Preserved Lemons

[Gale]

ras el hanout forumlas are everywhere but gathering all those spices will cost ya. After trying lots of blends created by different spice merchants around the US, I decided to try Nigella Lawson's recommendation of seasonedpioneers.com based in Liverpool, England. The packets are lightweight and the total price including shipping is under 10 dollars..

I have seen this site and wondered about the quality. I think I'll give them a try.

[pogophiles]

I've tasted Chef Sean's crab cakes with preserved meyer lemon coulis, [snip] -- and yes, it's really, really good. But more complicated than what I normally cook at home.

Agree on Chef Sean's crab cakes with preserved lemon coulis...very, very good!!

[tanabutler]

I use 1 tablespoon sea or coarse salt for each lemon plus 1 for the jar. -

I'm sure it will turn out okay as long as you really wash each lemon well before using it.

Why do you need to wash the lemons? If mine are growing (organically, of course) in my back yard, what am I washing off?

[SobaAddict70]

she means to wash the brine off the lemon, I think.

Soba

[Toliver]

Why do you need to wash the lemons? If mine are growing (organically, of course) in my back yard, what am I washing off?

Bird pee, bug spit, exhaust from that helicopter that was flying kind of low, the pesticide that your next door neighbor was spraying a little too enthusiasticly on his plants so the excess drifted across the fence and onto your lemons...you know, stuff like that.

[Bond Girl]

I do a modified version of Suzanne's recipe, which is to layer the salt and sugar on each lemon. Then top it off with olive oil and stick it in the fridge. I use the lemon oil for my salad, or as a flavoring to my seafood ceviche. The lemon, I use on everything from fish to vegetables like brussel sprouts and spiced carrots.

Sean, will you share your lemon emulsification recipe with us?

[Wolfert]

you wash the lemons twıce

fırst tıme ıs before you brıne them to soften the skın and remove any anımal peeö etc as lısted above.

you must wash off the salty brıne before usıng or you wıll alter the recıpe.

[ianeccleston]

I also made preserved lemons according to Paula's recipe, and they seem fine - they smell 'wonderful and lemony' and taste good. But my wife is pregnant - should I be concerned? The recipe for the tagine I plan to make tonight calls for the preserved lemons to be cooked for 15 minutes. From what I understand this is enough to kill all the little buggies in there. What do you all think?

Cheers,

Ian

[Wolfert]

ıf ıt smells great ı doubt there are any buggıes ın your jar of preserved lemons.

By the way, preserved lemons are used uncooked ın salads, tto. Just be sure to wash off all the salty brıne and remove the pulp. You can use the pulp for marınatıng ıf you wısh.

Edited April 13, 2004 by Wolfert (log)

[ianeccleston]

Thanks! My wife is a bit of a nervous nellie - getting assurance from you will no doubt let her experience preserved lemons in a tagine for the first time.

Can I just say that egullet is great? And how nice Paula is?

Cheers,

Ian

[ianeccleston]

Thanks again; finished off the tagine to rave reviews.

Ian

[Smithy]

Ian, I'm so glad you and your wife went ahead with the tagine!

Now, I'd like to explore the topic of "bugs" and decomposition in the preserved lemons. I hope someone with the right knowledge will say "you're right on" or "you're all wet" - and the why of it. I've been speculating on another forum, far away, that not much really could grow in that acidic environment...lemon juice and salt seem a pretty hostile environment, no matter how tasty when I'm biting into them. My last batch of preserved lemons never really cured, and it took on a distinct smell of ammonia. I don't know that there would have been any bugs as such, but I decided there was a chemical breakdown in progress and threw them out - bugs or no. It smelled icky. This more or less goes along with Wolfert's statement, although I wouldn't have likened it to furniture polish either.

(Excuse me while I fawn a moment: Paula Wolfert! Wow!) ..er...ahem...sorry

So... really, could there be any bugs growing in that preserve? If not, is it just a chemical decomposition, generating strange compounds - the unliving, so to speak - that causes them to go "off"? I realize this may fall into the "so what - cyanide is deadly but it ain't alive" category for most readers, but I'm really interested in whether and how preserved lemons could go bad.

Enquiring minds, and all that -

Nancy

[Bond Girl]

?f ?t smells great ? doubt there are any bugg?es ?n your jar of preserved lemons.

By the way, preserved lemons are used uncooked ?n salads, tto. Just be sure to wash off all the salty br?ne and remove the pulp. You can use the pulp for mar?nat?ng ?f you w?sh.

