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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
I am here to free the preserved lemon from the grip of Morocco.
If you have heard of preserved lemons at all, you are probably conjuring images of exotic spices, tagines, cinnamon and lamb. This was definitely true for me until recently. When I looked for a method, all I found initially was version after version of Moroccan-style preserved lemons. Then I dug deeper.
I now know that there are scores of methods of pickling or preserving citrus. Wherever they are grown, they are preserved. Even in America. Anyone remember all those pickled limes appearing in Little Women? Those were Florida key limes shipped up north by the barrel.
The earliest reference in English I can find for a modern recipe for preserving lemons comes from an English cookbook, “A New System of Domestic Cooking” by Maria Eliza Rundell, written all the way back in 1808. Rundell quarters her lemons, salts them down and spices them with mustard seed, ginger, chile and garlic.
A lot of 19th century recipes involve horseradish, mustard seed, ginger and mace. Cloves made appearances, as does nutmeg and ginger. Vinegar is a commonplace. Methods vary wildly. “Mrs. Bradley’s Housekeeper’s Guide” (1860) would have you salt down the quartered lemons, then sun dry them for days until leathery. Then pack into jars with ginger and vinegar and wait a t least 6 months. “They are best after a year old,” she says.
And these are just the Western methods. In Sri Lanka, they boil lemons until they split, then stuff the split part with salt and submerge the fruits in vinegar. Six months later, they are minced with shallot and chiles and served as a sort of gremolata with rice or curry.
Russians do something similar. They simply submerge their lemons in brine and wait. After a few months, they slice them thin and serve as a side dish with wild game. Cambodians also preserve their lemons whole.
The Greeks began by preserving citrons, then added lemons to their repertoire in the 1st century; if you’re Greek, one of the few good things about the Persians was that they brought the lemon to Greece. Their method is simple: Quarter the fruits, salt, and cover in lemon juice.
In India, they chop the lemons and make a sort of sweet-spicy relish out of them. Chinese preserve lemons, too, as do East Africans — in fact, the great Ibn Battuta reports eating preserved lemons in Somalia as early as 1325. Maybe Battuta, a Moroccan, brought the recipe back with him?
But why preserve lemons at all? What’s the point, when you can find fresh ones at the supermarket all year? The obvious answer is that before supermarkets, lemons, like other fruit, were a seasonal specialty. For me, I can’t get lemons from my yard after April or before November. I must buy them. Or tap my stash of preserved lemons that sits quietly in my pantry.
Preserved lemons are to fresh ones what cured salami is to fresh meat. No they are not fresh, but they are just as good, if not better. It is a different taste and sensation. Funkier, more mellow.
Yet a preserved lemon is still a very powerful thing. Intensely salty and acidic, a little bit goes a long way. I only use the rind. Some use the inner portion of the lemon, but I find the rind to be good enough — it has all the oils and the color, and once you strip off the white pith there is no bitterness.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
How do I use them? Well, for starters:
- in North African food; this is the obvious one
- With raw fish and meats, such as sushi, ceviche or Italian crudo
- Slivered in salads or salsa
- As a garnish to vanilla ice cream
- With fruit granita
- In a gremolata (lemon, raw garlic and parsley)
- With baked fish
General rule of thumb is that preserved lemons work well wherever fresh ones do — with fish, white meats such as chicken, pheasant and rabbit, and even with red meats in certain places: A preserved lemon gremolata on a simple seared venison medallion adds an unusual touch.
Now is the time to grab a slew of mason jars and put some lemons up. How many? Keeping in mind this is a specialty pickle, I’d start with two or three quarts of the standard-style pickles.
But you might also want to pickle some whole like the Russians, and the sweet-sour-spicy Indian lemon relish is always a hit. See which method best suits your taste, and go heavy on that one next year — or, if you have a tree like we do, you can do a late batch again in early spring.
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THREE WAYS WITH PRESERVED LEMONS
The best time to preserve lemons here in California is the dead of winter, but before any big freezes. December-January is best. It could be different where you live. If you are buying your lemons, season doesn’t really matter as lemons are available from somewhere all year long.
Different lemons will produce different results. Meyer lemons are sweeter, a little less acidic and more orange in color than the standard Eureka lemons. You also can preserve limes in exactly the same way.
If you are buying lemons from a supermarket, you will need to scrub them with a brush first; no soap. You want to remove any residue or wax from the rind. If you are using your own lemons or those from the farmer’s market, you still need to wash and dry them to remove dirt from the surface.
The basic ingredients for preserving lemons are: the fruit, water and salt. Everything beyond that is optional.
Keep in mind there are dozens of ways to pickle lemons, and I am providing only three methods here: A Russian one, an Indian one and a more universal method employed by both the North Africans and early Americans and English. I’ll start with the Russian method.
RUSSIAN PICKLED LEMONS
This is the whole lemon method. Simply submerge the washed and dried lemons in a brine. The strength of the brine should be 1 tablespoon of pickling salt — it must be pickling salt, which is available at most supermarkets — per cup of water.
