Preserved Lemons

[ElsieD]

I just finished reading this entire topic and am left with one burning question:

 

I know that only the peel is used but is that just the peel without any of the pith?  If so, what is the easiest way to de-pith (is that a word?) the peel?  Also, I have 2 jars of commercially made preserved lemons.  Is there a shelf life?

Edited April 12, 2023 by ElsieD (log)

[blue_dolphin]

19 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I just finished reading this entire topic and am left with one burning question:

 

I know that only the peel is used but is that just the peel without any of the pith?  If so, what is the easiest way to de-pith (is that a word?) the peel?  Also, I have 2 jars of commercially made preserved lemons.  Is there a shelf life?

 

I think @Margaret Pilgrim described it very well here: 

On 4/8/2023 at 10:30 AM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

The pith and peel kind of become one in the curing process.   I discard the mushy pulp and use the peel.   It  would depend on your use.   In a cooked/braised dish, the whole segment would be appropriate.

 

I just take a quarter lemon and use my fingers to separate the mushy pulp.  If I'm making something that might need seasoning, I set it aside so I can use it to add extra salt/acididity if needed. 

Then I rinse the rest of the peel and slice, dice or whatever.  

As Margaret said, some slow cooked or braised dishes will call for a whole lemon.

 

Some people like to blitz the whole lemons to make a paste to be used for seasoning.  For my taste, and the way I make them, it comes out too salty to be useful but I can see why others might like it. 

 

I usually make a fresh batch once a year but sometimes I've used them for several years.  Between the acid and salt, and assuming they are submerged in brine, they are a rather inhospitable environment for spoilage organisms.

Any pieces sticking up out of the brine or right at the surface can discolor from oxidation and I see some people here have seen some sort of mold growth.  I haven't seen the mold. 

 

[Smithy]

@ElsieD, FWIW I often use the pith too. As @blue_dolphin said, it's useful for boosting the flavor of a sauce. As she and @Margaret Pilgrim said, the pith and peel become one. You can't really separate them.

 

I don't think I've ever had mine mold, but I have kept them too long to the point where they'd oxidized, turned dark, and begun to smell more like bad furniture polish then lemons. That's when I've pitched them. I don't think you need worry about food poisoning, either with the homemade or commercially preserved lemons, for reasons blue_dolphin gave above. The worst that's likely to happen is that the food won't taste good.

 

 

[Smithy]

I forgot to mention above that usually, by the time the lemons are too old, they've started to rust the interior of my canning jar lid! Not that I pressure can them, but I often put them into canning jars.

[lemniscate]

I am a blitzer/paste user.   I keep mine in the type of jar with the bail and glass lid.   In the fridge.  For years, no mold.

 

Yes, salty, but I use it as a salt condiment, instead of regular salt.

I add it to entrees when needed for salt/brine/tang.

I use it in salad dressings, also as a pickling spice or a marinade.

I make salty lemonade with it along with fresh juice and sweetener sometimes.   And Bloody Ceasars and Marys.

I have never made a tangine or traditional preserved lemon dish strangely enough.   Probably missing out on good stuff.  I just integrate it into my daily cooks when needed.   I find it pretty flexible.

[lemniscate]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

they've started to rust the interior of my canning jar lid!

 

I had this happen with pickled mustard seeds!   Off gassing maybe?   Now it has a plastic lid on the jar.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

43 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

 

I had this happen with pickled mustard seeds!   Off gassing maybe? 

Salt saturated acid?

[heidih]

35 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Salt saturated acid?

Happens ften with not salty but very acidic stuff like a quick pickleesp with certain lids - esp recycled Bonne Maman marmalade. No harm. Doesn't affect it. I usually double a small square of plastic wrap across top of jar and then screw on lid - but I've been  overly frustrated with the wrap not coming off roll properly and having to pitch the thne well before empty. (email complaints to mnufacturer with photos - not even a blasted coupon in response) - whole other topic. 

[Anna N]

The Guardian's take on preserved lemons.

[scubadoo97]

Found a jar of preserved lemons in our garage fridge that date back a while 🙄.  The skins have darkened but I doubt they are toxic.   Also found preserved watermelon rind in syrup that I made quite a few years ago.

 

Tasted them both and they both tasted ok.  No I’ll effects…..yet 🫣

[AlaMoi]

I've posed this Q several times in several places - been looking for knowledge/insight into my 30 year lemon quest, which goes as follows:

 

Greece - Athens - early 1970's

big party (and a bit extravagant . . .)

on table snack bowl of very thick lemon pith - firm to the bite (dried(?) / preserved(?)) / sugared.

stunning good stuff.

 

now,,,

#1 - very thick pith - particular lemon variety?  nothing like it found in USA 'normal' stores.....

#2 - pith is generally regarded as "bitter" - but this prep (sugared) was only slightly sour/tart - superb "balance"

 

anyone know of this "dish" and/or it's prep?

[blue_dolphin]

16 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

I've posed this Q several times in several places - been looking for knowledge/insight into my 30 year lemon quest, which goes as follows:

 

Greece - Athens - early 1970's

big party (and a bit extravagant . . .)

on table snack bowl of very thick lemon pith - firm to the bite (dried(?) / preserved(?)) / sugared.

stunning good stuff.

 

now,,,

#1 - very thick pith - particular lemon variety?  nothing like it found in USA 'normal' stores.....

#2 - pith is generally regarded as "bitter" - but this prep (sugared) was only slightly sour/tart - superb "balance"

 

anyone know of this "dish" and/or it's prep?

