salt curing lemons

[thecraftmommy]

I'm making a jar of salt cured lemons. I am following a recipe from a cookbook. The recipe says to leave the jar half covered on the kitchen counter for one week shaking every day, then to close the jar and let sit for 3 weeks. Again shaking every day. I'm a bit unsure of the leaving the jar open half way for the first week part of this recipe. I realize that the salt and the lemon juice are natural preservatives but is this really safe or am I asking for problems?

[CompassRose]

Well, it may not ACTUALLY be safe, but it sounds like the same recipe I used at Christmas time for "Moroccan Pickled Lemons." I cured them first for a week sort of like sauerkraut, with a weight of marbles in a bag to keep the lemons underneath the liquid. Then the sealing and the shaking, yes...

but what I did after that (having the same faint qualms) was top it up with more lemon juice, drain off the lemons, bring the juice to a boil, pack the drained lemons in Mason jars, pour over the boiling juice, and seal as for pickles.

We've eaten them, and so have all our giftees, with no ill effects, so I'm assuming it worked, even though it might have been unnecessary. (They're exceedingly delicious, may I say, and very versatile.)

[Suzanne]

There have been a few threads about preserved lemons in the past. If you use the "search" function in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen, and ask for "preserved lemons" you'll get a list of the posts that talk about making and using them.

When I made mine late last year, I put them in the fridge from the beginning. It might have taken a little longer that way, but I felt safer. And they are just fine now.