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Preserved Lemons

Ingredients

  • 8 lemons
  • 4 tablespoons kosher or sea salt

Instructions

  • Sterilize a 1-quart canning jar and lid.
  • Scrub lemons.
  • Squeeze 4 lemons and set the juice aside.
  • Cut 4 lemons in quarters, but not all the way through, leaving the pieces attached at the stem end. Stuff 1 tablespoon on salt into each lemon and press the lemon shut.
  • Put the lemons in the sterilized jar, pressing them down into the jar. Add the lemon juice, which should just cover the lemons already in the jar. Close the jar.
  • Leave for 3-4 days. By that time, the lemons should have disgorged some of their juices and their skins should have softened a little. Open the jar, press down the lemons as much as you can, and if needed add fresh lemon juice to cover the lemons entirely.
  • Close the jar and store in cool place for at least one month. The longer they are left, the better the flavor. (If a piece of lemon in not covered, it may develop a white mold that is harmless and just needs to be washed off.
  • Before using, scrape pulp of peel. Discard pulp. Rinse peel to get rid of salt.