When life gives you lemons, make preserved lemons!

Sometimes life gives you lemons, in my case- Meyer lemons. I’ve been SOOO smitten that the 2 meyer lemon trees I planted about a year ago have been producing a ton of fruit. When I can grown anything without killing it, I’m ecstatic- and even my neighbors, who used to own a nursery, were shocked at how fruitful my two little Meyer lemon trees have been.

I didn’t really care to make  pie or cake with them, I thought Preserved Lemons would be the best idea for making sassy marinades and boy was I right. They’re also great for adding to things like icecream and making salad dressing or even salsas. When I post my Meyer Lemon and Rosemary spatchcocked chicken recipe it is going to knock your socks off!

Facts about Meyer Lemons: Meyer Lemons come from China and are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. It was brought to the US by Frank Meyer, a USDA employee, who collected a sample in 1908 on a trip to China. The fruit is less acidic with thinner skin than traditional Eureka Lemons.

My dog Connor, wanted to pose in front of my Meyer Lemon tree for this picture.

So how to make Preserved Meyer Lemons? All you need are sterilized jars, lemons and kosher or sea salt.

How to Make Preserved Meyer Lemons

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

• Author: Robyn

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 5 Meyer Lemons or more
• 1/4 cup kosher or sea salt (or more as needed)
• Glass Mason Jar large enough so the lemons will barely fit width-wise

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

Rinse the lemons well- scrub them so the skins are very clean. Next, sterilize your jar (I sterilized mine in the dishwasher on high heat setting). Cut the stem and very tip end off the lemons. Next, quarter the lemons (slice in half, then slice almost to the end but where the pieces are still attached at the end). Rub salt inside the lemon and out. Put a tablespoon of salt on the bottom of the jar and add a lemon. Repeat with more salt, and lemons until you are almost to the top. You want the salt and juice to mix so you have a very juicy mixture almost to the top of the jar. Add salt or lemon juice as necessary.

Let the jar sit out on the counter for 3 days and shake it every so often so that the salt/lemon/juice mixture is uniform.

Put in the refrigerator for the remaining time- the lemons will be ready to use after 3 weeks. When using the lemons, rinse them off before using them.

The Preserved Lemons will last up to 6 months in your fridge. If you've cooked with Preserved Lemons before- I'd love to hear your recipe ideas! What fun stuff have you come up with?

My preserved Meyer Lemons in front of my Meyer Lemon tree. Dogs in the background not included! 🙂