I'll try to type in English this time around. Just re-read my last
post--still shuddering at my typos! You'd never know English was my
mother tongue. Arrrrgggh.

I think the "to quarter or not to quarter" (sounds like Hamlet) issue
is a matter of tradition and aesthetics. When you buy preserved
lemons in Morocco, they're sold "loose," not in a jar; they hand them
to you wrapped in a plastic bag. Shopkeepers in the souk do wonderful
displays of different colored olives, preserved lemons, etc.,
something akin to a food mosaic. Quite stunning.

Regarding the "solarization" of lemons, that's so funny to hear that
this is somewhat of a global concept. You do that with Indian lemons
pickles, letting them "cook" in the hot sun. I've read that it's
supposed to "sterilize" them, but I'm not sure how. They do oxidize,
though, it's true, but with Indian lemons pickles they're usually
coated with chili anyway, so it's no big deal. Vietnames "chan mui"
are so akin to preserved lemons that you can substitute preserved
lemons to make that drink if you're desperate for it.

I prefer to make my preserved lemons with Meyer "lemons" (not really a
lemon, I know, but a hybrid sort of thing) which are readily (and
abundantly) available at certain times of the year here in Northern
California. Ponderosas and Eurekas work as well (they have a much
thicker rind), but they're a bit more sour and more difficult to come
by organically and in bulk.

One of the benefits of having preserved lemons about the kitchen is
the juice, which becomes quite syrupy and delicious over time. I
really use this more than the whole lemons. If you're able to keep
lemons for a few years (!), the juice becomes gelatinous and the fruit
dark brown. The flavor becomes much more complex as well, especially
if you've used spices. Excellent in combination with pomegranate
syrup (buy Persian, not Lebanese, more refined flavor--they don't seem
to grind in the rind and seeds when they make it) as a marinade for
meat.

On a final(and rather neurotic) note, I do observe the convention of
never sticking a dirty/oily spoon (or finger) in the pickle jar. Seems
they don't like oil much. This is odd as there's a whole sub-genre of
oil-based preserved lemons (it's more a Middle Eastern thing than a
North African one).

So who wants to talk about warka/b'stilla/spring roll skins/popiah?
LOL. I posted a few years back, but couldn't get any takers.....It's
a fascinating subject, and they're much more fun than phyllo dough
(yuck!)



"David Hare-Scott" > wrote in message >...
> "mangodance" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 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?
> >
>
> I just quarter them, I have no idea what the claimed benefit of leaving them
> attached might be.
>
> David