Salt Preserved Meyer Lemons Recipe

By
Marisa McClellan
Marisa McClellan
Marisa McClellan is a food writer, canning teacher, and the voice behind the long-running food blog Food in Jars. She is the author of Food in Jars (2012), Preserving by the Pint (2014), Naturally Sweet Food in Jars (2016), and The Food In Jars Kitchen (2019).
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Updated Aug. 30, 2018
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These tangy, savory lemons are good stirred into stews and tagines.

Recipe Details

Salt Preserved Meyer Lemons Recipe

Active 10 mins
Total 3 mins
Serves 32 servings
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds Meyer lemons (approximately 8 lemons)

  • 1/2 cup sea salt

  • 1 cup lemon juice

Directions

  1. Wash Meyer lemons well.

  2. Trim away both ends of lemons. Cut them into 4 quarters, leaving the connected at the bottom by about half an inch of fruit.

  3. Pour 1 tablespoon of salt into the bottom of the jar.

  4. Hold cut lemon over the jar, spill 1/2 tablespoon of salt into the cut. Rub it around to moisten. Place lemon into the jar.

  5. Repeat previous step for remaining lemons, packing them tightly into the jar.

  6. Let jar of salted lemons sit overnight.

  7. The next day, open the jar and wiggle the lemons to see if you can pack them any more tightly.

  8. They should have released more juice during the night, but it may not yet be enough to cover the fruit. Add additional lemon juice to cover.

  9. Place jar in a cool spot that's out of the way of direct sunlight. Check every day for 2-3 weeks, pressing fruit down so that the lemons remain submerged.

  10. When rinds are soft, place jar in the refrigerator and use. They will keep at least 6 months in cold storage.

Special equipment

Quart-sized mason jar

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
7 Calories
0g Fat
2g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 32
Amount per serving
Calories 7
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 169mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 12mg 62%
Calcium 6mg 0%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 38mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)