There’s no better time than the end of the winter citrus season to preserve lemons. While preserving lemons may sound like a large task, it’s really no trouble at all. Charmaine, of the educational and creative food blog, Christie’s Corner has got a quick and simple recipe for preserved lemons that will allow you to capture the essence of winter’s best fruit for the rest of the year. FYI–Christie is Charmaine’s last name, hence the title of the blog. I was confused at first, but Charmaine assured me that this kind of thing happens all the time. But now that we’ve got that little detail out of the way…

Preserved lemons are a traditional Moroccan condiment and are often made with Meyer lemons. If you can’t find Meyer lemons at your local market (Charmaine couldn’t) then you can simply use regular lemons that feel like they might have a thinner skin to them.

To make the preserved lemons, all you have to do is clean them, cut them up, sprinkle them generously with salt, squeeze fresh lemon juice over everything and seal the jar. The most difficult thing about preserving lemons is waiting for the next month to go by so that you actually allow the lemons to preserve. But fear not, because if you remember to flip the jar over every day, you’ll have delicious, salty preserved lemons to use in stews, tagines, even chicken and fish dishes in just one month. 

Although winter has almost come to an end, it’s not too late to grab some lemons and preserve them. And if you do, you’ll have that bright, lemony flavor in your pantry and your food for the rest of the year.