Wait three weeks and slice thinly to eat. The Russians eat this as an accompaniment to wild game.
MOROCCAN or AMERICAN PRESERVED LEMONS
This is the method most people use for preserving lemons. I’ve found references to it dating back to a British cookbook from 1808, although now most people associate it with Moroccan cooking.
Slice the washed and dried lemons lengthwise, almost in quarters. You want the lemon to still be in one piece, but almost cut through. If you are using Eurekas, which often have little nubs on the ends, cut them off before you almost-quarter the lemons.
Using Kosher, pickling or pure sea salt, stuff the lemon. Pack it in well, and use about a tablespoon per lemon. Mush the lemon into a clean Mason jar; use quart jars. Repeat until you have the jar mostly full. Toss a little more salt on top.
Now you have several decisions to make. You can jam in some spices — I suggest a cinnamon stick, some peppercorns, a couple cloves and a bay leaf. And you can choose to cover the lemons with vinegar or lemon juice, or not. Some people just keep mushing the lemons down until their own juice covers them. The early British and Americans covered the lemons with vinegar. I cover them with lemon juice.
Seal the jars in a hot water bath (water at a simmer) for 10 minutes. This is not totally necessary, but I do it to be safe.
Wait at least 3 weeks before eating. I’ve kept these lemons for a year and they were fine. They will darken over time.
INDIAN METHOD
This is a fancy method I’ve adapted from Linda Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling
First slice the lemons into eighths — again without cutting all the way through, like the Moroccan method.
Get together the following: 1 part fennel seeds, 1 part cumin seeds, 1 part black peppercorns and 1 part pickling salt. Think a teaspoon of each per 3 lemons. In a dry pan, toast the fennel and cumin seeds over medium heat until they are fragrant. Grind all the spices together and stuff into the lemons.
Jam the lemons into a quart jar and cover with extra lemon juice. Cover and let sit at room temperature for a week.
When the week is up, pour out all the juices into a non-reactive pan. Squeeze the lemons gently to release more liquid and put that in the pan. Bring the liquid to a simmer, adding sugar to taste. You want it sweet-sour.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add 1-4 small hot chiles; depends how hot you want it. Put the lemons back in the liquid and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Using tongs, remove the lemons and put them back in the jar. Cover with the liquid and seal. Wait a month before eating.>
What a great article Hank. I always have a jar or preserved Meyer lemons in the fridge to use in Moroccan cooking, or with green olives for a relish with halibut or in an aioli in spring. Pickled lemons add a bit of briteness to most dishes. and I recently made pickled limequats – waiting to see the results.
I also enjoyed your recent article in Art of Eating. Recently you made some duck confit – do you have a recipe that you can share with us? Which of your ducks makes the best confit?
I love me some preserved lemons. Have you tried preserving other citrus in this manner, such as grapefruit? How do you think that would turn out? What about Kumquats? Must try. Thanks!
Beautiful. And a good read, too! Thanks. Eager to try them here in Va., but, alas, from the grocer and not my tree.
I love it! I did preserved lemons last month: http://finistonassiette.blogspot.com/2009/12/ngam-ngeuw-ou-si-vous-preferez.html sorry it’s in french.
I love lemons, thanks for pointing out all those great recipes. Hmmm, I’m craving lemonade now….
Sweet. I was just picking lemons today and wondering what to do with them all. Thanks Hank. On another note, thanks for inspiring me to be a better cook and to use the whole bird. Tonight we had asparagus and ginger stir fry with duck. I used only the breast from the duck (teal) and used the rest to boil down into the broth. The broth went into the sauce, which had a bit of this and that, including scotch, and tasted wonderful. I never would have gone that far without your inspiration. I’m getting farther away from one pot meals than I ever expected too.
Thanks, Linda! I do have a recipe for duck confit here. All ducks make good confit, but Moulards among domestics and whitefronted geese among wild birds are my favorites.
Cecilia: Never preserved anything but lemons or limes. Give it a go!
Sarah: THanks so much for the kind words! And everything’s better with duck broth and Scotch…
You can also preserve limes. I have a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s “World of the East Vegetarian Cooking” (an oldie but goodie) that uses limes and spices and salt. I’m using key limes this time to see if they are ready sooner. I would guess you could use strongly flavored lemons as well.
I wish I had enough lemons to make this a mandatory for me. Alas, sadly, this is not the case.
Excellent piece of writing Hank! Informative, fun, and appetite whetting as usual.
Have you heard of “Chanh Muoi” or Vietnamese salted lemonade?
Go here for more info: http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2007/06/chanh-muoi-vietnamese-salty-lemonade.html
In restaurants it is also common to use preserved limes. This concoction also tastes great as a cocktail, preferably mixed with Hangar One
Hank Great article. I was wondering how temperature plays a role in all of this. Right now room temperature is about 60 degrees in my apartment, and a ginger-ade ferment I tried went bad. Would we need to put a heater next to the jar to keep it near 75 degrees to make it more bacteria friendly?
