# Preserved Lemons



## CraigC (Jun 17, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Remind me how to make preserved lemons--I always buy mine...expensive!


 
They aren't really hard to make. The most effort will be sterilizing the mason jars.

Ingredients 
12 organic lemons, washed and dried. You may need a few extra depending on size and for juice.

1 Cup pickling or koshar salt

Make cuts in each lemon starting at the blossom end to the stem
end, stopping within 1/2" of the stem end. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Sterilize 3 pint jars, lids and rings in boiling water. Each jar should be done just before you are ready to stuff them, so the are still warm. Place salt in a bowl large enough to work over. Working over the bowl, gently spread apart the lemons and apply salt generously to the insides. Excess salt will fall back into the bowl. Immediately, add each lemon to the jar, pressing it down firmly to release juice. Fill each jar to within an inch of the top, making sure the lemons are completely covered in juice. Add 2 Tbsp of salt to each jar. Add lids and seal jars. Let cure for 3 weeks, turning the jars over every 2 days.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 17, 2012)

Thanks! Sterilizing jars is not my problem--I do a lot of that starting right now until the end of September. Finding the organic lemons might be a bit tricky...have to make a trip into the heart of the City for those...


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## Claire (Jun 17, 2012)

How funny.  I just did this a week ago.  Haven't done it for years.  But the flavor of the preserved lemons is so mellow that you can eat them skin, pith and all.  But I didn't turn the jars.  Need to go up and do that.

I hate to say it, but I do not insist on finding organic lemons.  I do wash them, though.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 17, 2012)

Lemons were 2 for a $1 yesterday...I hope it still holds they looked fantastic for once, but I was on a mission for treats for the nursing staff at the time.


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## Siegal (Jun 18, 2012)

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> Thanks! Sterilizing jars is not my problem--I do a lot of that starting right now until the end of September. Finding the organic lemons might be a bit tricky...have to make a trip into the heart of the City for those...



I love preserved lemons. I see you know how to jar something. I have been wanting to pickle things but worry I will make myself sick. Do you need special equipment? Like special jars


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## Claire (Jun 18, 2012)

The main thing to remember is that things like preserved lemons and kimchee are not truly canned items, they aren't really canned.  I do sterilize the jars first, but the lemons (and whatever in kimchee) are not cooked.  Be careful.


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## CraigC (Jun 18, 2012)

When canning you must sterilize the jars, lids and rings the same as making the preserved lemons. We make homemade worcestershire sauce, which after filling the jars, putting the lids on and tightening the rings, the jars go in a pot of boiling water that has a rack on the bottom. The rack prevents the jars from actually touching the bottom of the pan. Once sterilized, the jars are lifted out and set on a dish towel to cool. You will hear a distinctive "pop" letting you know the lid has created an air tight seal. We use jar tongs to lift the jars in and out of the pot. We reuse the jars and rings, but always use new lids.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 18, 2012)

Yes, home canning does require some special equipment. Canning jars are recommended, not recommended is re-using mayo jars, etc. Your local extension office probably has lots of information on home canning. I never reuse lids. I always sterilize the jars, and most of what I do is water bathed, some is pressure water bathed in the pressure cooker. We do a lot of canning--tomatoes, pickles, jams, maple syrup, salsa verde, etc.


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## GotGarlic (Jun 18, 2012)

This website - Food in Jars - is all about canning. Tons of recipes and information about canning all kinds of foods.

This particular post, on preserved lemons, has lots of ideas in the comments for using them: Preserved Lemons


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## Addie (Jun 18, 2012)

So what do you use these lemons in? Something like a Lemon Poppyseed bread? I have preserved lemons in a heavily concentrated sugar syrup. Great for desserts. Thinly sliced, and placed over a Frosted Lemon Cake, they make a pretty presentation. Even  placed across the top of the Lemon Poppyseed bread. I have also use it to flavor the frosting with a couple of spoonfuls in place of the milk in a buttercream frosting or even a cream cheese frosting. But I would be afraid that the preserved in salt would taste salty. 

Clue me in.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 18, 2012)

I add them to pasta dishes, Moroccan dishes, lentil-based dishes, ummm...trying to think ... 

Here's a link:

Recipes Using Preserved Lemons Cookbook - Food.com - 94074


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## Claire (Jun 19, 2012)

Preserved lemons are more used in savory dishes, not sweet.  You'll find them in almost any North African cookbook, as CWS mentioned, Morrocan.  Couscous, tagines (stews), etc.  There is a ton of salt in them, but they are amazingly not all that salty tasting.  Think in terms of a sort of pickle.  The process takes the bitterness out of the rind and softens the entire wedge.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 19, 2012)

I like preserved lemons in chicken piccata.


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## Siegal (Jun 25, 2012)

Addie said:
			
		

> So what do you use these lemons in? Something like a Lemon Poppyseed bread? I have preserved lemons in a heavily concentrated sugar syrup. Great for desserts. Thinly sliced, and placed over a Frosted Lemon Cake, they make a pretty presentation. Even  placed across the top of the Lemon Poppyseed bread. I have also use it to flavor the frosting with a couple of spoonfuls in place of the milk in a buttercream frosting or even a cream cheese frosting. But I would be afraid that the preserved in salt would taste salty.
> 
> Clue me in.



I like to slice them very thin and add to Israeli salad.


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## taxlady (Jun 25, 2012)

Siegal said:


> I like to slice them very thin and add to Israeli salad.


What is Israeli salad?


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## LunadeMiel (Jun 26, 2012)

I really want to try this.


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## Cerise (Jun 26, 2012)

How about Meyer lemons.

Preserved Meyer Lemons | The Urban Spork

Preserved Meyer Lemons Recipe at Epicurious.com


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## AnnCook (Jul 2, 2012)

When I still lived back East I had a friend whose mother was Moroccan and she would have jar after jar of preserved lemon.

If I remember properly it was just thin sliced lemon, lemon juice, salt and lots of shoving to get it all in to the jar. I don't remember her sterilizing or canning them and I never got sick. But I think this will be one of the first things on my shelf when I learn to can just in case my stomach's not the iron it used to be.


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## CharlieD (Jul 2, 2012)

taxlady said:


> What is Israeli salad?



it really is a Russian cucumber - tomato salad, but somehow it became Israeli salad in America. I bet Israeli do not even know it's exists.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jul 2, 2012)

LunadeMiel said:


> I really want to try this.


Me too!


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## AnnCook (Jul 2, 2012)

CharlieD said:


> it really is a Russian cucumber - tomato salad, but somehow it became Israeli salad in America. I bet Israeli do not even know it's exists.



Ha, true! Just like if you go to China and order General Tso's Chicken they look at you like you have two heads.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jul 2, 2012)

Here in SoCal we have Chinese restaurants that offer "Hunan" beef or "Szechuan" beef, like in some way that the whole cuisine of a vast region of China could be reduced to one recipe. Needless to say the variation of these dishes at different restaurants is wider than the commonality.


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## Claire (Jul 7, 2012)

Mine are just about ready to use.  Haven't decided what to use them in yet.  A tagine-type dish?  More a starch or salad?  They'll keep for awhile, just contemplating the options.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 8, 2012)

Try them in a pasta dish--or cous-cous with lots of veggies.


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## Siegal (Jul 17, 2012)

CharlieD said:
			
		

> it really is a Russian cucumber - tomato salad, but somehow it became Israeli salad in America. I bet Israeli do not even know it's exists.



My Israeli husband would give you the death stare if he read that! Haha
He said in Israel they call it Arab salad (how it translates)


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## casponian (Nov 10, 2012)

Preserved lemons are delicious in tuna salad.


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## Kylie1969 (Nov 10, 2012)

That sounds lovely


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## Claire (Nov 11, 2012)

Since my last post I've used them in taboule along with the last tomatoes from the garden.  But I used them in couscous once before.  There are still maybe 3 lemons left in the jar.  I want to find some lamb and make a stew type of dish (a tagine) with the rest of them, and start all over again.


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## taxlady (Nov 11, 2012)

Claire said:


> Since my last post I've used them in taboule along with the last tomatoes from the garden.  But I used them in couscous once before.  There are still maybe 3 lemons left in the jar.  I want to find some lamb and make a stew type of dish (a tagine) with the rest of them, and start all over again.


I'm trying to imagine how you used them in taboule. Did you chop them up? Did you squeeze them? As you can tell, I have never even met a preserved lemon.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Nov 11, 2012)

I always use organic lemons. Inorganic lemons, usually made with wax or plaster and found in the tchotchkes section of Marshalls or T.J. Maxx , don't have any juice in them!.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Nov 11, 2012)

We have a new supermarket chain in Los Angeles, they just opened their 5th store nearby, and I saw "sweet lemons" which I've never seen before, bought some. Do you think these are Meyer lemons?

