had a sip of this sweet, almost fluorescent-yellow liqueur (perhaps poured for you as a sign of thanks after a dinner in Italy?), you know [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":22038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[180,85,62,94,126],"ppma_author":[191],"class_list":["post-920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-wine","tag-amalfi-coast","tag-cinque-terre","tag-food","tag-pompeii","tag-wine"],"authors":[{"term_id":191,"user_id":83,"is_guest":0,"slug":"giuliadl","display_name":"Giulia D.","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Giulia-De-Luca.png","url2x":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Giulia-De-Luca.png"},"user_url":"","last_name":"D.","first_name":"Giulia","job_title":"","description":"Giulia is from the stunning coastal city of Cefal\u00f9 in northern Sicily. She\u2019s a passionate foodie and connoisseur of culinary delights. Giulia's love for food goes beyond just savoring it \u2013 she adores cooking and baking, too. When she\u2019s not working or traveling, you can find her at home recreating traditional recipes passed down from her family, or attempting fun new recipes she finds on Instagram and TikTok. In addition to Italian cuisine, Giulia also loves food from Mexico, Thailand, and Greece."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22428,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions\/22428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}