Bear Cuisine

Preserved Lemons

The flavor of preserved lemon is an essential part of Moroccan cuisine and that food has a flavor profile that I love. But this easy-to-make condiment has uses far beyond the foods of Morocco. They have become part of my cooking tool box and I use them to flavor everything from roast chicken to soup and as part of marinades and sauces they can't be topped. Paula Wolfert offers two versions in her Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco.  This winter I made the one calling for additional spices.

MEYER LEMONS AWAITING THEIR TRANSFORMATION INTO PRESERVED LEMONS

PRESERVED LEMONS A LA PAULA WOLFERT

1. 5 lemons
2. 1/4 cup salt, more if desired
3. 1 cinnamon stick
4. 3 cloves
5. 5 to 6 coriander seeds
6. 3 to 4 black peppercorns
7. 1 bay leaf
8. freshly queezed lemon juice, if necessary

If you wish to soften the peel, soak the lemons in lukewarm water for 3 days, changing the water daily. (This step isn't necessary if you use Meyer lemons.)

Quarter the lemons from the top to within 1/2-inch of the bottom, sprinkle salt on the exposed flesh, then reshape the fruit.

Place 1 tablespoon salt on the bottom of the mason jar. Pack in the lemons and push them down, adding more salt and the optional spices between layers. Press the lemons down to relase their juices and to make room for the remaining lemons. (If the juice released from the squashed fruit does not cover them, add freshly squeezed lemon juice--not chemically produced lemon juice add not water.) Leave some air space before sealing the jar.

Let the lemons ripen in a warm place, turning the jar upside down each day to distribute the salt and juice. Let ripen for 30 days.

To use, rinse the lemons as needed, under running water, removing and discarding tre pulp, if desired--and there is no need to refrigerate aftrer opening. Preserved lemons will keep up to a year, and the pickling juice can be used two or three times over the course of a year.

Meyer Lemon Marmelade

 Summer and fall are the busy seasons for those of us who like to preserve fruits and vegetables, but winter offers us beauiful citrus for preservation. This is the season for Meyer lemons and this year I experimented with making a marmelade with these tart and sweet fruits. I have to say the result was amazing--not as tart as regular lemons with just a hint of sweetness. One of my friends, who usually doesn't like marmelade, enjoyed this one.

MYER LEMONS

MEYER LEMON MARMELADE

(Makes about 7 half-pint jars)

• 16 Myer lemons, thinly sliced and seeds removed
• 4 1/2 cups liquid, water plus lemon juice released from slicing lemons
• Sugar

Combine the sliced lemons with the water and lemon juice in a large bowl. Set aside in a cool place overnight. The next morning put the ingredients in a kettle and simmer 5 minutes. Return to the bowl and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

After the second marinating, return the ingredients to the jam kettle and cook quickly until the peel is tender. Measure the fruit and liquid.(I had 6 1/2 cups.) Add one cup sugar for each cup of fruit and stir until the sugar dissolves. (If you like a jam which isn't as sweet, reduce the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup of sugar for each cup of fruit.)

Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring so that the mixture doesn't stick or burn. When the mixture has reached the gelling point, remove from the heat. Ladle the hot marmelade into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Adjust the two-piece caps and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

Making Limoncello

My cooking buddy, Janet Harris, teamed up with her friend Pattie to make Limoncello, a lemon-flavored Italian Liquor, using lemons grown in Arizona. They met 3 times over 12 weeks to create 2 gallons of this "wonderful beverage."

Click here for the basic recipe they followed.

Here are their notes and pictures from their Limoncello adventures.

We had the best success using a simple hand-held zesting tool.

 

We made batches with vodka and with grain alcohol for comparison.

 

The vodka and grain alcohol were filtered twice before adding to the zest.

The water for the simple syrup was filtered twice before making the syrup which was added to the alcohol/zest mixture after 6 weeks of aging.

 

 Here you see the alcohol, simple syrup, and zest after it has aged twelve weeks.

The green bottle is a 2 cup batch of limecello made  with left over grain alcohol.

Here are the bottles being sterilized in the oven.

 

The final product was filtered 3 times before bottling.

 

Lime with grain alcohol, Lemon with grain alcohol and Lemon with Vodka (left to right)

Bottled and ready to enjoy chilled, or age a bit longer.

Both Janet and Pattie preferred the taste and color of the  Limoncello and Limecello made with the grain alcohol. Janet's final word?  "Superior to any brand you can buy at a store."

Thanks to Janet and Pattie for sharing the results of their experiments. Now if they could just ship me a bottle or two.

Arizona Lemons

We really enjoy having our semi-dwarf Meyer lemon tree.  It blooms off and on throughout the year and, as with all citrus, may have mature fruit, blossoms, and baby lemons as simultaneous expressions.

My Danish grandmother always used lemons, raisins, or both, in desserts: Silky lemon meringue pie, lemon sponge roll, and a chilled lemon rice soup with raisins, for starters. She would use leftover lemons for cleaning such things as: chrome on the faucets, brass & aluminum pans; as an alternative "bleach" addition to the wash cycle of the laundry; as an air freshner for the refrigerator; for lightening my hair in the summer sun, and more.  

Folks here in AZ squeeze then freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays, then store in plastic bags, for later use. One neighbor freezes the lemon whole, and then thaws and uses it like fresh lemon. A few slices of lemon make a great freshner for a sink food disposal. Slices of lemon on the grill under fish keep the fish from sticking.  Lemons can be used to create garnishes, and  . . . for decoration by kids of all ages.

One favorite lemon creation that I make and give to neighbors during prime (winter) lemon season is lemon curd.  It can be served in pastry tart shells, spread on toast or scones, used as topping for ice cream, or enjoyed strait from the jar with a spoon! The basic recipe I use came from a Williams-Sonoma catalog back in the late 1970's.  It's simple, tried, and true.

Lemon Curd                    makes approx 1 pint

4 lg eggs, beaten

juice & fine rind of 4 small lemons (approx 1/2 c juice or to taste)

8 oz sweet butter (I've used 4 oz and it's delicious, too)

1- 1 1/2 c sugar (to taste)

Melt butter in nonreative bowl over boiling water, stir in juice, rind, and sugar (check sweet/tart preference at this point).  Mix small amount of this warmed mixture with the beaten eggs, stirring as you add to prevent clumping. Gradually add egg mixture to warmed juice mixture. Continue to stir often, and cook until it coats a spoon (about 10 minutes total).  Cool. Store in glass jar in refrigerator.

Here is what "coating a spoon" looks like.        Enjoy!               Janet