PRESERVE: How to Make Salted Lemon Pickles
Preserved lemons are one of my favorite ingredients, and one of the easiest homemade preserves you can make. They’re also called salted or pickled lemons, or Moroccan lemons, and have a unique flavor that is tough to describe but absolutely delicious. I always keep at least one jar in my pantry and make more whenever I start to get low because I never want to run out!
The sharpness of the fresh lemon and bitterness of the peel undergo a transformation and develop a unique mellowed flavor that has the brightness of lemon with more complexity. They’re great as a featured flavor note in a dish, or just to add some acidity and sharpness to a sauce or salad dressing, potato salad, pasta dishes, roasted chicken or fish, or anything that just needs a little extra sparkle to go from basic to brilliant.
I’m going to teach you how to make them, but they do take a little bit of time before they are ready to use… but they’re worth the wait! There are shortcut versions of this recipe that involve blanching the lemon peel to remove some of the bitterness (like making a marmalade) and then steeping the peels in salt and lemon juice, but the flavor is not the same. I recommend getting started on a batch of the real thing, and waiting a few weeks. Get started on them now! It’s so easy and you won’t want to be without them ever again.
It’s so simple it’s hard to even call this a recipe, although there are variations including spices or herbs like coriander or bay leaves. You really only need lemons, salt, and a spotlessly clean glass or ceramic jar with a tightly fitting lid… and time to wait once you put them together. That’s it! The salt and the acid means this is one of the safest pickles to make, and definitely the easiest. You can also do this technique with limes and meyer lemons, since they’re both high in acid.
You don’t even need to use a mason jar for this- any clean non-reactive jar with a good lid sealing will do, though I recommend one with a wide mouth so it’s easier to make and use the pickle. It’s a good idea to use a plastic lid or a Kilner-type jar with a glass lid, a rubber seal and a wire bail (if you have that type of jar), or stainless jar rings, as the salt and acid over time can corrode a metal canning jar lid & ring and cause it to rust. Otherwise, just rinse off your lids well and wipe the jar rims after the pickles are finished brining and you aren’t flipping or turning the jars anymore, and replace any lids that start to rust so you don’t contaminate your pickle or end up with a lid you can’t open!
The waiting time while these salted lemon preserves mellow and soften is mostly hands off, and they keep almost indefinitely once you make them, especially if you store them in the fridge. Though like many other lacto-ferments and traditional salt-cured foods, you can keep these in a cool and dark pantry or basement as well. Make a little batch now, and a big batch in winter when citrus is in season (and after you’ve fallen in love with the flavor).
Salted Lemon Preserves
Ingredients
Salted Lemon Pickles
- lemons preferably organic, as you will be eating the peel
- kosher, pickling, or sea salt don't use iodized salt here
- lemon juice to cover, if the lemons do not make enough juice to cover themselves
Optional additions per quart (pick one or several)
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 large bay leaf
Instructions
- Wash the jar(s) with hot soapy water, and sanitize either in a pot of boiling water, a steamer, the sanitize setting of your dishwasher, or using star-san or other homebrewing sanitizer. Mostly make sure the jars and lids are clean, but between the salt and the acid in this pickle, it's very safe, but never a bad idea to have a sanitized jar for a ferment that you plan to store for a long time.
- Wash the lemons, remove any produce stickers or labels, and cut them into halves or quarters.
- Put a tablespoon of salt into the bottom of the jar, then add a layer of lemons. Press them in tightly to remove as much air space as possible.
- Cover the lemons with a thin layer of salt- just a tablespoon or two. Add the next layer of lemons to the jar, pressing them tightly into the gaps. A wooden spoon is helpful here, especially for large or narrow mouthed jars.
- Add another thin layer of salt, then another layer of lemons, repeating until the jar is filled to the shoulder. Top up with a last spoonful of salt, and if the lemons have not made enough juice to cover themselves, you can top up the jar with fresh or bottled lemon juice.
- Label the jar, seal the lid, and put it in a cool, dark place. For the first few days, turn the jar over several times per day to make sure the top layer is covered with salt and lemon juice- it's ok if some pieces stick out a bit, as long as you keep the those bits moistened with the salty brine until they have absorbed the liquid.
- After the first day or two, gently shake or turn the jar occasionally for the first week or two. Every few days is fine- you just want to make sure the top bits aren't exposed before they have fully absorbed the salt, so that they don't mold or spoil. If they mold, you should discard them, though I've been making these for years and have never had a batch go bad! Over time the flavor will mellow and become more muted and less sharply acidic.
- Once the pickles are done, the rinds will soften, the brine will darken and eventually turn thick or even into jelly- this is from the pectin in the lemons and not a sign of spoilage. You can either store them in the fridge at this point or continue to keep them in a cool, dark place for longest shelf life.
- To use the pickles, use a clean utensil to remove a piece. The peel should separate from the inner part of the lemon easily. Traditionally, just the peel was chopped and used and the centers and seeds were discarded, though I often pick the seeds and any tough membranes out of the inner part and use that as well (especially in pureed salad dressings or sauces where the texture won't matter).