Learn how to preserve your lemon

Lemon season is upon us! This brings us to the biggest problem we have; what to do with all those beautiful lemons that are starting to litter the backyard. After all, you can only give so many away to friends and family and we certainly don’t want to be feeding the possums or other animals that may inhabit the yard.

This recipe for preserving lemons is so easy, fun and makes a great gift for Christmas, birthdays or any other special occasion. Not to mention, preserved lemons last for a long time, I have jars from over 2 years ago and they are still perfect!

It is also worth noting that this method will of course work for limes, quite possibly if you have a few lemon trees you also have the odd lime tree in amongst it. So get preserving the limes as well! one jar of each for your friends for Christmas will certainly go down a treat.

It is important to note when using preserved lemons (or limes) the part of the fruit we are after is in fact the skin. It is important to scrape out the pulp and throw it, there is no use for the pulp or the brine. Then be sure to clean the skin off so as to remove any excess salty taste.

Preserved Lemons are perfect for Tagines, stews, cous cous or salads. Preserved Lemon is a big part of Moroccan cuisine, so search a few Morrocan recipes and get using this beautiful produce.

I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

Large Pickling Jar or jars
10 thin-skinned lemons, plus juice of 1 lemon
480 g (1½ cups) rock salt
1 litre boiling water
8 cardamom pods
2 small red chillies (optional)
2 bay leaves (optional)
olive oil, to cover

Instructions

Scrub the lemons well and soak in water for about 3 days, changing the water daily (this disperses the gas and acids contained in the fruit). You don’t really need to do this step, but it will make for a better product.
Remove from the water and cut four slits end to end into each lemon, being careful not to slice all the way through.
Holding the lemon over a bowl (to catch any juice and salt), fill the slits generously with rock salt, and arrange in a 2-liter preserving jar (see Note). Repeat with remaining lemons.
Cover the lemons with boiling water. Add the leftover salt and juice, lemon juice and cardamom pods.
Chillies and bay leaves may also be added for flavour and decoration, if you like.
Seal the jar tightly, and store for at least 1 month prior to use.
Correctly preserved lemons can be stored for years