Preserved Lemons

As the previous reviewer mentioned, this is more of a technique for preserving lemons than a recipe. I do wish the instructions had more details.......

I used the recommended organic Meyer lemons and was prepared to preserve 5 of them as per the "recipe". I had only 1/2 litre jars on hand that fit 3 lemons each so I ended up preserving 6. Each jar required 1/2 cup of lemon juice and I was faced with the dilemma of how much Kosher salt to use....which ratio was most critical? The salt:lemon juice or the salt:lemon? I chose the latter using just a little more than the 1/3 cup to allow for the 6th lemon.

The instructions stipulate that the lemons must be covered by the liquid. The problem is that they float in the juice so I tried to position the largest lemon so that it blocked the mouth of the jar. At some point during the curing, the density of the fruit/brine changed and the lemons no longer floated.

I used one for the first time in a lamb tagine and it was wonderful......lots of flavour in a very small bite.

Rating based on instructions. This is the second time I've made preserved lemons. I found the instructions in Wolfert's earlier book Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco to be clearer. Also, the earlier book offers an optional spice mixture to be added to the lemons as they're "brewing".

The newer instructions also say to refrigerate the lemons for up to a year. The older ones say that they will keep a year. Period. I can't imagine that such an acidic condiment needs to be refrigerated. At any rate, we've survived the last jar sitting on its unrefrigerated shelf.

I'd suggest using smallish lemons for this. It takes a lot of effort to jam five bigger lemons into a one-liter jar. And have lots of extra lemons on hand for the juice to cover. Both times it's taken much more than 1/2 cup.

I'm still not sure if I should use coarse- or fine-grained salt. I used coarse this time, but I see there's still quite a bit undissolved on the bottom of the jar. I can't remember if the first batch was like this with the finer salt.

(Ha, I've just noticed that the single lemon remaining in my older jar has the same kind of grayish tint that the jarred ones in the shop have. Not really gray, but the color is less vividly lemon yellow. I wonder when this happened that I didn't notice.)

I have the feeling that a "recipe" for preserved lemons is a bit of an overstatement. It's really more like a technique; probably easier to see someone do it in person. Quantities are all approximate.