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Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Twitchin Kitten - 09-17-2008
Again, this is taken directly from my book, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by: Claudia Roden.
Preserved lemons lend a unique and distinctive flavor to North African dishes. you find the softened lemons in jars, or sold loose in street markets. They are now also common fare in the south of France. You can make them yourself. They take about 4 weeks to mature and can last a year. When they are ready to use, the pulp is scooped out and thrown away - only the skin is eaten. You can use small limes with thin skins or ordinary lemons with thick skins.
There are three common ways of making them.
Hamad M'Rakad
Preserved Lemons
Lemons Preserved in Salt and Lemon Juice
In this method, which is considered most prestigious and gives the best results, no water is used. You will need 1/3 cup of salt for 1 pound lemons. This works out at about 4 tablespoons salt for 4 lemons.
Ingredients:
4 lemons (choose them with thick skins)
4 tablespoons sea salt (very important to use sea salt for this!)
Juice of 4 more lemons or more
Wash and scrub the lemons. The classic Moroccan way is to cut each lemon in quarters but not right through, so that the pieces are still attached at the stem ends, and to stuff each with plenty of salt. Put them in a glass jar, pressing them down so that they are squashed together, and close the jar.
Leave for 3 - 4 days, by which time the lemons will have released some of their juices and the skins will have softened a little. Press them down as much as you can and add fresh lemon juice to cover them entirely.
Close the jar and leave in a cool place for at least a month, after which they should be ready. The longer they are left, the better the flavor.
Before using, rinse to get rid of the salt and scoop out and discard the pulp.
Note: If a piece of lemon is not covered with juice, it develops a white mold which is harmless and just needs to be washes off.
Lemons Pickled in Brine
This is the same procedure as above but instead of adding lemon juice, cover the lemons with brine made by adding 2 tablespoons salt to warm water. Lemons prepared this way take longer to mature. Some people pour a little oil on top as a protective film.
Lemons Boiled in Brine and Preserved in Oil
This quick, unorthodox method gives very good results in 4 days, and the lemons last for months.
With a sharp knife make 8 fine - superficial, not deep - incisions into the lemon skin, from one end of the lemon to the other. Put the lemons in a large pan with salted water (about 8 tablespoons salt for 8 lemons) to cover. Put a smaller lid on top of them to keep them down as they float, and boil for about 25 minutes, or until the peels are very soft. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, pack the skins in a glass jar and cover with olive oil. They are ready to use after 4 days or even sooner.
edit 5/18/2010: These are my lemons that I made in March. I used the salt method. See post #8 for my comment.
Click the images for a full sized view:
[attachment=68] [attachment=69]
RE: Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Angie - 02-07-2010
I definitely would like to give this a try. What dishes would call for this type of lemon flavoring?
Did I understand that you will scoop the pulp (the part that is usually eaten) out and throw it away? Does this mean you are actually using the lemon peel?
Sounds very TART! Which I LOVE!!!
Are there any easy to make dishes that could benefit from this flavoring? Any veggie dishes?
RE: Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Twitchin Kitten - 02-07-2010
You know Angie, I've no idea what dishes it's used in. This is from my Middle Eastern cookbook and I know many Middle Eastern dishes use these.
Yes, check the first bit of the topic in italics! Only the peel is eaten.
RE: Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Angie - 02-07-2010
Ok, I'm gonna check it out to see if I can use it in anything that is not to complicated
RE: Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Twitchin Kitten - 02-07-2010
Make a small jar of them and see - I'm sure you can improvise on using them! I'm tempted to do a jar myself now!
RE: Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Twitchin Kitten - 03-26-2010
Well I put up two jars of these today. They don't smush down as much as she says they should in her book! But I figure after the 4 days are up, I can transfer the softened lemons from one jar to the other and smush them good that way. I hope it comes out good! The first run is usually experimental but I'll let you know.
Pictures will come if it's a success! If not, I'll try again.
RE: Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Twitchin Kitten - 03-26-2010
I made these this morning. Cross your fingers that they come out correctly! They say smush them down tight into the jar but it is not as easy as it looks! I managed to smush 3 in two jars.
I'll try to post a picture in a few days after they have time to settle and I get more juice in there. I figure I can transfer three from one jar into the other when they are softer and get them in there tighter that way.
RE: Preserved Lemons ~ Middle East - Twitchin Kitten - 05-18-2010
Well I tried my lemons! My tongue is tingly from the tart sensation!
Angie, if you like tart then these are for you. It's an odd taste but good none the less. Just make sure you rinse well in cool water to get that salt out of there. Any salt remaining will leave them tasting awful.
When you scrape the pulp out, slice them into wedges like you see in the pic first. Then start at the top and "feel" for an edge - like when you peel off slices of citrus fruit to eat - and just take it down to the opposite end. Toss the pulp. I don't think there's a use for it.