This is Noel in Napa, California, weighing in. I've been making
preserved lemons for donkeys' years *(about 30 years) and know exactly
the problem you're experiencing (BTW, I'm a sea salt, non-iodized,
user and I like them spiced with a bit of cinnamon stick, black
pepper, bay leaf, and coriander seed). I make a lot of different
citrus pickles (Indian), and you begin to get a sense of what will
work over time. Presoaking and thorough cleaning is imperative. I use
a stiff brush and get all the dirt and grime off. I then "polish"
them dry with a rough towel, and work over a bowl to catch the juice
and salt. I only use glass and ceramin, no metal. Some of my tricks
may be from India pickling sources, but they work in a North African
modality as well.

The trick to non-bobbing lemons is the right jar. It should be one
with "shoulders," narrowing toward the mouth. I use a glass canning
jar with a glass lid and rubber gasket. It's a bit of a balancing
act, but you need to gauge the jar size to the amount of lemons to
that when you've just about filled it, you cram in about 5-10 more,
effectively wedging them beneath the "shoulder" of the jar. You
really have to exert some force to make sure they're "trapped" beneath
the "shoulder." You then have a bit of "head room" at the mouth of
the jar, and you can top off the jar with more lemon juice (or, if
you've run out of lemons, a bit of boiled water will work). The lemons
should be so tightly packed that they don't shift or move at all when
you shake the jar; only the fluid should slosh, not the lemons.

And yes, they do "relax" as they ferment, so you can continue to smush
them down as they soften.

Regarding the quartering question, you should be making 4 slits along
the length of the lemon, but starting and stopping about 1/2" away
from each end. When you're salting, you squish down the lemon, pour in
the salt, turn, do it again, etc. When you're done, the lemon
"reforms." Yes, you will break some when you're backing them in, but
if you're careful, you'll keep them whole. I use the "broken"
sections as packing material to wedge in the whole lemons.

BTW, be aware that there is a whole lot of fermentation which takes
place and it seems to be completely random. I recently made two huge
batches. Identical lemons, jars, salt, etc. One jar when on ferment,
burping, squirting for about a month and a half; the other settled
down in two weeks.

The juice/liquid in the jars because quite cloudy, but it suddenly
clears when the the fermentation stops. You have to shake the jars
every day while they're active. After they've finished, they can lie
quiet. Be aware that a lot of pressure can build up in the jars, so
open them over a sink and away from your body or you can get covered
with lemony brine!

A funny story about preserved lemons. I'd been making them for years,
according to Paula's recipe, and loved them. When I finally got to
Morocco and tasted the lemons there, I was very disappointed! No
flavor, or really a bit soapy. When I got back to the states, I
plucked up my courage and phone Paula Wolfert to find out what the
deal was. She was kind enough to validate my discovery, saying, in
effect, that her recipe (and its reliance on lemon juice rather than
water), was really "palace style" and produced a superior product! I
was relieved to hear it. She's a wonderful person and very generous
with her information, exactly as you'd expect from such an excellent
author.


mangodance > wrote in message >...
> David Hare-Scott wrote:
>
> > The only trick to it is to ensue that there is sufficient juice/salt to
> > cover the fruit otherwise it will get mouldy, if this happens just throw out
> > the mouldy bits on top and make sure the rest stays covered. Adding some
> > inert (glass, pottery, etc) weight on top (inside the jar) to push the fruit
> > down can assist.
>
> Everything I've ever seen or heard said to pack them down HARD so they
> don't float up. I had my entire fist down in the cannisters packing
> down the lemons. But they all still float up. If they didn't, I'd have
> a safe 2" or so of juice covering them. Will they be less buoyant in a
> day or two? I keep pushing them down but they're up w/in mins. I've
> been scrambling for something made of glass that can go in the top of
> the cannister and add weight enough to stay submerged but no luck yet.
>
> BTW, All the careful cutting into quarters but leaving them attached at
> one end was for naught. Many ripped free during the squeezing/packing.
> It seems to me that it would be easier just to quarter them fully and
> pack better. Does anyone just use cut lemons?