What do you do with all those Lemons? Try Salt Preserved Lemons!

What do you do with all those Lemons? Try Salt Preserved Lemons! 

What to do with all of those lemons? It's that time of the year when lemon trees are loaded with juicy, yellow fruit. If you have one of those trees (or a neighbor or a friend has), then you know it can be a challenge to use those lemons before they go bad. One of the oldest and simplest ways to preserve some of those lemons for future use is making traditional salt preserved lemons.

These are often called “lemon pickle” or “Moroccan Lemons”. This type of preserved lemons is an important ingredient in many Moroccan and Middle Eastern recipes but also frequently appears in a number of recipes from India.

The San Joaquin Master Food Preservers are having a webinar workshop on Saturday February 20th. One of the recipes being presented is salt preserved lemons. See the San Joaquin Master Food Preserver Website for a link to register:

https://ucanr.edu/sites/NSJMFP/?newsletteritem=88317

Making Preserved lemons is easy but you need to know what to do with them when they are ready to eat. Don't make the mistake of taking out a section from the jar and popping it into your mouth. You will most likely spit it out and remember that extremely salty and sour experience for the rest of your life.

The only part that goes into recipes is the pickled rind. First, pull or scrape off any seeds and all of the pulp from the rind, then thoroughly rinse the rind in cold running water. Now it is ready to be used in a variety of recipes. It will add some saltiness but the bitterness will be gone, the tartness decreased and the lemon essence made more intense.

We found many recipes on the Internet that use preserved lemon. You will find links to those articles below but we would like to give you a few ideas to get you inspired:

• Add to grain salads
• Spice up roasted vegetables
• Mix into lentils
• Season poultry and fish recipes
• Use in soups and stews
• Add a unique zing to condiments and give dressings a kick
• Use in beverages and cocktails to “raise the bar”
• “lemonize” jams and desserts to make a special treat.

Link to more ideas and recipes: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-to-do-with-preserved-lemon-1327922

Salt preserved lemons is a simple and inexpensive way to preserve some of those excess lemons and provide you with a unique ingredient to spice up beverages and meals.

Look in the blog after the Saturday Workshop for the full recipes that will be demonstrated in the workshop.