Digestivi

Digestivi

Filippo & Rosa Francavilla's Limoncello Recipe (as enjoyed at the Crachesi del Nord America Reunion)

1 liter whole grain alcohol
8 lemons (yellow skin only)
1 liter water
10 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
2 oz. (about 3 tablespoons) Karo Syrup

Take yellow skins from the 8 lemons (use a vegetable peeler to get the thin skins and avoid getting the white pith) and place in glassware with a lid, add one liter whole grain alcohol. Cover tightly and let sit for 3 to 4 days.

On the 3rd or 4th day, boil one liter of water, remove from heat and add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let mixture cool.

Take the alcohol and lemon peels and strain liquid into bowl. Then combine the cooled sugar water to the lemon mixture. Give a quick stir and then add Karo Syrup. Mix thoroughly and place in glass bottles. Keep this in the freezer at all times. The bottle will not break or explode in the freezer because of the alcohol.

Saluti! Filippo and Rosa Francavilla

Alternative Recipe (if grain alcohol is not available, try this)

1 dozen large lemons
1 750 ml bottle of vodka
2 cups sugar
3 cups water

Peel thin strips of the lemons avoiding the subdermous white pith. Steep the peels in vodka for a week or longer in a glass container or crock until the peels have lost their color. Strain. Make simple syrup by dissolving sugar and water over medium heat on a stove and let it cool. Add the sugar syrup to the lemon-infused vodka. Keep chilled in the refrigerator; not in the freezer - this version is not made with whole grain alcohol and it will freeze.

Amaro Lucano

Amaro Lucano is less bitter than some other Italian bitters, though it has no sweetness in it. The recipe, consisting of herbs and roots, is a trade secret. It has a light body to be used as a digesti, or an apéritif. As a digesti, you serve it neat. As an apéritif, you can serve it on ice with a twist of lemon or orange, topped up with soda water.

It is made in Pisticci Scalo in Basilicata (about 15 km from Craco) Italy, and sold in 700 ml bottles. (30% alcohol.)

History
Amaro Lucano was invented by Pasquale Vena in 1894 (born Pisticci, Basilicata 1871 - died 1937.) His three brothers went to America, but he stayed behind, and went north to Naples in Campania. There, he apprenticed to learn the art of pastry making in a pastry shop called " the Scaturchio" in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore in Naples (the pastry shop is still extant as of 2006.) Out of his own personal interest, he learned about herbs and herbal mixtures.

He returned to Pisticci, and with the small amount of money he had saved, he opened a Bar called the "Caffé Vena." The pastries that he sold from the cafe were a success -- along with the bitters that he created. He left the firm to his two sons, Leonardo (1910 - 1993) and Giuseppe (aka "Peppino", born 1918), who were 27 and 19, respectively, at the time.

In July 1965, the company built a new factory to meet increased demand for the bitters.

Literature & Lore
The label has a picture of a woman called "Pacchiana" (apparently a Campanian word for "farmer.") She's holding a basket of herbs. The motto on the label is "Lavoro e onestà", which means "work and honesty." The label also depicts various medals and awards, and crests from the Savoy and Duchy of Aosta families. In the bottom right corner is written "Pisticci, Lucania."

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