Moroccan preserved lemons

[Phteven]

As part of my new commitment to Moroccan cuisine I'm preserving lemons.
These guys don't taste anything like fresh lemons and there are lots of Moroccan recipes that use them.

Ingredients

• Lemons
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• filtered, boiled (then cooled) water
• salt
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1/4 cup bay leaves (optional)
• Some people use cloves but I can't stand them. Ugh.

Method
Quarter lemons to within one cm of the bottom. Gently spread them without tearing them apart. Pack with salt and reshape.
In the bottom of a sterilized jar place 1 teaspoon of salt. Pack the lemons in layers adding salt and spices to each layer pressing each layer of lemons down to release some of the juices.
Cover the lemons with water, add oil to the top (the oil acts as a barrier) and seal.
Allow the lemons 30 days to ripen storing in a cool dark place. They will keep up to a year. They do not require refrigeration.

Before using rinse the lemons to remove the bitter taste and any white film that may have built up during preservation.

[luna moth]

Yums. Would like to order 2 x jars please. Ta.

[Junglemum]

I've never had much luck preserving lemons, they always seem to ferment and go off. I'll give it another shot though. Thanks.

[Phteven]

I saw Jamie Oliver doing it and he really packed the salt in.
He jammed bay leaves into the lemons too not just the layers between. Dunno how he went getting them back out for cooking though.
I think the oil is important too because it helps keep it sterile - kinda like the Burmese curries that have a centimeter of oil on the top to keep the cooties out.

[~me~]

Maggie Beer also does preserved lemons..have used hers and they really yummy. We have soooo many lemons on our tree I may even give this a go!

[Rouge]

Have you had any problems with mould? This is the only reason I haven't done it yet, I know so many people that have problems with mould no matter how they do it?

[Astrid]

Mould would probably have to do with how sterile the jars are. Go to a brewing supply place and they should have some sodium metabysulphate (hope I got that right). The lemons may also need to be cleaned to remove any naturally occurring moulds on the skin.

[Rouge]

Yeah the jars were sterelised I think it's something to do with the skin.

[Phteven]

Are we talking black scary stuff or a white film on the lemons? I think a white film is normal and just needs rinsing off anything more dramatic than that obviously needs to be tested on prisoners or students first.

[Rouge]

ooooo maybe thats what it is then. Do you think it could be due to waxy lemons? Is there anywhere to get non wax lemons here from?

[Phteven]

I've just been googling around a bit and the Jamie Oliver recipe says wax free lemons. Your best bet for them might be an organic store or farmer's market or jump the fence of a garden with a nice fruitful tree (you could ask but that's not as exciting as midnight fruit theft).
His recipe also calls for squeezing lemon over the lemons.

[Phteven]

I've got these guys down pat now.
I just use a new scotch brite and give the lemons a quick rub and a rinse to get the wax off.

I'm kind of addicted to lamb & lemon tajine now.

[rurumummy]

I have preserved my own lemons as well.It was my first time and they turned out great,i actually added chilli to it so they are spicy as well.Seeing as my DH is moroccan i cook alot of moroccan food and they get used quite a bit.