I know a chef that used preserved lemon uncooked on top of his sushi as a substitution for salt. Though I never tried it, or tasted it, I think it's pretty good on top of some shaved fennel or finely minced in a scallop ceviche.

[forever_young_ca]

I am doing Paula Wolfert's 30 day preserved lemons. I have them in a jar - 6 lemons plus the juice of 4 more with salt. After 5 days the lemons have juiced up nicely. The lemons however seem to float leaving the top lemon exposed a bit.

Is this normal? Will that exposed bit of lemon on the top get enough juice to preserve (I am turning the jar once a day) or will they finally soften enough not to float any more?

This is my first try at preserved lemons and just looking at them in the jar makes my mouth water

[Suzanne F]

I filled the heaviest-weight plastic food storage bag I had with water and placed it on top to weight down the lemons. It conforms nicely to the odd shape.

I prefer this to using plates ever since an unfortunate incident of being unable to clean the unglazed part of a plate that weighted stuffed grape leaves. Did you know that mold can grow WITHIN china??

[forever_young_ca]

Thanks Suzanne - an easy, very smart solution - why didn't I think of that

Thanks

[saskanuck]

You just gave me a cool idea. I have a clean, interestingly-shaped empty olive jar, a bag of lemons, and a bunch of kosher salt I need to use up.

Guess what I'll be making? I don't know what they taste like, but lemons and salt are always good to me.

The plastic bag idea is something I would never have thought of either.

Edited January 6, 2005 by saskanuck (log)

[torakris]

uh-oh...

the lemons shouldn't be exposed?

2 weeks ago I made The new Gourmet Cookbook's version of Paula Wolfert's recipe (it is faster because they boil the lemon first) but the juice doesn't completely cover it.

Another related question.

I have never eaten preserved lemons before...

how long should I preserve them before eating?

I tasted the brine and it is really salty, do they get rinsed/wiped before using?

[saskanuck]

torakris, that's the recipe I want to try as well. I'm not sure how long it would be before the lemons can be eaten, but I'd say a month or so.

You do rinse the lemons off before using them, and only use the peel from what I've read.

I don't think I have enough lemons to fill my entire olive jar and have enough left to squeeze juice from, so I'm going to make a smaller jar to start and see what happens.

I'm sure yours are fine without being submerged all the way, although you probably should do that now.

[Jensen]

I made some about a year ago when I had a lemon glut. I still haven't used them. I kept them in the fridge though and they are "preserved" lemons, so I'm hoping they'll be okay. I suppose I'll know soon enough when I open a jar.

However, I'm still not sure what to do with them.

[Wolfert]

they are probably not only still ok, they are probably even better.

What to do with them? Well, I only have suggestions using them in Moroccan cooking. Actually you don't cook with them you garnish. Dishes such as leafy greens cooked down in olive oil until pasty then spiced with paprika and cumin and drizzled with olive oil. Wash one lemon, discard the pulp and sliver on top. Serve with crackling pita bread

Also good on red pepper salad.

Use in fish, chicken or lamb and lemon and olive dishes...Some recipes call for using the pulp to marinate the flesh beforehand.

Lots of chefs have come up with fabulous new ideas as well. I'm sure they will chime in once they read your call for help.

Edited January 6, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[Jensen]

Thanks for the ideas! It's probably heresy but I did pick up a new Trader Joe's simmer sauce today...Moroccan something-or-other. I suppose, if nothing else, I could liven it up with my preserved lemons.

[andiesenji]

On the onion confit thread I posted about making my last batch of onion confit with the inclusion of a preserved lemon, rinsed and cut into quarters.

The flavor of the onions is wonderful.

[forever_young_ca]

am doing Paula Wolfert's 30 day preserved lemons.

Ms. Wolfert, I see that you are reading this thread. Since it is your recipe that I am using out of the "Slow Mediterranean Kitchen", I hope you don't mind if I direct this question to you - does it matter that some of the top of a couple of the lemons is exposed - or am I worrying about nothing? I shake the jar once or twice a day so the top lemons get a bit of juice over them.

By the way - I love this cookbook, every receipe I have tried has been wonderful.

Thanks in advance

[Wolfert]

My question is just how exposed are the lemons? If most of the lemons are covered, leave them alone. In time the salt will draw out enough juice to cover them.

If you want to there is no rule that you can't open the jar and add more lemon juice to cover. If you do this, add another tablespoon of salt as well.

Glad you like the book. Thank you.