Meyer Lemons

Meyer lemons make a brief appearance in Colorado grocery stores about the first week in April. These lemons are native to China and thought to be a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange. They are thinner skinned, juicier, and sweeter than your regular lemon and have a wonderfully fragrant floral taste and aroma. Since I could not help myself I brought home about 100 lemons. What to do with them?*

Meyer Lemon Syrup

Yield = 4 cups

12 meyer lemons (approximately)

1c sugar

1c simple syrup

1. Wash and zest lemons.

2. Juice lemons to obtain 2c. of juice.

3. Mix zest, juice, and sugar in a lidded jar.

4. Shake to mix until sugar has dissolved.

5. Leave overnight to develop flavor.

6. Strain liquid. Discard peel or save for another use.

7. Add simple syrup.

8. Refrigerate.

9. Enjoy in seltzer as a cool drink, or in hot water as a “tea”.

Preserved Lemons

Yield = 1 quart jar

8 lemons

8T salt

1. Carefully scrub the lemons in hot water to remove any wax.

2. Starting from the end opposite the blossom end cut each lemon in quarters but do not cut all the way through. Lemon pieces should be still attached at the blossom end.

3. Stuff each lemon with 1 Tablespoon of salt.

4. Place lemons after salting into a sterilized jar. Press lemons to exude their juice.

5. Press the lemons down as much as possible, adding more lemon juice to cover if needed.

6. Place lid on jar and shake to dissolve salt.

7. Refrigerate for one month.

8. To use scrape off pulp and discard. Use preserved peel after rinsing.

9. Wonderful in Mediterranean dishes.

*Also try meyer lemons in lemon bars, marmalade, sliced thinly in salads (eat the whole thing) or with artichokes or asparagus.