Preserved lemons
 

After a trip to Morocco earlier this year I have begun to cook a variety
of Moroccan and middle eastern dishes.

One of the ingredients called for occasionally is preserved/pickled
lemon. Over the weekend, I started a batch.

The recipes call for cutting the washed lemons into quarters to within
1/2 inch of the stem end so they don't come apart. You then pour about
a tbsp of sea or kosher salt into the cut and stuff the lemons into a
sterilized jar, pressing them in as far as they will go. The full jar
is then partially filled with the fresh squeezed juice of a couple of
lemons. As the lemons "cure" they give off a lot of juice and taker up
less space.

I started with a quart and pint jar, transferring from the small jar
into the large one as they settled. After a month they will be ready to
use and should be refrigerated. Most recipes call for just the rind,
rinsed of salt and chopped or cut into shreds. They will supposedly
keep for a very long time.

gloria p

Preserved lemons
 

On 4/26/2010 8:26 PM, gloria.p wrote:
>
> After a trip to Morocco earlier this year I have begun to cook a variety
> of Moroccan and middle eastern dishes.
>
> One of the ingredients called for occasionally is preserved/pickled
> lemon. Over the weekend, I started a batch.
>
> The recipes call for cutting the washed lemons into quarters to within
> 1/2 inch of the stem end so they don't come apart. You then pour about a
> tbsp of sea or kosher salt into the cut and stuff the lemons into a
> sterilized jar, pressing them in as far as they will go. The full jar is
> then partially filled with the fresh squeezed juice of a couple of
> lemons. As the lemons "cure" they give off a lot of juice and taker up
> less space.
>
> I started with a quart and pint jar, transferring from the small jar
> into the large one as they settled. After a month they will be ready to
> use and should be refrigerated. Most recipes call for just the rind,
> rinsed of salt and chopped or cut into shreds. They will supposedly
> keep for a very long time.
>
> gloria p

We used to buy lightning closure two liter jars of preserved lemons from
Lebanon in Saudi. One type was the salted ones and the other they were
preserved in honey. Both were tasty in various dishes.

In Sana'a, Yemen we would just put fresh lemons on the kitchen counter
for a day or two and they would dry up quickly. IIRC the humidity there
was about 6 or 7 percent. We lived at 8200 feet in what looked to me
like an extinct volcano or possible a glacier cirque, mountains all
around. Took me a couple of months to get used to walking around there
without huffing and puffing.

Preserved lemons
 

gloria.p wrote:

> ... After a month they will be ready to use and should be
> refrigerated.

From somewhere, I was told if you microwave the jars for a couple
minutes, you can cut down the curing time to a week.

I think you also need to add a few pinches of hot paprika or cayenne to
the jars as well, or at least when I've done it is what the recipe
called for.

B/

Preserved lemons
 

Brian Mailman wrote:
> gloria.p wrote:
>
>> ... After a month they will be ready to use and should be
>> refrigerated.
>
> From somewhere, I was told if you microwave the jars for a couple
> minutes, you can cut down the curing time to a week.
>
> I think you also need to add a few pinches of hot paprika or cayenne to
> the jars as well, or at least when I've done it is what the recipe
> called for.
>
> B/


Thanks! Various recipes called for cayenne, paprika, cloves, bay leaf,
cinnamon stick, etc. I had no idea which to add if any. I'll try the
cayenne.

gloria p

Preserved lemons
 

gloria.p wrote:
> Brian Mailman wrote:
>> gloria.p wrote:
>>
>>> ... After a month they will be ready to use and should be
>>> refrigerated.
>>
>> From somewhere, I was told if you microwave the jars for a couple
>> minutes, you can cut down the curing time to a week.
>>
>> I think you also need to add a few pinches of hot paprika or cayenne to
>> the jars as well, or at least when I've done it is what the recipe
>> called for.
>
> Thanks! Various recipes called for cayenne, paprika, cloves, bay leaf,
> cinnamon stick, etc. I had no idea which to add if any. I'll try the
> cayenne.

I think it's one of those my-gramma-did-it-this-way, and
my-gramma-did-it-that-way kinds of things. (or substitute
village/town/region)

B/