How to Store Preserved Lemons and Smen

Guide

Preserved lemons keep because they're submerged in their own salty brine, and that submersion is the key to storing them. Always keep the lemons under the surface of the brine — the salty liquid is what protects them from spoiling. Once opened, store the jar in the fridge, and they keep for up to a year or more, softening and improving with age. If the brine level drops below the fruit as you use them, top it up with fresh lemon juice (and a little salt) so nothing sits exposed. A white film of salt crystals is harmless; actual mould on exposed fruit means they weren't kept submerged.

Smen keeps because it's clarified (the perishable milk solids removed) and heavily salted, then sealed. Store it in a sterilised, airtight jar or a traditional earthenware pot, well sealed, in a cool dark place — traditionally it was even buried or kept in a cellar to age for months or years. The salt and the exclusion of air are what preserve it, so keep it tightly closed and don't introduce moisture or contaminants; use a clean, dry spoon each time. As it ages it grows stronger and funkier, which is intended, not spoilage.

For both, cleanliness and the right barrier matter: brine for the lemons, salt and an airtight seal for smen. Use clean utensils, keep the containers properly closed, and store cool. Treated this way, these two Moroccan staples reward you with a pantry that's always ready — preserved lemon to lift a tagine, smen to add depth to a couscous — with no last-minute shopping. That readiness is exactly why Moroccan kitchens have relied on them for centuries.