Ingredients
How to Choose Preserved Lemons
Preserved lemons are the soul of a Moroccan tagine, and a good jar is worth seeking out. Whether you are buying from a souk barrel or a supermarket jar, a few signs separate the properly cured lemons — soft, savoury, mellow — from harsh, under-cured or spoiled ones.
At a glance
- Soft, translucent, yielding rind means properly cured — firm opaque skin is under-cured
- Small, thin-skinned fruit give the best tender-rind-to-pith ratio
- Brine should be cloudy and lemony with a bright, salty, appetising smell
- You use the rind only — reject jars with slimy fruit or off odours
Guide
Look first at the rind. A well-preserved lemon has skin that is soft, yielding and slightly translucent, the harsh raw bitterness cured out of it over weeks in salt. Avoid lemons with firm, opaque, tough skin, which are under-cured and will taste sharp and salty rather than round and savoury. The classic Moroccan preserved lemon is a small, thin-skinned beldi or doqq variety; smaller thin-skinned fruit generally give a better ratio of tender rind to pith.
Check the brine and the smell. The liquid should be cloudy and lemony, and the aroma bright, salty and citrus — appetising, not off. A little white sediment or salt crust is normal, but slimy fruit, a fizzing or rotten smell, or fuzzy coloured mould on lemons sitting above the brine mean the jar has spoiled; pass on it. From a souk barrel, the same rules apply — buy from a busy stall with fresh, well-submerged fruit.
Remember you use the rind, not the pulp, so judge the quality of the skin above all. At home, once opened, keep the lemons submerged in their brine in the fridge, where they last up to a year and keep improving. If a recipe calls for one preserved lemon it means the rind of one — rinse off the surface salt, scrape away and discard the soft pulp, and slice or chop the peel.
Practical tips
- 1
Squeeze a lemon gently if you can — good ones feel soft and giving, not rigid.
- 2
A busy souk stall with well-submerged fruit beats a dusty jar off a shelf.
- 3
Smell the brine: bright and citrusy is good; sour-rotten or fizzing is spoiled.
- 4
Keep opened lemons under their brine in the fridge and they last up to a year.
- 5
If you can't find good ones, they are easy and cheap to make at home in a few weeks.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if preserved lemons are good?
The rind should be soft, translucent and yielding, the brine cloudy and lemony, and the smell bright and salty. Firm, opaque skin means under-cured; slimy fruit or an off smell means spoiled.
Which part of the preserved lemon do you use?
The rind only. Rinse off the salt, scrape away and discard the soft pulp, and slice or chop the peel — that is where the deep, mellow preserved-lemon flavour lives.
Are jarred preserved lemons as good as souk ones?
A well-made jar with soft, translucent rind is excellent. The same quality signs apply either way — it is the state of the cured rind, not the source, that matters.
Try the recipes
Put the tip into practice with these free step-by-step recipes: