Preserved Lemons

by Stephanie

Remember when I had all of those meyer lemons? Yeah, I made macarons with them, but I still had a lot left over.

So, I decided to preserve them. Who says canning is just for summer fruits?

Now, what should I make with these?

Preserved Lemons, from David Lebovitz and Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

  • Meyer lemons (or regular lemons, I used 7)
  • Salt
  • Spices

Directions:

  1. First, scrub the lemons really well the a vegetable scrubber. One at a time, take a lemon, and if there’s a little stem end, cut it off, then turn the lemon over and cut a deep X into it, leaving about an inch of still-intact lemon. Repeat.
  2. Pack lots of salt into the pockets you made in the lemons. About a tablespoon of salt per lemon should do it.
  3. Stuff the lemons into a clean canning jar. Add some spices: I put a cinnamon stick, a bay leaf and a couple of coriander seeds. You could also put a dried chili, star anise, a clove or whatever else you can think of.
  4. Press the lemons firmly in the jar so the juices squeeze out. Put the lid on and let the lemons stand at room temperature overnight.
  5. Over the next three days or so, continue pressing down the lemons to let the juices flow until they’re completely covered in liquid. You may need to add some more fresh-squeezed lemon juice (I didn’t).
  6. Wait a month, and they’ll be ready to use. These store in the fridge for about six months.
  7. To use a preserved lemon, remove it from the liquid and rinse. Then scrape out the pulp and use the peel as a recipe calls for it.