How to Make Probiotic Preserved Lemons

What exactly are preserved lemons, you ask?

Salt preserved, fermented lemons are an amazing taste sensation. Salty, tart, lemony, and just slightly sweet, they are a great way to wake up your taste buds.

Originally from the Mediterranean region where they have oodles of lemons to play with, some recipes call for various spices while others just use salt.

I’ve made these with cinnamon, peppercorns, and a mixture of cinnamon and star anise.

While I enjoy them all, this particular recipe for preserved lemons is just plain. I find the plain ones to be more versatile.

Luckily I was able to find some lovely big lemons this time around.

So I made a half-gallon jar full because I go through a lot. I really like them on salads and in quinoa.

And because they are naturally fermented, they have some probiotic benefits as well.

And don’t they just look purty!

Here’s what you need to make salt preserved lemons:

• Clean glass jar with plastic lid – size depends on how many lemons you have. 3 large lemons will fill a quart jar. I like to do a 1/2 gallon at a time.
• Organic lemons – enough to fill the jar when squashed, plus a few to juice
• Sea Salt – 2 Tbsp per lemon
• Filtered Water
• Something to squash the lemons with. I use my kraut pounder
• Glass fermenting weights or something else to keep the lemons submerged, like a baggie full of water

I use this to squash all kinds of things.

my squasher

I have this handy-dandy squasher. It’s actually technically called a kraut pounder, but I just call it my squasher. 🙂

I’ve used it for lemons, kraut, jellies, and as a giant mortar.

Or maybe pestle.

I tend to get those mixed up. 🙂

And I can crack pecans with it too!

But I digress.

The preserving part:

Working with one at a time, cut the lemons in quarters leaving about a 1/2 to a 1/4 inch hinge-y thing at the bottom.

lemon hinges

Now take a tablespoon of the sea salt and rub it all over the cut edges.

all salted up

When it’s all salted up, stick it inside the jar and squash it a little. We want the juice to squish out and you’ll need to pack them pretty tightly into the jar.

Make sure you squash each one as you put it into the jar.

If you try to wait til the end to squash them all it doesn’t work very well.

Just trust me on this, mmmkay?

being squashed

Continue cutting, salting, and squashing your lemons until the jar is full, leaving about an inch of head space. I got 7 big lemons in the 1/2 gallon jar.

squashed lemons in the jar

Now take the lemons you have left and cut them in half and juice them.

isn’t my grandmother’s juicer cool?

Mix up the juice with the sea salt you have left and pour it into the jar to cover everything. If there’s not quite enough liquid to cover, try mashing the lemons down some more.

full of juice

You can add some water if you need to so that they stay covered. You may also need to weigh them down to keep them under the brine.

I used some glass fermenting weights that I got online. You could also use a zip lock baggie filled with water. Just make sure that you can get the lid on the jar.

glass fermenting weights

Once everything is all safely tucked under the brine, put the lid on the jar.

Here’s the fermenting part:

Luckily, the fermenting part just kinda happens on it’s own. The lactobacilli that are on the lemons will do all the work for you.

Lactobacilli are friendly bacteria that are present virtually everywhere. They convert sugars and starches to lactic acid, which is an important dietary component.

They are also the bacteria that culture yogurt and buttermilk.

They’re really good for your digestion, too.

The action of those little guys at work causes the bubbles that you will see forming in the brine inside the jar.

And they keep pathogenic bacteria at bay. (That’s the bad guys, in case I was getting too science-y.)

So now put the jar somewhere where it’s not in your way, but you will remember to check it. And let it do it’s thang.

This ferment will take anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks depending on the size of the lemons and the temperature of your house.

Larger lemons will take longer, warmer temperatures will speed things up.

Make sure you burp the jar a couple of times a day.

Gas will build up as the lemons ferment and you don’t want anything shooting out of the top when you open the jar!

The lemons are finished fermenting when the bubbling in the jar has subsided and the rind is soft and pliable.

bubbling is pretty much done

How to Use Preserved Lemons

I store these guys in the fridge, but if you are going to use them up quickly you could leave them out as long as the room temperature is cool.

Unfortunately, I just don’t have enough counter space for all my ferments. 🙂

I like to chop them up and throw them into salads.

You can also serve them diced like pickles or olives.

I’ve even used them to stuff inside a chicken that I’m roasting.

I’m not gonna lie. The aroma from that was pretty amazing.

And it made the chicken moist and lemony.

I also love them in my Brown Rice Pilaf!

They would be pretty darn good in a chicken salad sandwich, too, I think. That’s on the list to make.

There are so many ways to use these guys. Be creative!

Then come back and share what you did with them. 🙂

Blessings!

More fermented stuff you need to make:

Tomato Canning and Preserving

How to Make Healthy, Probiotic Water Kefir

Make Homemade Cultured Buttermilk {2 Easy Ways}

Probiotic Apple Cherry Pecan Chutney ~ A Fermented Recipe

print pin

Preserved Lemons

These preserved lemons are salty, tart, and lemony, and are a great way to wake up your taste buds.

Course Condiment

Cuisine Ferment

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 21 minutes

Servings 1 jar

Calories 188kcal

Author Cery

Ingredients

• Glass jar with lid
• 6-12 Organic lemons or enough to fill the jar + a few more to juice
• sea salt 2 Tbsp per lemon
• filtered water

Instructions

• Working with 1 lemon at a time, cut the lemons in quarters leaving about a 1/2 to a 1/4 inch intact at the bottom.
• Take a Tbsp of sea salt and rub it all over the cut edges.
• Now stick it inside the jar and squash it a little. You want the juice to come out and you want to pack the lemons pretty tightly into the jar.
• Continue cutting, salting, and squashing until the jar is full, leaving about an inch of head space.
• Now take the ones you have left and cut them in half and juice them.
• Mix the juice with the sea salt you have left and pour it into the jar to cover everything up.
• If there's not quite enough liquid to cover you can add some water so that everything stays covered.
• You may also need to weigh them down to keep them under the brine. I used some glass fermenting weights that I got from Cultures for Health. You could also use a zip lock baggie filled with water. Just make sure that you can get the lid on the jar.
• Once your lemons are all safely tucked under the brine, put the lid on the jar. Now put the jar somewhere where it's not in your way. This ferment will take anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks depending on the size of the lemons and the temperature of your house. Larger ones will take longer, warmer temperatures will speed things up.
• Make sure you burp the jar periodically. Gas will build up as they ferment and you don't want anything shooting out of the top when you open the jar!
• The lemons are done when the bubbling has subsided and the rind is soft and pliable.

Nutrition

Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 894mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 343mg | Calcium: 168mg | Iron: 4mg