Fun with Fermentables: Preserved Lemons

Today I was joined by two other crafty women for an afternoon of green tea, cider brewing, and lemon making. Another post is to come on the loves of cider making. For now, I will share about the citrus shazam.

Preserved lemons are a key ingredient in a lot of Mediterranean foods, but they can be used in lots of different arenas. Aside from how obviously gorgeous they are, I was excited to have lemons preserved in my root cellar, for I am eternally forgetting them as a key ingredient. This savory lemon will add to so many situations. I think Mark is already thinking up brunch drinks to use it in.

All you need is lemon, jars, and salt. Here's how to make em!

1. Pick up some lemons- organic is best, especially since the peels will stay on. 
2. Sterilize some jars. If you're like me, you have dozens of spares around.
3. Here's the fun part: Cut the tips off, exposing the fruit on both ends. Then cut the lemon into sixths as if you we making wedges, but leaving these wedges attached at the very bottom. It should appear like a petaled flower. 
4. Coat each slice in salt- using about one tablespoon per lemon. 
5. SQUEEZE down!! About seven fit in a quart jar. 
6. Fill the remaining space in each jar with a salt-water solution. 4 parts water, 1 part salt seems like a good place to start. 

Then close them up and begin to enjoy. These should keep in a cool dark place- like a root cellar- for six months. This acidic, salty environment makes it very difficult for bacteria to grow.