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We’ve been doing a number of interviews here at The Institute for Cooking for Geeks and Other Fun Stuff.
Carolyn Jung, over at www.foodgal.com, shared her experiences as a food writer, both in the print world and now online. One of her more unexpected hits? Preserved Lemons. Her writeup of a recipe inspired by food expert Kitty Morse is at www.foodgal.com/2009/01/meyer-lemons-the-salty/ .
It takes a few weeks for the lemons to completely break down, which is part of the fun: you get to “watch your lemons” day-by-day.
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Wayne Surber wrote in, adding:
There are numerous ways to do this. I do mine similar to you ‘old school’ buried in salt and lemon juice, however being a professional cook and having had them on the menu and watched my sous forget them on their mis en place. I’ve used a few other methods I’ve found, that while aren’t as deep in intensity, mixed in a salad or sauce, few would detect the difference.
Fast Cure:
1/4 as many lemons as you desire
remove the flesh and pith with a knife, take it as close as you can to the flesh leaving no pithy membrane.Blanch in boiling water a few times.
Meanwhile, squeeze and strain juice.
Store in a similar container covered in salt and lemon juice for 12-24 hours (or more I store them that way, but they are ready to use very quickly).
I like to cap mine with Olive Oil. A) it makes the jar look pretty B) It adds a roundness from the fat I really enjoy C) It’s the best lemon oil I’ve ever tasted and it’s homemade.
Thanks, Wayne!
I like the quick idea for the lemon preserved flavour…going to give it a go..
There are numerous ways to do this. I do mine similar to you ‘old school’ buried in salt and lemon juice, however being a professional cook and having had them on the menu and watched my sous forget them on their mis en place. I’ve used a few other methods I’ve found, that while aren’t as deep in intensity, mixed in a salad or sauce, few would detect the difference.
Fast Cure:
1/4 as many lemons as you desire
remove the flesh and pith with a knife, take it as close as you can to the flesh leaving no pithy membrane.
Blanch in boiling water a few times.
Meanwhile, squeeze and strain juice.
Store in a similar container covered in salt and lemon juice for 12-24 hours (or more I store them that way, but they are ready to use very quickly).
I like to cap mine with Olive Oil. A) it makes the jar look pretty B) It adds a roundness from the fat I really enjoy C) It’s the best lemon oil I’ve ever tasted and it’s homemade.
Thanks.
Thanks, Wayne! The idea of capping it with olive oil is really intriguing!
I’m so glad you’re trying your hand at preserving lemons. It’s such fun, isn’t it? You’ll find so many good uses for the lemons once you have them, too. Have fun watching the transformation. 😉