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Preserved Lemons

To use preserved lemons, you need to slice a piece of lemon and remove the flesh from the skin. It is the skin that you want to use, not the flesh. Dice or julienne the skin and add it to your recipes. It’s a delicious addition to pestos, soups, hummus and tahini.

Ingredients
  

  • 6-8 Organic lemons or Meyer lemons Lots of kosher salt, Additional fresh lemon juice, if necessary
  • 1 L Wide-mouth Mason jar

Instructions
 

  • Wash and scrub the lemons well.
  • Cut off a tiny bit from the top and bottom of the lemon, just enough to reveal the white pith. Start slicing the lemon in half vertically, stopping about ¼-½ inch from the bottom, before you slice it all the way. Then rotate the lemon 90˚ and do the opposite side, almost like you are cutting the lemon into quarters. Making sure you do not slice right through the bottom, you want the lemon to hold together from the bottom.
  • Take one lemon at a time and place it in a small bowl. Gently open it a little and generously sprinkle it with salt, filling up the lemon. Place it into the Mason jar, adding the rest of the salt-filled lemons as you go. After 2-3 lemons, give a sprinkle of salt over the lemons in the jar and continue until you have stuffed all the lemons in the jar. Press the lemons into the jar and mash them while pressing. I use the thick handle of a wooden spoon to do this. The lemons will start to release their juice and the juice will slowly fill up the jar.
  • If the juice extracted from the lemons doesn’t cover the lemons, squeeze some additional lemons and add enough juice to cover all the lemons.
  • Pack the lemons down. Cover the jar with several layers of cheesecloth secured with an elastic band or with the jar’s lid not firmly secured. You want some air to get in and out.
  • Let the lemons ferment at room temperature for 3-4 weeks, checking on the jar to make sure that the lemons are submerged beneath the liquid. Give the jar a little shake every once in a while.
  • After the 3-4 weeks of room temperature fermentation, place a tight lid on the jar and refrigerate. They will last 3-4 months in the fridge.

Notes

Pro Tip:  Label the jar with the date that you started the fermentation process.