Quick ‘Preserved’ Lemons
- Total Time
- 3 hours
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
- 4lemons, unwaxed (or scrubbed of wax)
- 1tablespoon kosher salt
- 2tablespoons sugar
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
82 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 299 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Dice lemons, including peel, removing as many seeds as possible. Put the lemons and their juice in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt and sugar; toss well and transfer to a jar. Let the mixture sit for at least 3 hours at room temperature, shaking the jar periodically. It can be served at that point or refrigerated for up to a week.
Private Notes
Comments
If you cut lemons in quarters or eighths, it easy to remove seeds. Then squeeze our juice into bowl. That makes dicing easy since juice isn't running all over the place. Also the dice is much finer.
While I like most of Bittman's recipes, this one is to the real thing what water-added bulk ham is to prosciutto or Benton's. Combine diced lemons (any qty) with salt (5% B/W). Transfer to jar/s in stages, squeezing with spoon/fingers to release juice before adding more, so that a jar is packed to the brim (no air left). Close, age for at least 1 month at room temp. The lemons are fermented anaerobically by natural yeasts from the citrus skin: see Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking".
Maybe you missed the "quick" part? No one says it is the same as the 'real thing'. When you don't have a MONTH it might be a little better than throwing a plain lemon into the mix. Sheesh. We KNOW how to make the real thing.
Made this today for dinner tonight. Easy and tasted delicious!!! I only made a 1/2 batch, and used old Meyers lemons from my tree. 2 lemons made about 1 cup. Though it was a tad salty eating it straight from the jar it was still amazing!!! Will definately make again, and probably skip the 4-8 week longer process, at least for now. YUM!!!
Could I use this same idea with mandarinquats?
Why can you only save it for a week? Other preserved lemon recipes say it can last indefinitely in the fridge.
Authentic preserved lemons contain way way more salt which acts as a preservative. This shortcut version might get moldy or oddly fermented after a week