We picked a ton of lemons this year in Tucson. Our friend salt-brined them in quarters. She assures us that when ready, you cut them up into tiny pieces, and they taste like capers. We haven't tried them yet, but I love learning how lemons can be used as there are so many we can access each year for free.
Oh, lucky you, salt-preserved lemons went from something I hardly ever felt like I knew how to use to an absolute pantry staple. She's right tiny bits give things a wonderful caper tang. You can also chop and put in sauces, blend into hummus and other dips, blend into anything that needs a lemony punch. I hope you two love them as much as I do.
I have a continuous 5 litre ferment going with lemon peels, organic ginger peel and raw honey. Nut I don't drink it (though under more sterile conditions I could) I use it as a base to extract the best colour from Dark purple Viola frlowers and nake it into an ink.
As a kid I always ate the pith of both lemons and oranges, finding it enjoyably sweet. Reading about its composition, it seems my kid self inadvertently discovered a way to compensate for the very meat-heavy diet I was fed.
Looking forward to trying the pith salad when lemons are in season. Thank you for all three suggestions/recipes.
I love that. You know I think your kid gut probably did know. I am always to amazed to see how children gravitate to what they need when presented with the opportunity. I will never forget how often kids would come to our market stand and wolf down our fermented vegetable samples. Then their parents would walk up and say, "you are not going to like that." The kids would look surprised and stop eating. I always felt so sad at that moment.
Kids do seem to enjoy sour far more than they’re ’supposed’ to. Look how many quite sour candies are marketed to them. The big treat when I was a kid was getting a sour dill from the barrel every week, it made the boredom of grocery shopping worth it.
I’ve also had parents tell me their children don’t like garlic, and later watched them wolfing down rather pungent garlic bread. I think children are in many cases more adventurous than their parents
I’m reading your letters over here in Portugal with interest. Thank you for your ideas and recipes around lemons. They’re abundant here and delicious. I’m a fermenter and homemade vinegar enthusiast so this letter will be filed away 😁
Thank you. I love knowing you are there in Portugal, getting little bits of story and inspiration. How wonderful to have abundant fresh lemons. (I was in Portugal for a week last year with my daughter, we had such a beautiful time.)
Ok I’m even more into eating the pith now! It’s so true that fresh lemons yield a tasty mild pith. Thank you for all the great info. And I’m always pleased to hear about the beavers in your world.
We picked a ton of lemons this year in Tucson. Our friend salt-brined them in quarters. She assures us that when ready, you cut them up into tiny pieces, and they taste like capers. We haven't tried them yet, but I love learning how lemons can be used as there are so many we can access each year for free.
Oh, lucky you, salt-preserved lemons went from something I hardly ever felt like I knew how to use to an absolute pantry staple. She's right tiny bits give things a wonderful caper tang. You can also chop and put in sauces, blend into hummus and other dips, blend into anything that needs a lemony punch. I hope you two love them as much as I do.
I have a continuous 5 litre ferment going with lemon peels, organic ginger peel and raw honey. Nut I don't drink it (though under more sterile conditions I could) I use it as a base to extract the best colour from Dark purple Viola frlowers and nake it into an ink.
Oh that is soooo cool. Thank you for sharing. I bet the ink is amazing!
As a kid I always ate the pith of both lemons and oranges, finding it enjoyably sweet. Reading about its composition, it seems my kid self inadvertently discovered a way to compensate for the very meat-heavy diet I was fed.
Looking forward to trying the pith salad when lemons are in season. Thank you for all three suggestions/recipes.
I love that. You know I think your kid gut probably did know. I am always to amazed to see how children gravitate to what they need when presented with the opportunity. I will never forget how often kids would come to our market stand and wolf down our fermented vegetable samples. Then their parents would walk up and say, "you are not going to like that." The kids would look surprised and stop eating. I always felt so sad at that moment.
Kids do seem to enjoy sour far more than they’re ’supposed’ to. Look how many quite sour candies are marketed to them. The big treat when I was a kid was getting a sour dill from the barrel every week, it made the boredom of grocery shopping worth it.
I’ve also had parents tell me their children don’t like garlic, and later watched them wolfing down rather pungent garlic bread. I think children are in many cases more adventurous than their parents
I’m reading your letters over here in Portugal with interest. Thank you for your ideas and recipes around lemons. They’re abundant here and delicious. I’m a fermenter and homemade vinegar enthusiast so this letter will be filed away 😁
Thank you. I love knowing you are there in Portugal, getting little bits of story and inspiration. How wonderful to have abundant fresh lemons. (I was in Portugal for a week last year with my daughter, we had such a beautiful time.)
Ok I’m even more into eating the pith now! It’s so true that fresh lemons yield a tasty mild pith. Thank you for all the great info. And I’m always pleased to hear about the beavers in your world.
You are welcome!
I wonder how some fresh pith or fermented lemon would be in natto 😉!
This is very interesting. Thank you.
You're very welcome.