Garrett: Come over and I will give you some.
Arica: I’ve drank Vietnamese salted limeade lots of times, but never the salted lemonade. And I never knew how it was made! Just thought it was regular lemonade with salt added…
Dan: No idea. I do know lactic acid fermentation (the good kind) is generally better at 60 degrees than 75, when the bad kind of fermentation is stronger. I make all my old-fashioned, fermented brine pickles at a cooler temperature.
Hank,
I was a little confused on the cut for the North African version, are you saying slice them lengthwise to open them up, but leave them whole?
Also, do you know if this works with oranges? I’ve got a tree loaded with them and was going to make some marmalade but still have plenty left over from that.
Bourdain has a good, simple recipe also in his cookbook. Now is the time to ask a neighbor if you can pick lemons from their tree, and fill a couple of jars.
JR: Yes, you have the cut correct. Lengthwise to open them up, but leave whole. As for oranges, many lack the acid levels of lemons or limes, so I’ve been hesitant to preserve them the same way — but they’d be fine with some added vinegar…
Well done article, with lots of great suggestions! Thanks for sharing.
Since you are using homegrown lemons, would you like to enter this post in our Grow Your Own roundup this month?
I’m starting to think you are writing your blog just for me! I have 3 jars of preserved lemons in my fridge. I only made them because my lemon tree produced over 200 lemons, and I made lemon jam, lemon juice, lemonade, Limoncello, candied lemon rind, and lemon curd. It was the only other thing I could think of to prevent the lemons from spoiling. But I’ve been apprehensive in using them for the very reason you said. I don’t cook Moroccon food. Thank you for guiding me toward some other options.
Preserved lemons are a fantastic addition to slow-cooked pork roasts and stews, too. I use them with pork butt and shoulder regularly.
[...] Preserving Lemons [...]
I love preserved lemons and have made them for a few years now, but haven’t ever added any chilli or mustard seeds, garlic etc, but definitely will. Thanks for the research!
Don’t suppose you have any suggestions for unripe grapefruit? I’ve looked around the internet in vain. Apparently the Greeks do something…
I love your web site and use it extensively as a yard-stick against most other recipes. This is especially so with game recipes. I am in the process of pickling some llemons using one of your recipes and was wondering if with the passage of time you might now be able to update the shelf life of the various processes. Keep up the good work, as you are greatly appreciated, in particular, by the more adventurous cooks.
I was looking for a recipe on preserving lemons and came across your article. What great information and great reading. My mom has a Meyer lemon tree and i can’t wait to get a couple of Mason jars and surprise her! Although she’s old school (92 and going strong!) and she knows all about canning and preserving. She has some funky looking vinegar fermenting right now. It looks funky but has great flavor. Thank you so much for your contribution and I enjoy reading all the comments.
Just a comment about “being safe”. For the Eureka lemon, there are no known pathogens that could survive the acidity to cause illness. Lemons and salt were often used to preserve OTHER foods. The step of a water bath is not needed.
Hi – thanks for informative article, it was a great read. I want to try pickling some of our home grown lemons but they’re so big I can’t fit them into the jar whole. Is is really essential that they aren’t sliced right through? I think I’ll need to quarter them!
Great article Hank – thank you! I’m guessing that you recommend sealing the Russian lemons as well, correct?
[...] recipes, specifically Moroccan style preserved lemons; the best source I found was Hank’s blog. I enjoyed his description of the many ways that preserved lemons have been used in [...]
[...] I made two types: classic salted, Moroccan style; and a spicy Indian version. Both recipes hail from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. [...]
[...] local organic Meyer lemons. I can’t wait to try them out. I pulled the recipe from the Hunter Angler Gardener Cook - an awesome site you’ve got to check [...]
This is my first visit here. I found the site/information for preserving lemons so informative!
I am a lover of all things lemon, and in the past(before discovering acid errossion)
I would eat lemons as though they were oranges, sectioned -and savoured!
Tell me Hank, does the preservvation process affect the taste of the lemons ??? And how?
I’m guessing it does and hoping not much other than increasing the intense lemon taste!!!
Regards Hank!! Keep on blogging!
[...] that was fascinating. I did some searching online to see if others had attempted this, and I found this recipe helpful, as well as this one. I followed the Moroccan or American method from the first [...]
Started a batch of preserved lemons using a the Morocan/American method. They sat 5 days and the liquid started to turn reddish. Not a good sign. Amazes me as the lemons were covered with lemon juice with about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Peculiar. I’ll have to start a new batch and perhaps water bath process, as you say!
Thank you so much for this recipes on preserving lemons. My Meyer lemon tree produced an abundance this season and then my aunt gave me bushels from her tree. Tried my hand at preserving after I found your article. The problem I faced is that only about halve of my jars sealed after the water bath. Will that create a problem or is that typical. Wondering if I am doing something wrong, I followed your instructions for the American/Morocan method of preserving. Help please since I still have many many more lemons! Thank you.