I wish to dispel a lemon myth made popular back in the Sixties by the band called Peter, Paul, and Mary. “Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flowers are sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.” This stanza was sung with beautiful voices that needed no auto-tune to be wonderfully harmonized, but I digress. The fruit of that poor lemon is VERY possible to eat – and in so many ways!

Lemons Ripening Now

Yes, lemons are ripening – but many are not – repeat – many are NOT ripe yet. On posts on Gardening with Soule, I remind people that lemons (and all citrus) are only ripe when they come off into your hand with a gentle tug. If you have to yank, or worse, or cut – then they are not ripe. The Mama Lemon Tree is not done filling her babies up with nice sweet juices.

A tree-ripened lemon has an entirely different flavor than the store-bought ones that are cut green, gassed with ethylene to appear ripe, and shipped to stores. It is sweeter and more lemony, not to mention less acidic.

When you harvest lemons to the point when they fall into your hand with the gentlest tug they will be fully flavorful and astonishingly juicy.   They will still be tart, yes, but barely acidic at all.

Ample Lemons

Since my lemon trees produced prodigiously this year I am working using all these lemons in new and fun ways.    In the past I wrote about making lemon cordial and other lemony alcoholic drinks, and there is all manner of ways to use the juice of a lemon or two, like this Lemon Chicken. (Just put the word lemon in our search bar!)

Here is a new use – Lemon Salt, often found as “Salted Lemons,” or “Lemon Pickle.” In our home we call it “lemon salt” because for us the salt is the primary component of the blend, the lemon secondary.  Other people make this primarily for the lemon portion.

Lemon Salt Blend

Salted lemon, is a condiment common in South Asian and North African cuisine, including Moroccan tagines (the name for the type of pot and also the stew-like dishes prepared there-in) and Cambodian ngam nguv, a chicken soup.  The lemons are diced, quartered, halved, or whole, then essentially pickled in a brine of salt, lemon juice, and occasionally added water.    Generally herbs and spices are included, making this another type of Flavor Blend.

Create Lemon Salt

You will need:

Lemon - you can do this with only one lemon, or with many.    
Salt – use canning, sea or kosher salt, not iodized.
Jars with lids – you can sterilize these, but no one in the rest of the world does so.    Or use a glazed crock with a lid. Your choice.  
Optional: A spice cupboard with lots of choices.

Step 1. Rinse any debris off lemons.  I soak mine in a wash tub to which a glug of vinegar has been added. Yes, you can use your homemade Apple Scrap Vinegar that we make all the time for cleaning fruits and vegetables.

Step 2. Slice the lemons, making a criss-cross through the center, but not cutting all the way through. Just enough to open them up.    Put lemon in jar and add salt.    Plan on at least a 1/2 cup of salt for a quart jar.    Press the lemons down as you go, packing them in tight. Pressing helps release the juice that helps preserve them.

Step 3. Choose if you wish to add spices – or not.    Any combination of _dried_ herbs and spices will do.    I experimented with bay leaf, peppercorn, cinnamon bark, allspice berries, cardamom pods and sumac.    If you use fresh herbs, use a full cup of salt per quart jar, to ensure the brine is strong enough to kill the botulism bacteria that are simply not killed by a vinegar rinse.   

Step 4. For the first week, shake the jar (or stir with a wooden tool) once per day. This will help dissolve salt and get any air bubbles to the surface.    The jar should be at least 3/4 full of juice by day three.    If juice does not cover most of the ingredients, add some more lemon juice or filtered water.   

Patience

Step 5. Wait.    Lemons are best allowed to pickle at room temperature for at least a month. Longer is fine. It depends if you are aiming for peels or for a salty blend. We have some jars that are over three years old, and the peels are mow just mixed mixed in with the salty spicy brine.

Using Lemon Salt

The pulp of the preserved lemon can be used in stews and sauces, but it is the peel (both zest and pith) that is most valued. The flavor is mildly tart but intensely lemony.    Pieces of lemon may be washed before using to remove any surface salt, or blanched to remove more of the salt and bring out the natural mild sweetness.
The lemons may be sliced, chopped, or minced as needed for the texture of the dish.   

Optionally slip some lemon peel under the skin of a whole chicken for roasting. You can rub diced peels over a piece of fish prior to grilling, or coarsely chop and mix in a cold whole grain salad or taboli.   

The rind may be used with or without the pulp.    But don’t throw away the pulp!    The pickled pulp and liquid can be used in Bloody Marys and other beverages where lemon and salt are used.

Final Notes on Lemon Salt

Types of Salt 

Use non-iodized salt.  Ideally also a salt with no anti-caking agents in it.  Basically something where the only ingredient is “salt.”  This can be kosher salt, sea salt, or pickling salt.    The iodized salt experiment resulted in harsh flavor and a slippery texture.

Label

Always label what you have!    Include the date!    Permanent markers write on glass and are easily erased with some rubbing alcohol.   (Note image somewhere above)

The Recipe

This is an expanded version of a post that may still be floating around the interweb. I used to be part of another team of writers. Savor History.

cover image: Lemons in a basket – art by Vincent Van Gogh.

Thanks for reading!
Enjoy!

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