Have you tried making your own preserved lemons?
My neighbour have the most lushes and prettiest lemon tree ever.
The aroma of the sweet tangy fragrant of the lemons just engulf you as you brush past it.
And being just a medium size tree, you wouldn’t believe how generous this lemon tree is with it’s golden fruit.
Looking at it from a distance, you would think it’s just this trunk with bright yellow spots all over it.
Who Doesn’t Love Edible Gifts
I’m so lucky, every year I’m gifted with a big bag of these lovely fresh homegrown lemons from my neighbour, and I must admit, I get a little excited every year to get them 😅 😅🤣
With all these lemons you would think, what can one do with so much lemons 🤔.
Ideas?
Oh you have no idea, I’ve already started juicing them, and putting them into ice cubes to freeze for the time home-made lemon juice is called for.
The peel, I use to make preserved lemon to add a little extra tang to any dish.
I freeze the seeds them to use as a natural pectin for jam making 😋.
You can even make a refreshing homemade lemonade.
Preserved Lemons
Not only is it a great way to keep your lemons, because they basically last forever preserved, but they taste absolutely amazing.
Adding a lovely zesty, citrus flavour to your dish.
And being preserved with salt, its also a refreshing alternative to seasoning.
How To Use It
Preserved lemons, is used in many Mediterranean, Middle eastern and African dishes, but I personally think you can use it in pretty much anything lemon is called for.
Preserved lemons can be sliced, diced, minced and added to your dishes or drinks.
Some people wash them with water to remove any excess surface salt, and some blanch them to give it a more milder, sweeter flavour to it.
I personally love it sliced and use them as toppings.
Over my pizza as a zesty citrus salty anchovy substitute, over my smashed avocado toast, as a tangy feta replacement, and diced then sprinkled over a simple green salad to give it a refreshing bite like parmesan.
So you see preserve lemons can be very deliciously useful.
Preserved Lemons Are Also Good For You
Not only are they delicious, but because preserved lemons, goes through a fermentation process, with the lemons own natural lactobacilli (friendly bacteria) , you also gain the added benefit of it’s natural probiotics that are essential to good gut health and our overall health.
How To Make Your Own Homemade Preserved Lemons
Simple!
Simply cut, your washed and dried lemons in quarters, stopping just before the bottom.
Then sprinkle 1 tbsp of table salt per lemon and rub it in.
Place salted lemons in a sterilised jar and fill it until jar is full.
Squash the lemons down and really pack in as many lemons as you can.
Don’t worry if the juices is released. This will help the fermenting process.
Place lid tightly over the jar and let it sit in some place out of sunlight for 5 days.
During this time the salt will draw the juice out and start the fermenting process.
After 5 days, the jar should be filled with lemon juice extracted from the fermentation.
If the lemons are not completely covered with juice, add additional lemon juice to cover the lemons completely, and leave the lemons to preserve for a month before using.
Notes
Depending on the size of your lemons, I normally fill the jar with lemon juice, leaving a small gap up the top at the start.
Only because the lemons I use are pretty big, and I just know that there wouldn’t be enough juice in them to cover the whole jar, so I just do it prior to save the last step of filling the jar.
And if there’s too much juice after 5 days, simply tip them out or add it to something delicious 😋.
Use your common sense and if you think there will be enough juice, then leave it till after, if not, just add a bit in 😉.
Another thing to note, is the preserved lemon will need to be burped every day or two. Thats opening the lid to release any gas out.
??? 😂😂😂 As the lemon ferments, gas builds up in the jar, so it’s best to open (that’s burping) it everyday to release the gas, to stop your jar from exploding… 🤣
The smell when you open the jar is AMAZING!
How Long Will It Last?
Now because salt is a natural preservative, so long as the lemons are submerged in the juice, it can last up to 1 year and longer!
If mould starts to develop, it’s time to go.
If you think you’ll use the preserved lemons regularly, like me, then store your opened preserved lemons in the fridge for longer life ✌🏻.
Hope you found this helpful, and I do hope you start your own preserved lemons.
And if you do, don’t forget to leave me a comment below or tag me on instagram.
Follow me on 👇🏻
https://www.instagram.com/winkyfarm/
Where you can get a sneak peak of the goodies I’ve been up to 😉.
Now I’m off to enjoy some delicious preserved lemons in my avocado on toast 😋.
Di x
