A recent visit to a friend in the country yielded a bagful of Seville oranges to take home. My friend didn't know what to do with her fruit; it is so intensely sour. I suggested, besides the obvious, making kilos and kilos of jam, that she squeeze the juice and make orangeade. Then it occurred to me that I could use the limoncello recipe to make a liqueur from the peel, so I did.
One week later, it already tastes very good. An intense, zesty, fresh, orange flavor, like biting into a fresh orange. This needs to be on the sweet side, as otherwise it would unbalance towards the bitterness of the Seville variety. The (very simple) recipe:
Peels of 6 Seville oranges
6 fresh, rinsed leaves from the tree
1 1/2 cups sugar dissolved in 1 cup hot water (stir, stir, stir over the flame, and don't let it carmelize!)
1 bottle of cheap vodka
Allow the sugar syrup to cool.
Place the peels and leaves in a wide-mouth jar; pour in the sugar syrup and top with the vodka. Cheap vodka works best because the better quality stuff has its own aroma, which you don't want interfering with your liqueur.
Allow to steep four weeks. Taste once a week or so and see if you need it sweeter, in which case add more sugar a few tablespoons at a time and let it dissolve over the next few days. Stir often, but don't make more syrup, which would lower the abv of this drink.
Miriam
One week later, it already tastes very good. An intense, zesty, fresh, orange flavor, like biting into a fresh orange. This needs to be on the sweet side, as otherwise it would unbalance towards the bitterness of the Seville variety. The (very simple) recipe:
Peels of 6 Seville oranges
6 fresh, rinsed leaves from the tree
1 1/2 cups sugar dissolved in 1 cup hot water (stir, stir, stir over the flame, and don't let it carmelize!)
1 bottle of cheap vodka
Allow the sugar syrup to cool.
Place the peels and leaves in a wide-mouth jar; pour in the sugar syrup and top with the vodka. Cheap vodka works best because the better quality stuff has its own aroma, which you don't want interfering with your liqueur.
Allow to steep four weeks. Taste once a week or so and see if you need it sweeter, in which case add more sugar a few tablespoons at a time and let it dissolve over the next few days. Stir often, but don't make more syrup, which would lower the abv of this drink.
Miriam