I had too many lemons and limes around and they were in danger of spoiling before I could use them, so I squeezed these sweet lemons and put froze the juice as 1 oz. lemon cubes. I used a bit in my mayonnaise and the mayo came out fine but I have no reference point to tell if it was any different than mayo made from ordinary lemons.


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## Siegal (Nov 11, 2012)

taxlady said:


> I'm trying to imagine how you used them in taboule. Did you chop them up? Did you squeeze them? As you can tell, I have never even met a preserved lemon.



Usually when you put them in salad you only use the rinsed rind. You scrape off the pulp, rinse off the brine off the rind, and then mince it. At least that is how  I do it.


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## Claire (Nov 12, 2012)

taxlady said:


> I'm trying to imagine how you used them in taboule. Did you chop them up? Did you squeeze them? As you can tell, I have never even met a preserved lemon.



Preserved lemons are very mild in flavor.  To make it short, you take the lemons and almost quarter them (that is, they still hang together, you quarter them almost to the bottom).  Then you pack them with kosher salt.  Put them in a jar and squeeze even more lemons over them until they are covered (I do sometimes cheat and use some purified water as well).  You then let them soak for a few weeks.

If someone wants an exact recipe, I'll copy one that I have.

AFter a few weeks, these lemons become very distinctive in flavor.  I use them whole.  Since they are already quartered, I just chop them into little wedges.  The rind is soft and the entire lemon is yummy.  I use them, as I've said, in taboule, couscous, and tagine.  You eat them, rind and all (did I menton that I clean the lemons?).


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## Claire (Nov 12, 2012)

Siegal said:


> Usually when you put them in salad you only use the rinsed rind. You scrape off the pulp, rinse off the brine off the rind, and then mince it. At least that is how  I do it.



Well, as you might have read, I use the entire lemon.  Maybe I use less salt than most, because they never taste salty (and I gave a jar to other gourmandes friends and they didn't rinse as well).  I just chop them and toss them into the taboule or couscous.


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## luvs (Nov 12, 2012)

we would pack the sterile jars w/ the wedged cuts of the fruit, then sprinkle on a hefty layer of coarse salt, repeat until the jar was suffiecently packed. we'd use cinnamon, whole pepper. generally trimmed the fleshy fruit/bitter pith away when using them. only needed slivers of rind.


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## Steve Kroll (Nov 12, 2012)

AnnCook said:


> If I remember properly it was just thin sliced lemon, lemon juice, salt and lots of shoving to get it all in to the jar. I don't remember her sterilizing or canning them and I never got sick.


Lemons are highly acidic, with a pH around 2 or less. Along with the salt, it's a very hostile environment for even the most robust food borne bacteria.

When we make wine, we sanitize - but don't sterilize - the bottles. Nor is the wine ever cooked or pasteurized. Human pathogens simply don't grow in the stuff. I suspect it's probably much the same with preserved lemons.


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## Siegal (Nov 12, 2012)

I bought mine they were like a salt lick! Im sure your homemade are better. I want to make my own but I have this fear of canning/preserving I always think I will give myself botulism.....sigh...maybe one day


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## casponian (Nov 12, 2012)

*Use and storage*

The strong brine and high acidity prevent the lemons from spoiling.  After the lemons get to the right stage, put them in the refrigerator.  They will keep forever.  I use only the lemon peel, which becomes velvety, soft and delicious.  I always rinse the lemons and remove everything except the peel, then pat them dry before chopping.  It's a nice flavor surprise to come across a small piece of preserved lemon in a salad, tajine or other type of stew.


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## CraigC (Nov 12, 2012)

Siegal said:


> I bought mine they were like a salt lick! Im sure your homemade are better. I want to make my own but I have this fear of canning/preserving I always think I will give myself botulism.....sigh...maybe one day


 
Like Steve, the containers get sanitized but the jars don't get that final boiling water bath. 

Have you ever seen kimchi made? Now that scares me that there may be some spots missed in the cabbage during the process.


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## Claire (Nov 13, 2012)

I also make kimchee.  When I give the lemons (or the kimchee) to friends, I make sure to tell them that they are not, NOT sterilized preserves.  In other words, eat them soon.  Both seem to last for a few months in the fridge.  But they aren't stuff you'd put in a jar and think it will last forever.

Right now, a friend has asked me to reserve some onion relish for my parents.  This is truly good, preserved stuff.  I swear, it is so damned delicious.  I sent Mom some last year and she just loved it.  I'm reserving a couple of jars this year.  Yummy!


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