Preserved Lemons - shelf life

[Melba's Jammin']

I "put up" some Meyer lemons in salt. Last February. They look fine,
but what do I know? Do they have a "shelf" life? I still have maybe
half a quart jar. Pitch or use? I await your counsel.
--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

[ImStillMags]

I took mine out of the salt after a while and put them in a baggie in the freezer.
They still have all their goodness and I feel better about keeping them longer.

[koko]

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:25:55 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
<barbsc...@earthlink.net> wrote:

>I "put up" some Meyer lemons in salt. Last February. They look fine,
>but what do I know? Do they have a "shelf" life? I still have maybe
>half a quart jar. Pitch or use? I await your counsel.
>--

Their shelf life is into eternity as long as the lemons remain under
the brine. I use them is anything I need a citrus note. In some dishes
I remove the pulp and use just the rind, in others I use pulp and
rind. Sometimes I rinse them to remove some of the saltiness, in
others I don't.
How you use them depends on your personal preference and application.
Inside whole chickens, unrinsed with pulp, in scrambled eggs, pulp
removed, rind finely diced. The "syrup" that develops is great in
martinis too. ;-)
I always have two preserved lemon jars going so I'll never run out.
koko

--

Food is our common ground, a universal experience
James Beard

[Melba's Jammin']

Thanks, Koko. I'll have to remind myself to use them.

[sf]

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:25:55 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
<barbsc...@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I "put up" some Meyer lemons in salt. Last February. They look fine,
> but what do I know? Do they have a "shelf" life? I still have maybe
> half a quart jar. Pitch or use? I await your counsel.
> --

They're preserved, so use them. The time to ask is after they
oxidize.

--
A kitchen without a cook is just a room

[sf]

Good idea!

[sf]

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 19:01:13 -0800, koko <ko...@letscook.com> wrote:

> The "syrup" that develops is great in martinis too. ;-)

What a great idea! That never occurred to me. Must try soon. :)

[Chemiker]

Agreed. I keep a 1/2 gallon jar in the bottom of the fridge, and
oilive oil on top to seal out the air, and 6 months is not a problem.
When I get down to the last 5-6 slices, I put up a new jar.

Enjoy.

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 19:01:13 -0800, koko <ko...@letscook.com> wrote:

[koko]

On Thu, 18 Dec 2014 06:45:15 -0600, Chemiker
<prussia...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 19:01:13 -0800, koko <ko...@letscook.com> wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:25:55 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
>><barbsc...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>>>I "put up" some Meyer lemons in salt. Last February. They look fine,
>>>but what do I know? Do they have a "shelf" life? I still have maybe
>>>half a quart jar. Pitch or use? I await your counsel.
>>>--
>>Their shelf life is into eternity as long as the lemons remain under
>>the brine. I use them is anything I need a citrus note. In some dishes
>>I remove the pulp and use just the rind, in others I use pulp and
>>rind. Sometimes I rinse them to remove some of the saltiness, in
>>others I don't.
>>How you use them depends on your personal preference and application.
>>Inside whole chickens, unrinsed with pulp, in scrambled eggs, pulp
>>removed, rind finely diced. The "syrup" that develops is great in
>>martinis too. ;-)
>>I always have two preserved lemon jars going so I'll never run out.
>>koko

>Agreed. I keep a 1/2 gallon jar in the bottom of the fridge, and
>oilive oil on top to seal out the air, and 6 months is not a problem.
>When I get down to the last 5-6 slices, I put up a new jar.
>
>Enjoy.

No need to add olive oil, as long as the lemons are kept under the
brine there will be no spoilage problems.

Here's another preserved lemon recipe I use. I only do about half of
the recipe at at time.

Meyer lemon pickle with indian 5-spices

13 organic meyer lemons
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
scant 1/2 cup sea salt (not coarse ground)
scant 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup cayenne powder (or ground chile of choice)
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder* (optional)

Wipe the lemons with a dry cloth. slice 12 of them in quarters
lengthwise. slice each quarter through it’s width into three pieces.
taking out the seeds as you go, be sure to catch any wayward juice.
gather cut lemons and juice in a large bowl.
in a dry skillet toast the 5 whole spices. keep the heat on medium and
give the pan a shake now and again. as soon as you smell
a delicious aroma and see the fenugreek turn barely a shade darker
pour them into a plate to cool.
if you are using the asafoetida powder toss it in 30 seconds before
you take the spices off the heat.
once the spices are cool grind them in a spice grinder or with a
mortar & pestle. add them to the lemons along with the
salt, sugar, chile and turmeric. stir until all is well combined.
scoop into an immaculately dry one half gallon (or two quarts) glass
jar with a tight fitting lid. i stress that the
inside of said jar must be dry because even a little bit of water
could lead to spoiled lemons. :( add the
juice of the final lemon to the jar.
place the jar in a sunny windowsill if you, like me, are in the throes
of winter. if you have a few days where the sun is shy,
do put the jar in a warm place, like the top of a fridge or on the
floor about a foot away from a radiator.
if you happen to be in a warm clime, you can put your jar outside
during the day, making sure to bring it in at night.
give the jar a shake once a day, or better yet keep it right side up
one day, and upside down the next.
i’ve learned from experience that this is best done with a plastic
screw-capped jar as a wire bail or weck jar –
even with a tightly fitted rubber ring – will leak.
every few days open the cap, carefully, as there will be a lot of
fermentation going on inside and it will sizzle a bit into the
air upon opening. as the days go on, the aroma becomes even more
mouth watering. because meyers are quite thin-skinned,
your pickle should be done in about 3 weeks. you can start to taste
around that time and see if the texture is to your liking.
don’t let it get too soft! you want some firmness to remain between
the teeth. place your finished pickle in the fridge to drastically
slow down fermentation and it will easily last a year or more.
a little goes a very long way. i like to decant mine into smaller jars
to store in the fridge. oh, and do remember to dip a
clean and very dry spoon in each time you serve your precious pickle.

enjoy!

- See more at:
http://hungrytigress.com/2013/02/meyer-lemon-pickle-with-indian-5-spices/#sthash.mU4R2OYJ.dpuf