Have you looked into recipes for κίτρο γλυκό or candied citron?  In some recipes, the zest is left on, but very many remove it. Like this one, this one, this one, 

 

Edited to add this lemon version, which is not what you had as some of the pulp is left on the pith but it gives an example of using additional flavors - honey, vanilla - that sound good. 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by blue_dolphin
To fix duplicate link (log)

[AlaMoi]

this prep was "dry" - altho it could have been 'wet preserved' then dried/sugared . . .

but the pith on some of those lemons sure looks to be a good starting place . . .

is there any name/ID on that type of lemon?  (sorry, my Greek is Greek . . . oh, wait . . .)

[blue_dolphin]

39 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

this prep was "dry" - altho it could have been 'wet preserved' then dried/sugared . . .

but the pith on some of those lemons sure looks to be a good starting place . . .

is there any name/ID on that type of lemon?  (sorry, my Greek is Greek . . . oh, wait . . .)

Any candied citrus peel I’ve made can be either stored in syrup or dried and sugared. 
The video does not name a lemon variety. All the recipe links are for citron and look like Etrog. I’d say the key to the best flavor would be to used freshly picked fruit as the aromatics in the peels dissipate over time. 

[Anna N]

7 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

All the recipe links are for citron

David Lebovitz has a recipe for candied citron that shows a Buddha's hand. He also mentioned the ugly lemon variety. 

Here.

[scubadoo97]

On 4/25/2023 at 11:37 AM, scubadoo97 said:

Found a jar of preserved lemons in our garage fridge that date back a while 🙄.  The skins have darkened but I doubt they are toxic.   Also found preserved watermelon rind in syrup that I made quite a few years ago.

 

Tasted them both and they both tasted ok.  No I’ll effects…..yet 🫣

Had some more preserved lemon with tuna salad today.  
Still doing well.   Not even a hiccup

[AlaMoi]

the Lebovitz link is very promising for technique - thanks Anna!

a mention sent me looking for the Cedro lemon:

so now I'm off on a hunt for them . . . the pith is the "size" I recall....

[Anna N]

28 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

Cedro lemon

I believe you will find that is a citron. 
Citron.

[AlaMoi]

it seems to go by both names . . . not an especially unusual situation.

nadda clue,,, working on it....

[Wholemeal Crank]

Waking this up after a long time, because of a marvelously mellow tea that ended a terrific meal at MoMed in Los Angeles.  It was lemon-fennel tea, with a larger than I'd have dared use quantity of fennel, and a bit of lemon that I could just see as a rounded slightly orange-yellow bit of rather irregular (like it had been dried/shrunken) floating mostly underneath the fennel.  Our server said something I didn't quite catch about it being made with a preserved or fermented lemon, wish I'd paid more attention at that moment.   And it was deliciously fennel with strong sweet licorice/anise notes but also just enough that was distinctly fennel to confirm that it was not made with anise.  And the lemon was remarkably subtle.  It was not sour, hardly even tart, and certainly did not seem salty enough to have been made with a typically salt-preserved lemon, or sweet like the lemon had been candied or preserved in syrup.  It was simply tamed enough to not need any more sweetness than provided by the fennel in order to be wonderful.  And there was zero of the bitterness that creeps into my own lemon-infused teas where I slice some of my home-grown eurekas into the teapot, when I let it steep long enough for that to be extracted from the pith of the peel.

 

How might that lemon--probably a meyer lemon--have been preserved/dried/prepared?

[blue_dolphin]

7 minutes ago, Wholemeal Crank said:

Waking this up after a long time, because of a marvelously mellow tea that ended a terrific meal at MoMed in Los Angeles.  It was lemon-fennel tea, with a larger than I'd have dared use quantity of fennel, and a bit of lemon that I could just see as a rounded slightly orange-yellow bit of rather irregular (like it had been dried/shrunken) floating mostly underneath the fennel.  Our server said something I didn't quite catch about it being made with a preserved or fermented lemon, wish I'd paid more attention at that moment.   And it was deliciously fennel with strong sweet licorice/anise notes but also just enough that was distinctly fennel to confirm that it was not made with anise.  And the lemon was remarkably subtle.  It was not sour, hardly even tart, and certainly did not seem salty enough to have been made with a typically salt-preserved lemon, or sweet like the lemon had been candied or preserved in syrup.  It was simply tamed enough to not need any more sweetness than provided by the fennel in order to be wonderful.  And there was zero of the bitterness that creeps into my own lemon-infused teas where I slice some of my home-grown eurekas into the teapot, when I let it steep long enough for that to be extracted from the pith of the peel.

 

How might that lemon--probably a meyer lemon--have been preserved/dried/prepared?

 

I know people do make a sweet lemon confit, but I haven't tried it myself. Here's one recipe. 

 

This one is reportedly from Alain Ducasse

 

 

Edited April 27 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Wholemeal Crank]

Probably time to buckle down and experiment with both salt-preserved and sugar preserved lemons, since I've got plenty to play with this year.

[Neely]

I usually have a jar of preserved lemons in the fridge and use them sparingly most often with some sort of lamb dish perhaps chicken. I quite like the salty tang but my husband not at all so it’s a juggling act to make sure none gets on his plate. 

[Pete Fred]

I've had a jar of store-bought stuff hanging around for several months...

 

 

Yesterday I saw a recipe for Preserved Lemon Bars and thought I'd give it a go. Seeing as I was only curious about the lemony bit I just made a small dish of the cream...

 

 

Possibly because of trying to blitz one lemon with a stick blender, the cream retained some texture rather than being smooth...

 

 

I've only just noticed that I omitted the flour, so mine was a softer set, but I quite liked the taste, lemon curd-y but 'different'.

 

If you read the comments, however, it seems to have polarised opinion.