Preserved lemons
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Easy - January 2022
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Makes 1 large/a few smaller jars -
Hands-on time 10 min, plus 4-5 weeks fermenting
With only two basic ingredients and some imaginative flavourings, preserved lemons are storecupboard stars. Make a jar or two with our easy recipe.
Once your preserved lemons are ready, try them in our recipe for slow-braised lamb shoulder.
- Calories
- 4kcals
- Fat
- trace (no saturated)
- Protein
- 0.1g
- Carbohydrates
- 0.4g (0.4g sugars)
- Fibre
- trace
- Salt
- 2.3g
delicious. tips
Meyer lemons, if you can find them, best approximate the Moroccan doqq or boussera varieties usually used for preserving. Meyer lemons’ thin skin and sweetness mean you can use the whole lemon – skin, flesh and all. If you can’t get hold of them, eureka lemons also work well, but be sure to use unwaxed, ideally organic, fruit.
Learn how to sterilise jars.
How to prepare preserved lemons: Most recipes using preserved lemons in a dish call for the skin of the lemon only. To prepare them, fully quarter the preserved lemons, then run a sharp knife along the inside of each piece to remove the flesh and bitter pith, leaving just the tender skin. Slice, chop or crush the skin, as needed for your recipe.
Depending on your taste for bitterness, you can use the whole lemon, flesh and all, for some recipes – especially in roasts or when whizzing into butters or marinades. Regardless of the preparation, always remove the pips.