Preserved lemons, sometimes known as lemon pickle, is a condiment, commonly used in Indian and Moroccan cookery. In 18th Century England, preserved lemons were known as country lemon, and leems.
Preserved lemons are quarter lemons, or lemons cut up into small pieces and covered in salt and lemon juice. The salt preserves the lemon pieces, gradually changing them, over the course of a year, to a darker colour and a more jellied texture. These more mature preserved lemons are highly prized in many places where they are habitually used.
This super easy recipe takes just a couple of minutes to make, adds a lovely fresh flavour to many dishes, and can even be taken as a hostess gift. This post was first published in October 2013 and had been updated and refreshed.
Have you used preserved lemons in your cooking? They add a lovely tang to all sorts of things and I like to use them in a barley salad, or even sandwich fillings, as well as the more usual tagine and couscous.
What you need to make preserved lemons
For each jam jar you want to fill, you will need roughly 2 lemons and 2 tbslp of salt, ordinary table salt is fine.
How to make preserved lemons in salt
- Give the jars a good wash, including the lids and dry them. You will need to protect the lids from the salt, so a square of cereal packet inner or something similar.
- Then just cut the lemons into smallish pieces and cram them into the jar(s), tipping in 1 tbslp of salt after the first lemon, then the second tblsp after the second lemon.
- Put your waxed paper or similar over the top of the jar and cram the lid on.
- Leave your lovely lemony jars to mature for a couple of months before using.
- Every now and again, tip the jar upside down and let the juice trickle through to the lid, then turn it right way up again. The salt will start to draw the juice out of the lemon pieces quite quickly. You are supposed to wait for 2 days, then top up the jars with lemon juice, but I was impatient, and did it this morning, after just 1 day. I used 60ml in each jar from a bottle of KTC lemon juice, plus 60ml water.
- Then just leave them for a month or more, remembering to tip them upside down every now and then.
When you open a jar, you will need to keep it in the fridge, but if you make sure the pieces are kept submerged, they should keep for a year.
Over time, the lemon pieces will darken from fresh yellow to golden brown. The darker ones are prized and many consider them better flavoured.
How to use your lemons once they are preserved
- What to do with them? Use as a condiment and flavouring, much as you would lemon zest, bearing in mind they are now salty as well.
- Finely chop or slice the now tender rind and add to soups, tagines, salads etc.
- Put several pieces in the cavity of a chicken before roasting, or a piece or two chopped small with a breast, and mix with soft cheese.
- Try some stirred through soft cheese then use as a sauce for pasta, maybe with some olives.
- Or with the soft cheese and shredded carrot and spinach, topped with some roasted hazelnuts.
- Or the above in a sandwich/pitta/wrap
- Sometimes they are pulverised to a paste and kept in a jar in the fridge, then a little can be added to pasta sauces, to pizza toppings, to soups and stews, to couscous, anything really where you might use lemon zest or juice.
Here is a post giving 5 ways to use preserved lemons.
Or how about Preserved Lemon Hummus, that sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it! Or fettuccini with preserved lemon and garlic, I will be just whizzing up chickpeas, garlic, a tblsp tahini and some lemon – can’t wait for them to pickle so I can do that one.
You don’t need much tahini or oil to make hummus, it tastes just as good with a little bit.
These would make a cracking gift, a jar in cellophane, maybe as a hostess gift, or in a hamper for Christmas
Other recipes using lemons you might like
Servings: 1 jam jar
Cost per portion 54p per jar
Calories: 63kcal
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Then just cut the lemons into smallish pieces and cram them into the jar(s), tipping in 1 tbslp of salt after the first lemon, then the second tblsp after the second lemon. Put your waxed paper or similar over the top of the jar and cram the lid on.
2 lemons, 2 tblsp salt
-
Every now and again, tip the jar upside down and let the juice trickle through to the lid, then turn it right way up again.
-
The salt will start to draw the juice out of the lemon pieces quite
quickly. You are supposed to wait for 2 days, then top up the jars with
lemon juice, but I was impatient, and did it this morning, after just 1
day. I used 60ml in each jar from a bottle of KTC lemon juice, plus 60ml
water. -
Then just leave them for a month or more, remembering to tip them upside down every now and then. When you open a jar, you will need to keep it in the fridge, but if you
make sure the pieces are kept submerged, they should keep for a year. Over time, the lemon pieces will darken from fresh yellow to golden
brown. The darker ones are prized and many consider them better
flavoured.
- What to do with them? Use as a condiment and flavouring, much as you would lemon zest, bearing in mind they are now salty as well.
- Finely chop or slice the now tender rind and add to soups, tagines, salads etc.
- Put several pieces in the cavity of a chicken before roasting, or a piece or two chopped small with a breast, and mix with soft cheese.
- Try some stirred through soft cheese then use as a sauce for pasta, maybe with some olives.
- Or with the soft cheese and shredded carrot and spinach, topped with some roasted hazelnuts.
- Or the above in a sandwich/pitta/wrap
- Sometimes they are pulverised to a paste and kept in a jar in the fridge, then a little can be added to pasta sauces, to pizza toppings, to soups and stews, to couscous, anything really where you might use lemon zest or juice.
Here is a post giving 5 ways to use preserved lemons.
Or how about Preserved Lemon Hummus, that sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it! Or fettuccini with preserved lemon and garlic, I will be just whizzing up chickpeas, garlic, a tblsp tahini and some lemon – can’t wait for them to pickle so I can do that one.
You don’t need much tahini or oil to make hummus, it tastes just as good with a little bit.
These would make a cracking gift, a jar in cellophane, maybe as a hostess gift, or in a hamper for Christmas
Nutrition Facts
Preserved lemons in salt
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
