Go Back
Print
How to make preserved lemons

Easy Preserved Lemons

Preserving lemons is neither complicated nor time consuming. Meyer lemons, with their fragrance and tender skin, are particularly well suited to preserving. However, conventional lemons work well too.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 pint of preserved lemons (3 to 4 Meyer lemons)
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

  • 4 to 5 Meyer lemons (or another variety), scrubbed
  • 5 to 6 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 clean pint jar with a lid (glass with a rubber seal or silicone is preferable to metal lids)

Instructions

  1. Spoon 1 tablespoon of salt into the jar.
  2. Cut 3 lemons into quarters, leaving the very bottom of each one attached (so that if you open it, it fans out like a flower and is still connected at the bottom).
  3. Spoon 1 tablespoon salt into the center of the first lemon, close it, and put it into the jar. Continue with the 2nd and 3rd lemons, smashing them down firmly into the jar to make room for more, if possible. If some room remains, add another half or whole lemon, using 1/2 to a full tablespoon of salt accordingly. Fit as many lemons as you can as long as there is at least 1/2 inch of room at the top.
  4. Add another tablespoon of salt to the top of the lemons.
  5. Cut 1 or 2 lemons in half and squeeze enough juice so that the lemons are immersed in liquid.
  6. Put on the lid and store in a cool place. Turn the jar over every day for 4 days, then store in the fridge.
  7. After a month, your preserved lemons will be ready to use.
  8. Rinse well with water before using. It is typically the peel, not the flesh of the lemon, that is used.