Sort ingredients
leekottner
QR Code
Listen
Pdf
Trim ¼ inch off the top and bottom of each lemon. Split each lemon lengthwise into quarters, keeping quarters connected at base. Transfer to a large bowl. Toss with salt and sugar. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, the lemons will have released a lot of liquid. Transfer entire contents of bowl to a sterilized canning jar, pressing lemons down firmly until they are completely submerged in liquid. Seal jars and store in refrigerator for at least 2 weeks and up to 6 months.
From there, the options are manifold. In On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee suggests that a solution of 5 to 10% salt is needed to achieve a good North African–style preserved lemon. (As a reference, olives call for the same percentage.) A proper Indian pickled lemon calls for double that amount, as well as turmeric, fenugreek seeds, and chili powder. Or take a tip from Sortun, who encourages you to make a batch with fragrant, sweet Meyer lemons when they're in season. You can also add cloves, mustard seed, or mace—just a few of the spices popularized by the British in the 19th century. Meanwhile, Admony uses a 70% salt to 30% sugar mix and adds chili and paprika, for a smoky, spicy twist, and turmeric, for color. She also lets her lemons ferment for a full three months. The cured lemons will last in the back of your fridge for up to a year.
Pluck one from the jar, rinse it off, and add it to everything that calls for lemon—and everything that doesn't. (As Paula Wolfert notes in her headnote on preserved lemons, "fresh lemons are never an adequate substitute" in recipes that call for the preserved variety, though preserved lemons are a fine—perhaps better!—substitute in recipes calling for fresh.)