When friends give you lemons preserve them….

I felt as if the universe had looked into my refrigerator when my friends asked if I would take a bag of freshly picked organic lemons they had been given while visiting California because they couldn’t us them. I had used the last of my preserved lemons and was down to the lemon~infused olive oil left in the jar. The olive oil still lent a delicious boost of flavor for salads, soups and sauces, but, sadly, it was lemonless.

I have experimented with a few different methods for preserving citrus over the years, but THIS, dear readers, is the best, easiest, most flavorful way to preserve these beautiful ovals of sunshine. I hope this inspires you to find some juicy {choose fruit that feels heavier in your hand} lemons as they are at their peak of ripeness and preserve them. I think you will be so happy to have this treasure trove of flavor at the ready for creating this classic North African Lemon~olive~chicken Tagine or to add that perfect zest to salads, soups, stews, etc.

INGREDIENTS

9 organic lemons, washed and dried

3 cups coarse salt

2 ~ 3 cups mild olive oil {the oil needs to cover the top of the lemons}

1 ~ 1~1/2 liter lidded jar, sterilized {I used a Fido jar}

PREPARATION

With a sharp chefs knife to cut the lemons into quarters.

Remove the center membrane, pith and any seeds you can pop out with the tip of the knife.

Here are the things you don’t want in your jar.

Here is what you do want in your jar, perky yellow wedges of tangy~juicy fruit with firm rinds.

Now, here’s how to make those rinds tender and soft and mellow the tanginess of that juice. Layer the wedges with scoops of the coarse salt. I used one of these Qinline reusable one gallon bags {they came in a set with sandwich and snack sized bags}. A layer of lemons,

a sprinkling of salt,

shake it up a bit to make sure the lemons are all coated with salt and repeat until you have covered all of the lemons.

When they are all nestled away in their salty bed seal up the bag and set it in the freezer for a day, or 3 or a week.

When you are ready to pack them up in your sterilized jar, pull the frozen, salty wedges of goodness out of the freezer.

Pour them in a colander in the sink and allow them to thaw then rinse off any remaining salt.

Next, start layering the thawed fruit into the sterilized jar.

Once they are all in place

Fill the jar with the olive oil so that the lemons are completely submerged and covered.

The lemons must be completely covered with olive oil to prevent molding.

Then put the top on and seal it up. Stow the jar in a dark, cold corner of your refrigerator.

They will be ready to enjoy in 3 weeks, the longer they rest the more delicate and delectable they will become.