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Amalfi Coast Ritual · Lemon Liqueur

Limoncello

Limoncello — street food from Campania, Italy
Photo: Jgromine1 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Families along the Amalfi Coast and Capri were steeping lemon peels in alcohol for home use long before anyone thought to sell it — the first trademark wasn't filed until 1900.

Limoncello is a bright yellow liqueur made by steeping the peels of thick-skinned Sorrento or Amalfi lemons in alcohol, then sweetening with sugar syrup. It's served ice-cold in small glasses as a digestif after meals.

Why it's made this way: Campania's Sorrento Peninsula grows a uniquely fragrant lemon with protected geographic status, and coastal households turned it into a homemade after-dinner ritual that spread from Capri and Amalfi across the region.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.