recipe they would like to share.I have both meyor and yen ben lemons. Can you do both!
davidt4,
Oct 12, 5:58pm
I have only used real lemons, not Meyers - they are not true lemons and have the wrong flavour for this.All I do is wash whole lemons, cut into quarters and pack tightly into 1 litre screw top (plastic lids are best) jars with thick layers of plain sea salt in between.Squash them down to pack in as many pieces as possible.Then squeeze some more lemons and strain the juice into the jar to come up to the top.Screw on the lids and store in a cool dark place until the salt is dissolved and the lemons have softened and changed colour slightly - a couple of months.Every week or so turn the jars upside down to distribute the salt and juice.These lemons will keep for years if necessary.
elliehen,
Oct 12, 6:34pm
LEMON VARIETIES (FROM NZ NURSERY WEBSITE)
GENOA Eureka type of lemon. Tree smaller than other lemons and is well suited to most home gardens. Bears heavily while still young and produces a heavy summer crop. LEMONADE Fast growing and bears quite heavily when young. Bears July to August. Fresh tangy flavour, fruit has pale yellow rind and relatively easy to peel. LISBON A strong growing, fairly large tree, bearing its heaviest crop in late winter and spring, a very hardy standard variety. MEYER Most popular lemon for the home garden. Fruits heavily year after year. Thin-skinned, smooth, bright golden fruit throughout the year. Hardiest of all lemons. VILLA FRANCA Thornless and a smaller tree than Lisbon. Prolific and bears a heavy summer crop. YEN BEN Lisbon type but with a thin skin and smaller in growth. Fruits July. Fruit very juicy popular export variety.
The true (old) lemon varieties, Genoa, Lisbon & Villa Franca, have a sharp acidic taste which is good for G & T's but they have largely been replaced by the smaller Yen Ben in commercial plantings.
Meyer actually has orange in its ancestory so is sweeter than the true lemons and largely shunned by exporters as not a 'real' lemon. Very popular in NZ as it is very cold tolerant and relatively disease resistant.
Lemonade is another mixed parentage variety which is not grown commercially as it is very prone to skin markings from verrucosis, etc.
clair4,
Oct 12, 6:46pm
Thanks very much.My yen ben is loaded so I will give them a try.My daughter bought a small jar yesterday and the cost was very high, so thought I would give thema try.
pr_chch2,
Oct 12, 8:40pm
so sea salt is the coarse stuff that isn't iodised!.is it the same as rock salt! I can never remember the differences in salts.plain, table etc.etc. thanks.
davidt4,
Oct 12, 8:47pm
I use fine sea salt, Red Seal brand, but any fine unadulterated salt will do.You don't want iodised salt or one that contains anti-caking chemicals. Coarse salt takes too long to dissolve.
bluecalico,
Oct 12, 9:24pm
Thanks . I love preserved lemons and they are blinkin' expensive to buy.and a very small jar.will try this.Thanks.
mazzy1,
Oct 12, 11:46pm
What type of lemons are the Charlie's ones in the supermarket! *mumble mumble- bloody Charlie's stickers- mutter mutter*I have invested in and killed 3 lemon trees now, so obviously can't grow lemons in Alexandra. The supermarket is my only option!
clair4,
Oct 13, 12:04am
Can you buy jars with plastic lids!I have lots of preserving jars but with the metal lids and screw tops.
davidt4,
Oct 13, 12:38am
I can't remember where my jars with plastic lids came from - I think they might originally have been 1 litre honey jars.Metal lids are not so good because the salt and acid of the lemons will corrode them.The French confit jars with a glass lid, rubber seal and metal frame would be okay.
elliehen,
Oct 13, 1:01am
No one here ever buys lemons in a supermarket mazzy1 ;)
I do know that each year Nelson does a Lemon Drive and sends consignments of lemons to Dunedinites.
Oh, to be part of the elite assembly in here! Does this mean I have to take up flagellation for having bought lemons in a supermarket! Woe is me. So this is the price I pay for living in paradise! Wahhhh!
elliehen,
Oct 13, 5:20am
You could pretend to be a scarfie and queue for Lemon rations in the Octagon ;)
malcovy,
Oct 13, 3:58pm
With the right protection I bet you could grow one even with the harsh winters you can/do have. Plant next to a north facing wall and then in Autumn you could have a special wooden box made out of pallets around the lemon tree,lightly pack around lemon tree, straw and then have frost cloth over it, right down to ground.Sounds good to me and it might very well work.I have my lemon tree in, it's a meyer. I have seen a few fantastic ones here in Gore loaded with lemons and they are years old.I would prefer another variety but the conditions would be too harsh down my way.The lemons we get today do not compare to the ones that we used too get.
daleaway,
Oct 13, 5:04pm
I've been making these for years using the same method that #2 describes - except I use Meyer lemons, because that's what I have, and ordinary household salt, iodised. Makes no difference that I can discern. Very nice product. You store them for at least a month before using. You can add cumin to this mix for more of a Middle Eastern taste, but not if you are using them for eg Greek cooking. (Greek roast chicken with olives and preserved lemons is a lovely recipe.)
craig04,
Oct 13, 9:16pm
What is the reason one would avoid using iodised salt! Does it have other stuff in it!
elliehen,
Oct 13, 9:25pm
Some pickling books recommend using plain table salt because iodised salt can cause discolouration.
mazzy1,
Oct 14, 1:16am
So Meyer is the hardiest one to try! I think my mistake was not to plant by a north-facing wall. I'm motivated to try again. Thanks for the advice! I love lemons with a passion.
elliehen,
Oct 14, 1:30am
Even in Nelson the young Meyer gets frost-bitten and until it's well-established growers usually cover it .After that, it copes well.
I think those who live in the sub-tropical North sometimes don't understand what's going on in the gardens further south on the Mainland ;)
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